While Gav is looking for alternatives, one local group urges the
college not give up on downtown
Hollister – A Gavilan College subcommittee will review a report tonight urging them to abandon the airport as a future site for a new campus and reopen negotiations with the landowners near the north side of Vista Park Hill.
Gavilan President Steve Kinsella said, however, it’s extremely unlikely the college would reconsider that site based on the information provided by self-titled community committee, Independent Smart Growth Research Group.
“Basically this is all the same information we’ve been presented with before,” he said. “Construction on a hillside is quite a bit more expensive than on flat land, and a considerable percentage of our students have disabilities. They need to be able to navigate the campus from one end to the other.” The group recently issued a memo proposing the college revisit the Hart property as a potential site for the future satellite campus. The Hart property, which is situated on the lower north end of Vista Park Hill, was one of the parcels Gavilan initially considered for a San Benito County campus, but was dismissed due to the price of the property, the difficulties inherent to building on a hillside, and possible issues with the seismic stability of the land.
Some local residents, however, feel that the site’s merits were not fully considered before the board of trustees voted to purchase 85 acres next to the Hollister Airport, and would have the board examine other options while the sale of the land is finalized over the next few months.
If the committee were to investigate and find an alternative site they prefer over the airport site, they could recommend that the board abandon their current plans. Exactly what Gavilan would have to do to back out of its agreement with the current parcel’s owners, however, is unclear.
“There isn’t a whole lot of new information out there, but they did come up with some specific creative ideas in terms of revisiting the site and purchasing it,” said trustee Kent Child, referring to the group’s proposal. “But it’s all conjecture at this point. It’s hard to tell if it’s a pipe dream or based on substance.”
Among the Hart property’s merits, states the proposal, are its proximity to Hollister’s downtown, easy accessibility and the fact that the Hollister Airport will be able to continue to operate unimpeded by the development of a college campus nearby. And while the current site along San Felipe Road is less expensive, costing about $4 million out of a $12.7 million Measure E earmark for San Benito County land acquisition and early construction, a location closer to the heart of the city will lend itself to partnerships with local government that will eventually save the college, and taxpayers, millions of dollars, according to the report.
The subcommittee will receive the proposal tonight before the regular board of trustees meeting in the student lounge at the main Gavilan College Campus in Gilroy at 7pm.
