Before council members go to sleep tonight, the city could
acquire Gilroy Gardens.
Before council members go to sleep tonight, the city could acquire Gilroy Gardens.
The body will vote on the details of the unprecedented purchase at 7 p.m. today at City Hall, 7301 Hanna St. At the council’s Jan. 14 study session concerning the 536-acre park, council members fleshed out many of their disagreements about post-purchase lease terms and the park’s governance. Tonight could bring closure before the park’s creditors have the opportunity to foreclose on the financially troubled park and potentially sell it off to developers.
At the Jan. 14 session, Perry Woodward said he would vote against the entire $14 million purchase – seen by many as a real estate steal – if the council amended the lease agreement to require a super majority for the body to dissolve the park. Mayor Al Pinheiro led the 4-3 vote to tentatively approve a super majority, which requires a minimum 5-2 vote breakdown.
In another non-binding vote last week, the council also split when it approved charging the park’s nonprofit board of directors just $1 per year to lease back the land and rides. Councilmen Craig Gartman, Perry Woodward and Bob Dillon were on the minority of both split votes, and Councilwoman Cat Tucker was the swing vote on both.
Pinheiro used to sit on the board as the council representative, and Councilman Dion Bracco sits on it now. For this reason, Woodward said the two men would only need to find one more vote on the council to prevent the city from dissolving the historically unprofitable park, which “is fundamentally against the democratic process,” Woodward said.
Time is running out before the park must make this year’s $500,000 payment to bondholders in March, and the board must also shore up another $1.3 million in reserves by November to satisfy a 2005 deal with bondholders. If the city does not purchase the park and the board can’t make its payments, bondholders could foreclose on the property and sell it off piece by piece to developers.
After tonight’s vote, the city will likely purchase the park by taking out a 20-year loan for about $14 million. The $14 million figure represents how much all of the park’s outstanding bonds will be worth in November 2010, when they are up for sale, plus ongoing consulting and legal fees. The city will pay back the bond incrementally each year for a total amount of about $20 million, with the money coming from non-essential city funds such as storm drain and sewer equipment funds.
