Politics

The Gilroy City Council Monday passed an ordinance limiting the amount of time stores can post banners, keeping them mostly around holidays.

City Council plans to vote on whether or not to accept an added expenditure of $47,800 for construction improvements to the softball diamond at Sunrise Park, west of Santa Teresa in the northwest quad, or downsize the project.

The City of Gilroy will have its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday in Council Chambers, located at 7351 Rosanna St. Here are some of the upcoming items on the agenda.

Mayor Don Gage and the City are forging ahead with a proposed “Quality of Life” tax to possibly fund projects that improve safety, create recreational opportunities for the community and bolster economic revitalization and recovery.

Gilroy

Caltrans District 4 has announced the opening this Saturday of

James Pace is running for a second four-year term on the Gilroy Unified School District Board of Trustees.The father of two GUSD students, a high schooler and a middle schooler, his involvement in education began at the parent club level and as a volunteer at his children’s schools and has continued, he said, as way to give back to the community.Pace is one of three candidates actively seeking three seats on the seven-member board that makes policy for the city’s largest employer.A fourth, Paul Nadeau, withdrew from the contest but his name is on the ballot.Nadeau has said he will resign if he is one of the top three vote getters. If that happens, the board will appoint an interim member who may run for election in 2018. It does not have to be the fourth-place finisher.The election comes at a time when trustees are poised to begin $170 million in Measure E building projects, are struggling with somewhat improved but still lackluster test scores and are battling a lawsuit over the district’s decision in 2014 to not fire a teacher now accused of sexual misconduct that targeted students.Pace’s profile and that of incumbent candidate Mark Good are in today’s edition. Candidate BC Doyle’s profile was published last week.Each candidate was asked to respond to three questions. Each was given a 700-word limit but could submit less.Pace, 44, supported Measure E and is director of future planning for a Morgan Hill real estate development firm.His high school daughter is a student representative to the school board.Asked why he is running, he said, “The district has been very good to my children, they have had great opportunities and experiences and it has been very rewarding for them.”Being on the board, he said, “is a chance to give back and to keep the good things happening and [the district] going forward.”Here are the questions posed to each candidate and Pace’s responses: DISPATCH: What are some of your specific goals if elected and how would you achieve them? Please briefly discuss your three top priority goals.PACE: The number one goal of the District is to increase academic performance, including closing the achievement gap. We need to continue to implement programs proven to build strong academic foundations in students, such as SEAL. In addition, our academic standards are much more rigorous now, so we must ensure that we provide support to ensure student success. I will keep pushing the district forward.It is critical that we keep our fiscal house in order. We are funded seemingly at the whim of the state, and good economic times can change quickly. If Proposition 55 fails or another recession hits, there could be significant cuts to our budget. Since I joined the board, we set a policy to increase rainy day reserves, and we have built that reserve, while simultaneously making our employee packages more competitive, with a balanced budget. I will continue this economic stewardship.Thanks to the people of Gilroy’s commitment to education, Measure E was approved this year.  This gives the district the resources necessary to build a new elementary school, renovate South Valley and Brownell Middle Schools, as well as complete other necessary projects throughout the district. If Proposition 51 passes, our local funds will go much further. As a member of the district’s facilities subcommittee, I will work to ensure projects are designed within budget and happen on time. While some are at or near state averages and others show some improvement, in almost all categories Gilroy’s state test scores are below minimum state standards. This was true in recent and past rounds of tests. What will you do to improve test scores?I reject the assertion that the district’s scores are “below minimum state standards.” Our CAASPP scores are at or above the statewide average, and we compare favorably to county averages in a number of significant subgroups. And Gilroy’s scores are growing.Of course, I want our scores to increase more. The district is devoting significant resources to ensuring that students are familiar with the online test format and are able to process the new types of questions, and I support adding needed training and technology for this. A reworking of the math curriculum has happened, a shift to next-generation science standards is coming soon, and a plan for replacing textbooks is being implemented; all these changes and more should cause test scores to continue to climb.However, one test should not be the single measure of the quality of our schools. By many metrics, our district is doing well. The graduation rate is up; the dropout rate is down. Advanced Placement options have doubled in recent years. Meeting University of California entrance requirements is now the default for students. Opportunities abound to be parts of specialized programs, such as the Bioscience Academy, the Spanish/English Dual Immersion program, FFA, gifted and talented programs, and GECA, our highly ranked high school on the Gavilan College campus. The community service requirement is producing young people who understand the value in giving back. There are many career technical education offerings, teaching skills such as metalworking, computer programming, biotechnology, auto maintenance, and culinary arts. We have music options at all levels, including choir from fourth grade up and band from fifth grade up. Students shine in the wonderful theater and visual arts programs. A wide variety of sports and athletic options are available. District programs focused on school climate are creating welcoming environments where students can comfortably be themselves without fear. Teachers and staff are dedicated professionals. Our campuses are safe, secure, and well maintained.I am very proud to be a parent of two Gilroy Unified students, and glad for all the opportunities my children have had. Their experiences have been much more than the score on one test.Gilroy’s public charter school, Gilroy Prep, has consistently been one of the highest scoring schools in the state in key categories and grades tested. Should GP’s methods be mandatory in all GUSD elementary schools and why or why not?GPS has done well on state standardized tests, and their team has been generous with sharing their successful strategies. The district has made regular visits to see their program in action, and one school has a strong working relationship with GPS, where good ideas are passed back and forth. I think this partnership between the district and GPS is valuable, and I hope it continues. Some of their practices are not appropriate or possible at Gilroy Unified schools, for a variety of reasons, including funding, differences in the law, and staffing-related issues.       

