Tag: bob dillon

In the midst of all the shoulder patting, thanking, well-wishing and congratulating that transpired at the City Council chambers Dec. 7 when the public officially welcomed Don Gage as their new mayor, retiring Councilman Bob Dillon’s parting words put it best.

More than a decade ago, as the dawn of the information age turned into mid-morning, our industry hemmed and hawed: Should we charge customers to read the news online? Pros and cons were tossed about like sports cliches in post-game interviews. And, as an industry, we took it “one game at a time” which turned into “one year at a time” which, in my view, turned into a decade of madness.

After a hearty debate with opposition coming from those who have been against it from the start, the final version of the hefty 50-year, $660 million, 2,800 page Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan was passed on a 4-3 vote during Monday's Council meeting.

During Monday's meeting, City Council voted 6-0 to demolish an unreinforced masonry building on Monterey Street in downtown in order to create a city-owned pedestrian paseo connecting Monterey Street to Gourmet Alley.

In a heated moment during Monday night's City Council meeting, a spat culminated with Councilman Peter Arellano, a mayoral candidate, storming out of the meeting mid-vote, an episode that present and former Council members say they have never seen before.

After a long period of convoluted and emotionally charged discussion, Council voted 4-1 during Monday's regular meeting to make an exception to a city ordinance that limits the number of market-value residential allotments to approve a 91-unit residential project west of Monterey Street and east of Wren Avenue, near Gilroy Veterinary Hospital. 

Another sidewalk lawsuit is brewing against the City of Gilroy, after the City rejected a claim for $1,700 in damages from a woman who allegedly tripped on uneven sidewalk on El Caminito Drive, west of Santa Teresa Boulevard, causing her to suffer from fractured and splintered bones in her left arm.

Gilroy Gardens handed the City a check for $130,000, based on profit from last fiscal year during the regular July 16 Council meeting, inciting a dispute between Council members and staff on how that money should be spent. 

“Shocked,” “surprised,” “stunned” and “disappointed” by an unexpected 4-2 vote cast Monday by City Council against placing a joint city-school sales tax on the November ballot, it’s “back to the drawing board” for Gilroy School Board trustees as they attempt to safeguard the district from a possible $8.1 million cut in state funding next year.

During Monday's meeting, City Council reluctantly passed a motion to place liens on 127 Gilroy properties with tenants who haven't paid their trash bills, conceding to the fact that they are legally bound to approving it because of city health codes.