It’s all important that the Downtown Specific Plan Task Force
assembled by the city keep moving forward to avoid the irritating
inertia that seems to plague every attempt to revitalize Gilroy’s
beleaguered city core.
It’s all important that the Downtown Specific Plan Task Force assembled by the city keep moving forward to avoid the irritating inertia that seems to plague every attempt to revitalize Gilroy’s beleaguered city core.
That inertia nearly reared its ugly head once again.
This time, a city-sponsored grant application was accompanied by an ever-so-subtle suggestion that the the recently formed Downtown Specific Plan Task Force might have to slow its important work. Why? So that the city can attempt to win a $280,000 federal revitalization grant to help downtown, which, if awarded, might put the city in line for even more funding. It seems the grant rules require that a specific plan not even be in the draft stage in order to qualify for the federal funds to pay for a consultant as well as marketing and economic studies.
Any federal money would be, of course, welcome, especially in these tight economic times. And the siren call of future funding for revitalizing downtown is certainly hard to resist.
Given Gilroy’s history, we wouldn’t have been surprised if the committee that was just starting to build steam in its daunting task – coming up with specific ideas to transform Gilroy’s city center – settled into cruise control for six months.
But to their credit, they chose the path less travelled and have decided to keep on working toward the goal.
It is irritating frankly that the suggestion to halt work was even made. And it’s frustratingly typical of the one-step-forward, two-steps-backward process that’s kept Gilroy’s downtown downtrodden for so many years. It seems city leaders can find more excuses to put a flourishing downtown on the back burner than Gilroy has garlic.
That the members of the task force have decided to keep meeting and working, is the first real hopeful sign regarding downtown in many a year. Breaking the bureaucratic logjam on downtown policy will require sheer force of will repeatedly demonstrated by the task force.
Keeping that momentum going won’t be an easy task. But this group is a four-star cast. They have creative ideas, the ability to make connections with people, businesses and institutions, and most of all, they have taken an early united stand that strongly suggests they won’t take “no” for an answer.
That’s what it’s going to take to transform downtown and rally the community support needed to rebuild our city center.