Gilroy

Gilroy has lost small businesses to other cities and frustrated others with what’s seen as hostility and over-regulation that created a seething cold war between City Hall and Main Street.It’s too late for merchants who fled or closed, but new signs point to a possible ceasefire, a thaw, more cooperation and a revitalization of what has been an ailing historic downtown business district.“There was a time when all you had to do was look at anybody from the city and the answer was no, or the answer was so obviously unhelpful you did not know how to proceed,” said Linda Williams, who quit her job in biotech and, with no retail experience, bought the long-established Nimble Thimble Quilt Shop and moved it into an aging downtown storefront she purchased and renovated at 7455 Monterey Road.Now, she said, “I am starting to change my mind, I am guardedly optimistic.”Downtown activist Gary Walton has done business in Gilroy for 30 years. He, too, detects a change for the better.“I have a lot of faith, I am actually optimistic about downtown,” he said, two days after showing a prospective new downtown businessman around.It’s time for the city and merchants to pull together and stop being adversaries, according to Walton.“If the city staff understands this is a partnership, rather than ‘we need to control those dirty bastards and make them crawl through broken glass,’ we are going to do a lot in the future,” he said.What has been so frustrating, he said, is “the city has absolutely no road map that tells how to get a permit, no timelines for the process. Other cities have flow charts for the process. If Gilroy would clearly spell out the steps and give you a road map and tell you how long it takes, instead of it all being hit and miss.”Merchants complain that the city doesn’t provide much help getting through a maze of rules and point to a lack of help from city staff—concerning permits for signage, expansion, licensing and earthquake safety—making it extremely complicated to open a mom and pop store.Examples of discord reveal a continuum of clashes that have pitted the city against merchants for years, most notably during the reigns of former city manager Tom Haglund and former Mayor Don Gage, according to some critics.Gage has been accused in the past of trying to force his esthetic likes and dislikes down the throats of a unhappy merchants with repressive design standards and bans on certain types of businesses.He and Haglund resigned last year and relieved and hopeful merchants point to other changes in key city positions that could augur a newer, kinder relationship with the merchant community.Take auto-related businesses, for example, which Gage repeatedly tried to ban from the downtown while encouraging them along the freeway. The city has since backed off on that downtown restriction, according to Walton.But not before there was damage. With a small desk, filing cabinets and a phone—nothing that smacked of the automobile industry—John Trinchero ran a successful car wholesale business at a 7810 Monterey Street storefront for 23 years until 2012.His family ran businesses in town since the 1920s, including its first pizza parlor and the old Hecker Pass Inn that fed diners for 50 years on First Street.At 73, Trinchero wanted to retire and for two years tried to turn the business over to his European university-educated son.But that required a new business license for the proposed new ownership, the city told him, which would trigger a city law that at the time banned auto-related businesses in the downtown that did not exist before its passage, according to Trinchero, now 77.He reluctantly closed shop and retired and his son returned to Europe. He still is bitter.“Opening a small business in Gilroy and getting the city to let you operate after you open is near impossible,” Trinchero wrote about the situation. “Dealing with city employees who seem to be trained to keep small businesses [tied up] with so much red tape you just give up,” he wrote.In an interview this week he said, “These are just mom and pop businesses, but you can’t get any help from the city.”Another merchant said her sales fell 20 percent and she was threatened with fines when the city enacted a new sign ordinance that many found overbearing.