A little less than half of the city’s major improvement projects
are getting off the ground.
Gilroy – A little less than half of the city’s major improvement projects are getting off the ground.
The remaining are still winding their ways through City Hall’s planning and design processes, according to City Engineering Director Rick Smelser.
Earlier this month, Smelser gave the city council a run-through of Gilroy’s ongoing and nascent development, from longer-term improvements on City Hall and the expansion of the library, to the nearly refurbished sewer system and the soon-to-end Forest Street well construction.
A pending assessment report of Gilroy’s fire stations was begun “to see what we can do to bring facilities up to minimum standards,” Smelser said, “but it has become much more extensive since buildings are quite in need of repair, if not replacement.”
The Chestnut and Las Animas stations both need help, said City Administrator Jay Baksa, especially Las Animas, which was built in the 1970s and does not comply with the 1990 American with Disabilities Act.
Smelser said the city was waiting for money to accumulate as it wrapped up planning for ADA improvements throughout the city.
The library depends on further research and a planned survey of residents to see if they would agree to a $30 million bond for the project.
Other financial priorities for the city include the estimated $25 million arts center – which Smelser did not discuss since it is on hold – and the proposed purchase of Gilroy Gardens for anywhere from $13 million to $25 million, which was also not discussed since it is not an improvement project and its acquisition is still up in the air.
Those things that are truly up in the air, though, are the BMX dirt bike riders waiting for the city to figure out flood issues to go ahead and build a dirt bike facility at the sports park, which has cost $12.4 million.
When it comes to road improvements, most are still in the planning phase, but work relating to the Camino Arroyo Bridge project near the Wal-Mart Super Center is chugging along.
Some project depend on each other, though, like plugging sidewalk gaps and tweaking traffic lights and crossing signals along Tenth street and specifically at its intersection with Church Street.
But one venture that will build on downtown’s energy is the renovation of Sixth Street. Its sidewalks will be redone, street trees will go in along with lighting, and eventually the “Sixth Street corridor” will run to the CalTrain, eventually providing a complement to Monterey Street’s aesthetic cleanliness.
Far from a clean operation, the South County Regional Wastewater Authority plant expansion project looms as the biggest challenge for Smelser and his team of engineers.
He said he expects the design phase to begin in December.
Projects even farther off include the re-alignment of Highway 152, which depends on indefinite coordination with San Benito and Santa Clara counties.
Capital projects
Projects in planning
– Fire Station Improvements
– Street improvements for dis- abled people
– City Hall improvements
– Trail for Sports Park to Gavilan College
– Library Expansion
– BMX Dirt Bike Facility
– Chestnut pedestrian bridge
– Sixth Street renovation
– Sewage plant expansion
Projects in design/bid phase
– Lion Creek/Uvas Ranch trail
– Christmas Hill Park improvements
– Las Animas pond improvements
– Camino Arroyo Bridge
– Signal modifications at 10th & Church
Projects under construction
– Sewer system improvements
– Cul-de-sac for South County Regional Wastewater Authority
– Forest Street well
Future projects
– Sports Park Phase III
– Museum
– Highway 152 re-alignment
Source: City Hall
