Politics

The people who run Gilroy’s cold weather shelter are changing direction, making the center a refuge that provides services, rather than a place for quick stops. Jan Bernstein Chargin, who runs the Compassion Center, explains why this could help and what other new services will be available. 1. What is the new admittance policy at the Gilroy Armory Cold Weather Shelter? Why did that come about and what are the aims of the change?A: Through this winter, the Gilroy Armory Cold Weather Shelter has been "first come, first serve" each night. People would leave in the morning not knowing if they would have a place to sleep the following night. In order to ensure getting a space, therefore, people had to line up early, and carry all of their belongings with them, every day. This makes it hard to look for work, go to school, or work on long-term solutions. We have asked that, starting next year, the shelter be operated on a case management basis -- with associated day services and a referral process. Once admitted, individuals will know they have their spot assured for the season, and will be able to work towards their goals for stability, jobs, and housing. Another change we have requested is that homeless individuals from South County be given preference for the spaces at the shelter. This year, for the first time, the North County shelter was operated on a referral basis, only accepting referrals from North County agencies. That left the Gilroy shelter as the only one in the county operating as a first-come, first-serve countywide shelter. The police department believes this had detrimental impacts on the community.2. How could "tiny homes" be used to address home insecurity in Gilroy? What are the challenges in implementing such an initiative? What is the status of "tiny homes" in Gilroy?A: Communities around the nation are starting to consider and develop "tiny homes" as one of the ways of addressing homelessness. The benefits are that they can be used for short-term shelter or longer-term housing at a much lower cost than traditional construction. They can offer the privacy and autonomy that is impossible in a typical "shelter" configuration, as well as an attractive community setting. The challenge is to identify and get through all of the regulatory obstacles. Because this is such a new approach, our codes and ordinances have not yet caught up with it. The City of Fresno has recently adopted an ordinance addressing Tiny Homes that could be a starting point for Gilroy. We are planning an open house for our prototype Tiny Home (see photos on our Facebook page) [ https://www.facebook.com/gilroycompassioncenter/ ]Gilroy Compassion Center. (Date to be announced.) The Gilroy Housing Advisory Committee ( I am a member) has asked if we could bring the Tiny Home (currently located at Los Banos RV, where it was built) for the May 16 City Council meeting. I am working to see if this will be possible. This first Tiny Home is funded by Santa Clara County.3. Please provide a comment on the Compassion Center moving to a new location in June. Do you expect to provide similar services?A: We are hoping to be able to announce our new location very shortly. We are indebted to Jim Currier, owner of Flowstar, for his generosity in providing us a building to use rent-free for the first five years of our existence. Without Jim, there would be no Gilroy Compassion Center. However, now that he is selling the building, we are looking towards the future in a new location. We hope to be able to provide most of the current services: mail and message center, HMIS (County database), referrals, transportation assistance, clothing, hygiene supplies, bathrooms, daytime respite from the streets.4. We always hear that localities up north are "transporting" or "bussing" or in some way, migrating homeless folks to south county and Gilroy, especially. What do you say to this? How does closing a shelter in San Jose or clearing a homeless encampment in another jurisdiction impact homeless populations in Gilroy?A: The majority of people who are homeless in Gilroy at any point in time are long term residents, formerly HOUSED in Gilroy. Many of them grew up here, went to school here, had businesses here! The second-largest group is from Morgan Hill / San Martin. That being said, in the winter when the armory has been open, we have often seen many individuals who come to Gilroy to access the armory.However, it should also be remembered that homeless Gilroy residents also go to San Jose and Morgan Hill to access shelter, housing, transitional housing, and other services. There is no year-round shelter in Gilroy, no women's shelter, no year-round family shelter,-- for these services our residents must often go to other cities.5. I was told at Destination:Home that there are currently new housing projects underway in San Jose, as adding new housing units is critical in addressing homelessness in the region. Do you expect that new housing being constructed north of the county will impact homeless populations here in Gilroy? Do you know of any plans to construct new housing for the home insecure here in Gilroy?A: Disclosure - I am a board member for Destination: Home. Our Community Plan to End Homelessness calls for the construction of 5,000 additional units of affordable housing. We know that the best way to END homelessness is with permanent housing. In order to succeed, we need every community to participate. San Jose has made a strong commitment and is getting started on several new projects. Although Gilroy has several low-income projects in the pipeline, they will still be too expensive for most of the people who are homeless. We need a lot more housing that is affordable for people at the lowest end of the income scale -- what is called Extremely Low Income. These are households whose primary source of income is SSI, other benefits, or minimum wage. The need is so great that it will take years of construction before we "see" an impact -- however, we know how much it means to our clients when they get housing, and we have certainly seen people housed in San Jose when units have become available.6. What are the needs of the Compassion Center? I see that a golf tournament is coming up in June -- how do you stand in donations? How much support do you receive from the city of Gilroy?A: Money! We gratefully accept donations and encourage friends and supporters to support our first Golf tournament on June 24. Money is an ongoing need, so that we can keep the doors open. We have two grants from the City of Gilroy -- one from the Housing Trust Fund and one through CDBG ( Community Development Block Grant). Together these will provide roughly $48K for the Day Center next year. The Day Center operates with just one paid staff member, our Program Director Daleen Pearce -- all the rest are volunteers.We have also received grants from Santa Clara County  -- $10K for the Tiny Home, and roughly $90K this past winter to help 21 homeless families with motel vouchers and case management. We were also recently granted a contract to put together a proposal for Nontraditional Housing -- we will be really working through the plan to create a Tiny Homes Village in Gilroy (and also one farther north.)Needs include volunteers, both in the trenches and on the Board of Directors and Advisory Board, and donation of the supplies we use every day.7. I see a gofundme.com fundraising campaign for tents for the homeless in Gilroy. What are the merits in this type of activity? The county rejected a proposal last year to extend stays in county parks for the homeless, with supervisor Wasserman publicly saying the parks intended use was for recreation - not housing.A: The Almost Home Camping program began as a pilot project in 2014-- Due to the cost and logistics it is a very small program -- two to four campsites at a time (there are hundreds of campsites in the county park system so the impact is negligible.) Many people don't realize that staying in campgrounds is a strategy often used by homeless people whether or not the Compassion Center is involved. Our campers have provided referrals for help to many of the homeless they have met at the campgrounds. Because there is no year-round shelter in South County, and it is illegal to camp outside of the campgrounds, there really are not many better options yet.Although the request for extended stays was rejected, we are still able to help people use the campgrounds under the same criteria and cost as any other camper -- no more than 14 days at any one park within a 45 day period, and no more than 14 days at any one park between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The moves are frequent, and the situation is far from ideal, but it provides access to showers and sanitation, a safe and legal place to sleep, and transportation to jobs and appointments in town. Through this program, children have been able to attend school, people have been able to seek and maintain employment, and make other progress towards self-sufficiency. Some of our campers have moved on to permanent housing while others have upgraded to RV's and private campground memberships. The program is funded privately by individuals and churches, and the money, (many thousands of dollars), has gone to the County Parks in the form of camping fees. We continue to seek land to develop a dedicated campground  -- if that happens, we will no longer need to use the park campgrounds.8. Anything else you'd like to add.A: As we move forward, looking at alternatives, like campgrounds, Tiny Homes, shelter operations, I am hoping that we can keep the conversation compassionate and respectful. When we talk about homeless people we are talking about mothers, fathers, children, sisters, brothers, daughters and sons. People who are homeless have family members and friends who are not homeless.  Children who are homeless attend local schools. In any gathering, at any meeting, and certainly on any social media page, there are people who have been homeless, or who have loved ones who are or who have been homeless.  Hateful language makes it difficult for people to speak from their experience, and to work together on solutions.

