”
Hey Red Phone, what is being done about the old Washington
Mutual Building
… a total eyesore to downtown on the corner of Monterey and
Fourth?
”
“Hey Red Phone, what is being done about the old Washington Mutual Building … a total eyesore to downtown on the corner of Monterey and Fourth?”
Dear Clean it Up,
Red Phone contacted Planning Manager Bill Faus, who said not only is it an eyesore, but a testament to the never ending financial climate we are all experiencing.
“Our enforcement team is currently working with the bank that now holds the paper, however, that process is slow due to the mountain of other properties they also own,” he said. “We have not lost focus on this property, and will stay with it until the situation is rectified.”
So good caller, it appears the struggling economy is having an impact not only on the market, jobs and housing, but is also impacting the way downtown Gilroy looks. We can only hope things turnaround – and they eventually will – sooner, rather than later.
Was Community Pulse biased?
“Each week you have the Community Pulse question along with the week’s Web poll. Two weeks ago the Community Pulse question and the Web poll was “If you could vote for a president right now, who would you vote for?” My question is, was it intentional on the Dispatch’s part to have that poll be directly after the Democratic convention? I thought maybe you’d do it again after the Republican convention, but as I see in today’s paper, that’s not the case. It might have been a little less biased to wait until both conventions were over to poll the community as well as your panel.”
Judy, Judy, Judy …
No, no, well, not really. Since things had heated up, we thought it an appropriate time and didn’t really mean it to be a “Barack Obameter.” Red Phone will politely consider your suggestion/complaint and register it with the proper polling authority. The PPA, since mail-in ballots are due out shortly, will no doubt consider that it might be a good time to take another whack at it. Maybe we’ll ask readers who they intend to vote for: Sarah Palin or Joe Biden …
It’s much too expensive to take an average family to Gilroy Gardens
“Red Phone, Bonfante Gardens, now Gilroy Gardens, has failed because it charges too much for an average family. Cost to get admission and parking – pricey! Also, the food vendors’ prices are ridiculous. If the prices were reduced, many more families could enjoy the wonderful place so close to home.
The average wage earner, especially with young children, can’t afford the prices.”
Dear Can’t Afford it,
Now that the city has purchased the park and the lease with Cedar Fair expires in February 2009, the city council and the park’s board of directors are looking at ways to improve the park.
On Sept, 15, the city council decided against spending $150,000 on an architectural landscaper to help plan the longterm future of the park. Instead they opted to save the money and directed city staff to assemble a group of community members to generate ideas.
One idea put forth by a Florida company is to create a water park for children. Other ideas include selling part of the land to an open space authority and selling a sliver of land to the Eagle Ridge development southeast of the park.
Regardless of what path the park takes into the future, visitors and city officials have remarked that the park needs a facelift in general, and tax returns from 2007 add to the bleak picture.
Councilman Dion Bracco – who serves on the ad hoc subcommittee along with Councilmen Bob Dillon and Perry Woodward – said attendance also continues to drag along with the larger economy. So good caller, it appears changes are on the horizon.
