Council approves raises for city clerk, administrator
Gilroy City Council unanimously approved a series of 2 percent salary increases for both the city clerk and city administrator at the April 21 meeting.
Q&A with Gilroy City Council candidate Paul Kloecker
Before interviewing the candidates, the Editorial Board of the
On the Table: A Gun Shop and Plaza Downtown?
A gun shop and an outdoor plaza might bring some big changes downtown. The firearms shop is considering moving to the Pinnacle building on Monterey Road, the first storefront for firearms since Walmart stopped carrying them. Right now there are eight dealers with permits to sell weapons out of their homes and one of them has appeared before city staff to see what would be needed to rent the downtown space.“If it’s done right, fine,” said Mayor Perry Woodward. “It’s just another retail use. We’re still a rural community in many ways and fishing and hunting are popular here. If you come back and tell me it’s all assault rifles, I might have a different point of view. If it’s done responsibly and within in the law, it serves a need.”Woodward got to talk about his real dream for downtown Monday for the first time, because he sold a property he owned there that kept him from voting on downtown issues. He wants to knock down the former billiards hall and put a public plaza there with trees, a stage and benches. It would be a place for the community to come together for activities, after which they would shop in businesses catering to them.“I want to see the day when people in Morgan Hill say they wish they had a downtown like Gilroy’s,” he said. It would require the city to buy the building and the one behind it and knock them down. The billiards hall is now slated to house the Community Media Access Partnership television station now housed at Christopher High and a computer center for people to study and use desktops.John Russell, of Rally Round Downtown Gilroy, said he would be happy with a gun shop or any retail, "as long as it's not another salon or piñata shop."
Tax plan draws opposition
On the heels of a recent vote by the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors to oppose the half-cent general-purpose sales tax measure, many business owners are expressing support of the decision.
Vacant seat on Arts and Culture Commission
The City of Gilroy is still looking to fill an open seat on the Arts and Culture Commission for the remainder of an unexpired term, which is set to end Dec. 31, 2015. The successful applicant will play a part in stimulating the growth of broad-based arts within the community. Along with the other six members of the Arts and Culture Commission, they will help guide the Recreation Department Staff and City Council on matters pertaining to cultural and artistic activities.