Growth, growth and more growth. Possibly more than any other member of the Gilroy City Council, Cat Tucker has had to ponder the impacts of growth in Gilroy and surrounding communities. She served as vice chair of the Gilroy General Plan Advisory Committee and chaired the board of LAFCO of Santa Clara County. In this Q&A, Tucker talks about how LAFCO decisions impact South County cities and how Gilroy can maintain its identity as it continues to grow.

Wearing t-shirts with “Stomp out Sprawl” emblazoned across their chests and carrying two large file boxes filled with more than 3,500 signed petitions in support of an urban growth boundary (UGB) for Gilroy, the folks of Gilroy Growing Smarter (GGS) were in a celebratory mood on Monday at City Hall.

Greeted by nearly two dozen people who came to express concern Monday over a proposed zoning change, the City Council unanimously denied an application that would have cleared the way for construction of 16 two-story “duet-style” single-family homes along Hecker Pass Road.

Gilroy voters received a note last week from its schools chief, a four-page plug for Measure E, the $170 million bond question on the June 7 ballot to fix and build schools—and pay employee salaries, it turns out.

Perry Woodward is more than the mayor of Gilroy. He’s been on the Valley Transportation Authority for seven years and was its chair last year. He now chairs the Caltrain board. These are two of the most important groups overseeing area transit.

