GILROY—City officials weren’t bluffing when the Gilroy Police Department mailed arrest warrants to the owners of two downtown buildings cited as earthquake safety hazards.
Investors in the Water Store property at 7515 Monterey St. were in disbelief when they learned on Aug. 21 they were wanted in Gilroy. They live out of town, and most of the partners said they had never set eyes on the property before.
Six of the seven named in criminal complaints associated with the building appeared for booking by Aug. 27 on several misdemeanor offenses.
“We got their attention,” Mayor Don Gage said Tuesday.
He said the city had tried for 20 years to bring the owners of both the Water Store and the Creamery at 7491 Railroad St. to the table to discuss bringing the buildings up to code.
The six were booked on charges including failure to retrofit a building to earthquake safety codes, failure to register vacant commercial space and failure to register vacant window space. All six were immediately released.
The warrants they received by mail last month were the first piece of communication from the city, the investors told the Dispatch.
“In less than a week, we’re stepping up,” said Richard Bauden of Pacifica, who, along with his wife, Ann Bauden, were booked Aug. 27. They loaned money in the early 2000s to the property’s original owner, who later defaulted and walked away.
“Had we known before we would have stepped up sooner. But you can’t step up to the plate if you don’t know you’re up to bat,” Richard Bauden said.
At press time, Gage said the owners of the Creamery had not yet responded to the warrants. They face increasing penalties if they don’t turn themselves in.
“They will have an outstanding arrest warrant, you bet,” the mayor said.
Filing criminal complaints against the owners of both buildings was the quickest way to resolve the problem after years of “refusing to talk to us,” Gage added.
However, the Water Store’s investors tell a different story.
“This could all have been avoided with a simple telephone call,” Richard Bauden said.
Others involved also criticized the city’s approach as they stood outside the police station.
“I understand the city’s desire to settle this, but to begin the process with an arrest warrant for a 90-year-old widow isn’t a good start,” said Brian Boxall, son of Cynthia Boxall, who accompanied his mother for booking Aug. 27.
He said the fact his late father, Frank Boxall, who died four years ago, was named in the complaint and mailed an arrest warrant indicates there was not enough outreach by city officials.
“It’s moved beyond a joke. It’s a bad joke,” Brian Boxall added.
Responding to investors’ claims that they received no communication prior to the Aug. 21 arrest warrants, Mayor Gage fired back: “They’re lying.”
“They’ve known about the issues for many, many years. Up until this point they’ve had no interest in doing anything,” he said.
City Administrator Tom Haglund will be preparing a list outlining the city’s attempts to contact the owners of both properties, Gage said. That list was not available by press time Wednesday.
In Gage’s mind, there is a reason it has taken more than a decade to get any movement on either of the two distressed properties.
“Nobody wants to pick them up because they have to tear down the buildings and pay all the fees. Nobody wants to do that.”
Investors said they feel like they’re left holding the bag after the original Water Store owner walked away.
“This isn’t the only investment we’ve taken a bath on,” Ann Bauden said. “People walked away and we’re left to clean up the mess.”
Dave and Fran Cunningham of Pleasanton, also named in the complaint, were booked on Aug. 25. They called the situation “absolutely absurd.”
The Water Store’s lenders are scheduled to appear in court Oct. 16 at the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill.
