By a slim 4-3 vote, the Gilroy City Council on Monday night
chose to opt out of a countywide habitat conservation plan. The
Council also discussed contracting out for fire services and
honored former mayor Sig Sanchez.
By a slim 4-3 vote, the Gilroy City Council on Monday night chose to opt out of a countywide habitat conservation plan just three weeks before the project’s deadline to submit public comments.
Council members Bob Dillon, Perry Woodward, Dion Bracco and Mayor Al Pinheiro voted to halt the city’s participation in the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan.
Peter Arellano, Cat Tucker and Peter Leroe-Munoz voted against the motion.
The vote came after staff recommended the Council continue its support of the project.
Several Council members, however, said Gilroy would do just fine without the plan.
“I’ve gone from ‘No’ to ‘Hell no,'” Dillon said.
The plan, started in 2005, is intended to identify and preserve land that provides a habitat for endangered or threatened species. The plan’s draft environmental impact report was released Dec. 17, and 120 days were allotted to gather public input. The final to submit comments is April 18, said Ken Schreiber, conservation plan program manager.
The cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Jose, Santa Clara County, the Santa Clara Valley Water District and the Valley Transportation Authority were participating in the plan, which covers about 62 percent of the county’s acreage, mostly in South County.
Since the 2004-05 fiscal year, the City of Gilroy has spent more than $445,000 as a plan participant and was projected to shell out $93,000 in the 2011-12 fiscal year, according to data displayed Monday night.
“The city has paid a lot of money to get to where we are,” Woodward said before the vote. “Do we stop participating? Unless there are some radical changes in the plan, I don’t think I can lend my support.”
City Administrator Tom Haglund said the city would spend a “considerable amount of staff time” on the plan.
Arellano said the Council should continue to support the plan for the moment and not make any knee-jerk decisions regarding the draft EIR.
“We cannot keep destroying our environment and make species extinct,” he said. “The final product is not before us.”
Council members favor existing fire services
The Council also held a study session Monday night to discuss whether the city could save money by eliminating its current fire services in favor of contracting out to CalFire or the Santa Clara County Fire Department.
The topic garnered some discussion among the Council members during an annual goal-setting session Jan. 28 and 29, but on Monday night several Council members expressed a desire to keep the “status quo.”
Dillon said he didn’t want the city to spend any money on “an uncertainty” such as contracting out its fire service, and the decision could lead to fierce, unfriendly debate.
He also said he liked seeing “Gilroy” on the side of the city’s fire engines.
“I just like that. I can’t explain why,” Dillon said.
Pinheiro and Haglund pointed to cost-saving measures city firefighters had already agreed to, including moving from four firefighters per engine to just three and creating a second-tier retirement system.
Leroe-Munoz said he wasn’t sure the city would receive the same cooperation from a third-party fire service, and Tucker said Gilroy “just wasn’t there yet,” in terms of needing to contract out.
Bracco said the city was best served keeping its current fire services.
“I’m a firm believer in that you get what you pay for,” he said. “Whenever you deal with the state or the county, we always get the short end of the stick in Gilroy.”
Woodward was the only Council member vocally in favor of pursuing a detailed analysis of existing services versus contracted services.
“I guess I’ll be the lone voice of opposition today,” Woodward said. “But looking down the road 10, 20 years, I’m not sure that the current model is sustainable.”
Sanchez honored
Sig Sanchez, former Gilroy mayor, county supervisor and water district board member, was honored Monday for his decades of service.
Prior to serving on the water district board for 30 years, Sanchez spent five years a Gilroy City Councilman and five years as the city’s mayor. He then spent 16 years as a Santa Clara County Supervisor.
Pinheiro thanked Sanchez before hugging him and handing him a certificate honoring him.
Sanchez said he’d find space on his wall at home for the honor, then told several quick stories from his decades of public service.
“By the way, we didn’t get paid for our services,” he smiled.
Check back for updates to this story.
