Gilroy’s City Council on Monday unanimously approved a
$1,024,474 bid from the Salinas-based Don Chapin Co. to oversee a
landscaping project along Sixth Street.
Gilroy’s City Council on Monday unanimously approved a $1,024,474 bid from the Salinas-based Don Chapin Co. to oversee a landscaping project along Sixth Street.
The project, which will stretch from Eigleberry to Railroad streets, will include include landscaping, new sidewalks, trees and street lights.
Councilman Craig Gartman did not vote on the matter because he is renting property just down the street from the project.
The council opted for amendments by Mayor Al Pinheiro to ensure that landscaping is taken care of on the east side of the street, to pave property behind Old City Hall for eventual parking and to improve curbs next to the Milias Apartments at Sixth and Monterey streets so that they are at the same standard as the rest of the project. California Department of Transportation officials have said they want the city to hold off on improving curbs next to that historic former hotel building.
The council also approved an amendment by Councilman Peter Arellano to ensure business owners receive proper notification of the project.
Downtown developer Gary Walton advocated during the meeting to pave the parking area behind Old City Hall and asked that excess money be spent on sidewalk maintenance rather than on public art, as city staff initially had proposed.
Although he said he supported the project, he expressed concern about the impact of the project on businesses. He wanted to make sure business owners were included in conversations about the project, noting that some businesses did not survive when a previous streetscape project occurred along Monterey Street.
