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1. To which buildings are the assembly standards applied?
Are the City Council chambers at City Hall up to the latest earthquake building code standards – standards that would meet the public assembly requirements that apparently are being dictated to the Arts Alliance group which is operating the Interim Center for the Arts in a city owned building?
It’s one of the key questions in determing how important the “important public safety difference” cited by City of Gilroy Public Information Officer Joe Kline in his letter to the editor published today really is.
2. City should pay for whatever improvements are necessary
Regardless of the answer, if the city is going to essentially shut down the Arts Alliance building at this late stage in the process by forbiding events of 50 people or more due to seismic safety restrictions, it should pay for whatever improvements are necessary so that the Arts Center meets those standards. The city should have seen this conflict coming eons ago. A temporary permit should be granted if necessary until the city pays for the work.
Why the Arts Center is being singled out – after such a cooperative and wonderful effort which included City Hall’s civic best, is anyone’s guess. Internal politics perhaps?
One wonders – is the Salvation Army building up to today’s seismic assembly code? Wheeler Auditorium? How about South Valley Junior High?
3. Building is cement block which fared will in Loma Prieta quake
The building isn’t unreinforced masonry, it’s cement block construction, so it’s not of the crumbling down variety. Obviously, it survived quite well in the 1989 major Loma Prieta earthquake which measured a hefty 7.1 surface magnitude on the Richter Scale. Those facts alone should carry substantial weight.
What seems to be missing in this puzzle is leadership which entails forethought, common sense and the will and ability to solve problems before they become roadblocks to an improved community.
The Arts Center improves Gilroy. It’s run on a shoestring by people with big hearts and soulful visions. The City should lead, follow or get the bloody heck out of the way.
