 After years of piecemeal fixes to Gilroy’s cracked and uprooted
sidewalks, councilmen may form a citizen’s task force charged with
tackling all aspects of the city-wide problem.
”
This is not as simple as a money issue,
”
City Administrator Jay Baksa said.
”
This has got to do with right-of-ways, liabilities, a whole
bunch of things. (The task force) will get people involved. This
isn’t as simple as throwing money at the issue.
”
Gilroy – After years of piecemeal fixes to Gilroy’s cracked and uprooted sidewalks, councilmen may form a citizen’s task force charged with tackling all aspects of the city-wide problem.
“This is not as simple as a money issue,” City Administrator Jay Baksa said. “This has got to do with right-of-ways, liabilities, a whole bunch of things. (The task force) will get people involved. This isn’t as simple as throwing money at the issue.”
The city has struggled to do even that in recent years, as annual funding has dwindled and waiting lists have grown longer for the 50/50 program, which splits the cost of sidewalk repairs with homeowners. Even as the city resumes its annual contributions to the program – officials included $75,000 in the current budget after two years of zero funding – officials are looking for ways to shift more liability on homeowners for “trip and fall” accidents. Those types of claims represent the leading source of lawsuits against the city.
During informal policy discussions Friday, Mayor Al Pinheiro insisted that a task force could tackle all the legal and financial issues at once.
“I want to get the citizens involved,” Pinheiro stressed, arguing that community involvement could soften the blow if the city ends up having to make cuts or ask voters for bond money to repair damaged sidewalks.
Walter Schinke, a member of the Physically Challenged Board of Appeals, told councilmen at the meeting that senior citizens and disabled residents face challenges negotiating the city’s sidewalks. Officials’ first priority, he said, should be locating the problem areas and ranking them by severity.
“Walk the streets and plot the sidewalks and prioritize,” he exhorted officials.
But not all councilmen favor the idea of a case-by-case approach.
Councilmen Bob Dillon and Russ Valiquette, for instance, have advocated a bond measure, or cuts in programs or services, to fix sidewalks throughout the city. Even after the meeting, Dillon remained skeptical of a task force’s usefulness.
“How long is it going to take?” he asked. “Are we going to get this rolled up in a year or 45 days? If you tell me the answer to that, I’ll tell you my position. I’m generally opposed to studying things to death.
“I think (the task force) is a shotgun approach and we ought to use a rifle,” Dillon added. “We know what the problem is. We have for years. Let’s find the money.”
Pinheiro urged a more measured approach, however, arguing that sidewalks compete against a number of other “unfunded liabilities” such as storm drains and sewers.
For the moment, the majority of councilmen seem to favor the task force option. Council is expected to appoint members in the fall. Residents interested in serving on the task force should contact City Hall at 846-0202.
