City administrator hosting town hall
City Administrator Jimmy Forbis will hold a virtual town hall on Feb. 24 at 6pm.
During the Town Hall community members will have the opportunity to ask questions regarding any city-related topic. Questions will not be limited to but may include the Gilroy Sports Park Project, Las Animas Fire Station, goals for 2022, or Gilroy’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Spanish translation will be available.
Community members can join the Virtual Town Hall through Zoom at rebrand.ly/Gilroy0224 or by phone at 669.900.6833. The webinar ID is 815 8175 0459, passcode 501079.
Webinar discusses how to start a business
The American Association of University Women/California is sponsoring a webinar titled “From Corporate America to Entrepreneurship—How Do We Transition?” on Feb. 22 at noon.
The half-hour presentation will discuss how to start your own business. Laura Hall, consultant for WHYZ Partners and former president of Polo Ralph Lauren Accessories, will give the presentation.To register, visit bit.ly/34BZ5kS.
Input sought on mental health plan
The County of Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services Department is seeking input from the public on its next Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) three-year plan.
A community-wide Mental Health Survey is available through March 25 at MyVoiceOurChange.org.
Virtual community conversations are being held in February and March. These conversations are hosted by Behavioral Health and partner organizations to get feedback on three questions:
• What are essential mental health or substance use needs?
• What should stay the same?
• What should be added or changed?
To find a Community Conversation to join, visit bhsd.sccgov.org/about-us/mental-health-services-act.
“Community input is necessary and vital to decisions that can improve and enhance our services,” said Sherri Terao, director of the Behavioral Health Services Department. “This input provides meaningful contributions to our decisions about behavioral health projects and programs.”
Feedback and findings will be used to inform the development of the plan for fiscal years 2024 to 2026. Information from the survey and conversations will be available in the spring.
Engquist recognized by University of Hartford
The University of Hartford announced Elise Engquist of Gilroy has been named to the President’s Honors List and the Dean’s List for Fall 2021.
The University of Hartford is located on a 350-acre campus alongside Connecticut’s capital city, serving 4,000 undergraduate and 1,900 graduate students representing 49 states and 44 countries.
PG&E to begin burying power lines
Pacific Gas & Electric is launching the first wave of a multibillion-dollar initiative to bury 10,000 miles of distribution lines in areas of high risk of wildfires in Northern and Central California.
Officials with the utility giant made the announcement last week of the first wave, which aims to place nearly 3,600 miles of power lines underground. The estimated cost is nearly $4 million per mile, officials said.
The project is part of a wildfire mitigation plan to be submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission on Feb. 25.
Transmission wires have been blamed for starting many wildfires around the state in recent years, including the Dixie Fire that started in July 2021 and burned nearly a million acres and destroyed more than 1,400 structures before it was contained in late October.
Company officials said in November that the company would lose an estimated $1 billion from the fire and related lawsuits.
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