“They try to squeeze money out of you any way they can,” she said of the citations and regulations.She opposed the Gage-led Measure F, a proposed city sales tax hike that voters rejected last year, wondering why people would buy in Gilroy if the tax had passed.She and her husband wanted to purchase and renovate an old building for their business and met with city leaders, but were so badly treated they gave up and opted for Morgan Hill, she said. New city leadership is no better than the old, she said, calling Gilroy “a nightmare” to deal with.“When Walmart came in the city waived so many things, but for small businesses they won’t waive anything,” she said. “I love Gilroy, but for a small business Morgan Hill is much more embracing, they were welcoming.”She asked not to be identified, fearing retaliation by the city if she ever tries to return.Walton was not surprised. Her reaction, he said, “is not unusual. It is really sad when people fear their government, it shows that people feel that it is corrupt and not fair.”At Predator’s Archery on Monterey Road, a half-block south of the iconic Old City Hall, owners Curtis Campisi and Mike Pierce have in 23 years turned a $10,000 investment into an international business that grosses $1.1 million a year and employs a half-dozen people. Among the state’s 25 archery dealers, it ranks fourth in sales, Campisi said.When they tried to expand into a next-door storefront for a second indoor archery range, they were shocked by the city’s response.The city halted the project, demanded a new, wooden design to meet historic standards and slapped them with an additional $4,000 permit fee for being in a historic district.That brought the fees to $8,000 on a project budgeted to cost $5,000, Campisi said. And when it came to knowing exactly how to proceed, the city was no help, the Gilroy native said.“They need a resource liaison, someone who will hold [applicants’] hands and tell them the guidelines,” Campisi said.After more meetings, Campisi seems confident that at least some of the fee will be reduced. Still, he questioned the $4,000 fee and what it actually pays for.At the Nimble Thimble, Williams said ending friction between the city and merchants boils down to keeping the lines of communication open.“I really do think in the last six months things have gotten much, much better,” she said.In spite of what she was put through, Williams said, “I am glad I did it. I moved from Pasadena to Gilroy and I love it. I want to be part of downtown and I want it to be a good town, the kind I want to live in—we just have some things to figure out.”Walton is determined to figure out and fix things and, characteristically, is operating beyond the city’s reach to do so.He is forming a design committee made up of professionals who will voluntarily assist merchants with their issues, to fill the void he believes has been created by a city staff and leadership that has not been people- or business-friendly.The committee will prepare merchants before they ever approach the city, Walton said.Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, he said, citing studies that show cities that welcome and help them are more economically vital than those that don’t. Indeed, downtown merchants as a group are one of the city’s largest employers, he said. The welcoming must start at the top, Walton continued. The smooth to rough cycles the city goes through in dealing with merchants are tied to its leadership, and it’s the tone of that leadership that is reflected in the way the staff handles small businesses, he said.“You have to be business-friendly in order to accomplish the economic development this community needs; there is an inverse relationship between the amount of regulation and amount of business in a community,” he said.But there are signs that things indeed are improving, according to the longtime businessman.In his tireless efforts to attract businesses to town, Walton last Saturday walked through several vacant stores with a bookshop owner contemplating relocating his store from Mountain View to Gilroy. A top city planning staffer showed up to help.“On her own time,” Walton said. “That is a good sign.”