Gilroy residents can learn more about a possible half-cent sales tax measure to fund countywide transportation at a public meeting Tuesday, May 3 at 7 p.m. at Gilroy City Hall.The first in a series to be held in the county throughout the month, attendees will have an opportunity to provide input on the transportation projects and programs that have been identified through the Envision Silicon Valley process, an effort started last year by Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority.Under the aegis of Envision Silicon Valley, Gilroy and the 15 other jurisdictions of the VTA identified approximately $47 billion in transportation projects they want to see funded through a possible sales tax measure for the November ballot.“This is a good opportunity for people who want to know more and talk with the VTA and see the plan,” said Mayor Perry Woodward, who is a member of the VTA Board.“If there is a project that folks want to see on this ballot measure, that isn’t on it, or something is on it they feel shouldn’t be on it, this is your opportunity to come and be heard.”The proposed half-cent sales tax measure would be for 30 years and go towards easing congestion in the region.“We are sending 12,000-14,000 commuters into Silicon Valley each day to work—five of the seven City Council members included—and the congestion is terrible, and this will help deal with that,” said Woodward.“It’s important from a quality-of-life standpoint for our residents, but it is also important for the economic vitality of South County,” he continued. “If something is not done, and it takes two hours to get to Silicon Valley, then we are like Los Banos or King City, in terms of our travel time. That would be a very negative thing to our economic development.”The potential sales tax measure would help fund projects both big and small, including Phase 2 of the BART extension into Santa Clara and downtown San Jose, as well as road improvements in Gilroy.“It would give us $1 million a year for street maintenance,” said Woodward. “There is always a lot of talk about the need for additional funding for street maintenance and this extra $1 million a year would help fill that missing gap.”According to the most recent State of the Streets Report, Gilroy needs to spend about $3.3 million per year for the city to meet its own target of a Pavement Condition Index score of 70. Current funding level is about $300,000 per year.Other projects identified for funding through the possible sales tax measure include a new interchange at Highway 25 and Highway 101, replacing the temporary intersection that was installed in the 1980s and extending Santa Teresa Boulevard to South San Jose.“So if you were coming from Hollister and you wanted to take a back way and not get on Highway 101, you could take Highway 25 to Santa Teresa and continue all the way into South San Jose. It creates a whole new corridor for regional traffic,” Woodward said.After the public meetings, the VTA board will vote in June putting the half-cent sales tax measure on the November ballot. Once there, It would require a two-thirds voter majority to pass. For more information go to: www.vta.org/envision-silicon-valley/envision-silicon-valley

“The learning curve is very steep,” said Daniel Harney, regarding his first 100 days as a member of the Gilroy City Council.Selected to fill the vacancy following former mayor Don Gage’s retirement in December, Harney stepped up to the dais Jan. 25.Not one to sit back and watch everyone else at work, over the course of the last three months the eBay executive, husband and father of two helped select new City Administrator Gabriel Gonzalez as a member of the selection subcommittee and supported the city’s move to join the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority, becoming Gilroy’s representative on that initiative’s governing board in the process.“Gilroy is the fourth-largest energy consumer in the county and joining the SVCE authority provides our city the ability to purchase electricity from a higher percentage of renewable energy sources, helps lower Gilroy’s greenhouse gas emissions and gives our residents more consumer choice—versus PG&E,” said Harney.“More importantly, it sends a clear and direct message to other Silicon Valley cities that Gilroy will be a leader when it comes to sustainability and resolving shared problems in our county.”Messaging is a major concern for Harney, who feels the city suffers from a problem of misperception based on misinformation.“When I’m out speaking with people, they tell me they don’t go downtown because of the crime problems downtown. Some of the lowest crime rates are downtown,” said Harney.“There is a ton of misinformation out there and there is a lack of dialogue. People have a perception of something; they hold on to that perception and then it becomes a reality. Communication, different channels of communication, can change all that.”Harney said he would like Gilroy residents to be excited and proud of their city.“Gilroy is experiencing somewhat of a renaissance. Our population is becoming more diverse, culturally and demographically. Our wine and tourism industry continues to grow; our downtown and industrial vacancies are much lower than in recent years.”While there are problems—“our roads may not be in the best condition and our growth plan is not resolved,” Harney stresses that Gilroy “is heading in the right direction” and that residents must not lose focus on the fundamentals, to “remain financially sustainable, grow our economy, upgrade our city infrastructure and create a livable community for all.”Many of the issues Gilroy is currently grappling with are not unique to the southernmost city in Santa Clara County.“Many neighboring Silicon Valley cities face the same problems that we are facing, including water, transportation, deteriorating road conditions and planning for high speed rail,” he said. “We need to ensure that we are properly positioned and represented in many of the Santa Clara County cooperatives that help resolve issues with growth.”As for the debate over the proposed urban growth boundary (UGB) initiative brought by the citizen action group Gilroy Growing Smarter in reaction to the contentious 721-acre Rancho Los Olivos housing project formerly proposed for land north of the city, Harney admits the “community remains divided on how and when to grow.“Understanding the key issues of the UGB is important and is why I supported the decision to fund an independent analysis of the impacts to schools, housing, traffic and the fiscal impact this change may have on the city.”At the April 18 City Council meeting, the council approved a further $75,000 to fund an independent report on the impacts of the citizen-led UGB initiative, bringing the total approved funding to $150,000.

A Gilroy woman said she alerted Gilroy High School officials and police more than a year ago to sexual texts sent by Gilroy High School science teacher Doug Le—who was arrested April 26 on suspicion of soliciting lewd pictures from minors—but nothing was done.