Gavilan holds forum to gain community feedback
The overwhelming sentiment at a public forum this week on
Gavilan College expansion was that residents desire the temporary
campus close to downtown, with an outspoken group citing preference
for the Leatherback site on McCray Street. Students said they
wanted expanded program offerings in San Benito, such as a dental
hygiene programs, science and astronomy labs, and a campus close to
where they live.
More than 70 community members turned up to the meeting July 19
hosted by the Gavilan College Ad Hoc Committee on Off-site
Educational Centers to gather input on a temporary expansion site
for the community college.
”
A significant number of students in San Benito are enrolled at
the main campus,
”
said Trustee Kent Child, referring to the Gilroy campus.
”
We’ve exceeded the capacity at the Gilroy campus and at the
Briggs building.
”
Child added that one-third of the students enrolled in Gavilan
College are from San Benito County.
Gavilan holds forum to gain community feedback
The overwhelming sentiment at a public forum this week on Gavilan College expansion was that residents desire the temporary campus close to downtown, with an outspoken group citing preference for the Leatherback site on McCray Street. Students said they wanted expanded program offerings in San Benito, such as a dental hygiene programs, science and astronomy labs, and a campus close to where they live.
More than 70 community members turned up to the meeting July 19 hosted by the Gavilan College Ad Hoc Committee on Off-site Educational Centers to gather input on a temporary expansion site for the community college.
“A significant number of students in San Benito are enrolled at the main campus,” said Trustee Kent Child, referring to the Gilroy campus. “We’ve exceeded the capacity at the Gilroy campus and at the Briggs building.”
Child added that one-third of the students enrolled in Gavilan College are from San Benito County.
College needs 500 FTEs
The discussion of a temporary site has come up because Gavilan College trustees and staff are looking to expand class availability in San Benito County so that they can get 500 full-time equivalent students, which would then allow the area to achieve educational center status. The step is required before the college can become eligible for capital construction money to build on their permanent site location on Fairview Road. Gavilan College President Steve Kinsella said the Briggs building houses 280 to 300 “FTE” students.
“We need to have a site to generate 500 FTEs,” Kinsella said. “No decision has been made. There is no favorite project. We are looking for information. It is a blank slate. It is completely open.”
The point of the meeting was to gather public input on preferred locations for the temporary site – which trustees pointed out may be used for upwards of 20 years until the full campus on Fairview Road is built out. The 80-acre site was purchased in 2007 for $8 million – $100,000 per acre for the 80-acre lot. The purchase of the site was funded through Measure E funds, which were approved in March 2004.
The Ad Hoc Committee includes trustees Elvira Robinson and Child, of Hollister, and Laura Perry, of Morgan Hill.
“We have to double the location we have,” Robinson said, adding that the board would like to create partnerships in the community and have a presence downtown.
Perry said one of the options discussed is putting portable buildings on property the college already owns, such as the Fairview location.
“It’s sort of the last thing we want to do,” she said. “There’s almost no difference between driving to the main campus.”
Robinson said she has heard that there is some interest in keeping the temporary site running even after the full campus on Fairview Road is complete. Kinsella said the state chancellor’s office, which governs community colleges, allows for a full campus and multiple education centers in close proximity.
“The community college district can have as many campuses as it can support,” he said. “Full campuses have to be 10 miles apart. There is no requirement for educational centers.”
Kinsella said that one of the biggest challenges facing a permanent and temporary site is that the location has to meet Title 24 building standards for earthquake safety, which he said even buildings from the mid-1990s may not meet. In order to use an existing building, the trustees have to have a structural engineer sign off on it and if they use a new location, they may have to do trenching to assure the location is not on a fault line.
“To invest that kind of money, someone has to pay the cost,” Kinsella said.
Robinson said talks of using the former Fortino’s building on Nash Road were held up because of seismic constraints.
Robinson did express a preference for a temporary location.
“I have an interest in trying to expand at the Briggs building,” she said, “expanding in that grassy area to stay downtown.”
Public offers input
After the trustees and Kinsella spoke, a facilitator opened the floor up to public input, asking people what they want to see, hear and feel from a new environment. Students focused on things such as a computer lab, science labs, a library and full access to student services.
“What we need to identify at the forum is what is wanted and what is needed for students in the foreseeable five to 10 to 20 years so that we can get the magnitude of the buildings needed to meet those needs,” Child said.
Tony Ruiz, a member of the Hollister Independent New Urbanism Research Group, spoke about his preference to have both the temporary and permanent site near downtown Hollister, though trustees were quick to point out that the forum was only focused on the temporary site. He brought up the former Leatherback site, on McCray Street, a location trustees said they had considered.
“Twenty-thousand square feet is 15 classrooms. That’s 450 students every two hours,” he said. “That’s 2,000 people downtown. That’s why going urban puts people downtown – because of the economic impact.”
Robinson mentioned a few of her concerns with the Leatherback site, stating that it is close to a freight train route and a cement factory, and that there are parking issues. Child declined to comment on the closed session discussion surrounding Leatherback, but stated that as a student he attended a college near a jet center and that it was not an ideal setting for a college campus.
“The train comes Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays,” said Gordon Machado, a member of the Hollister Downtown Association and business owner. “The majority of the time it comes at 4 p.m. Every place we look at is going to have faults.”
He said the owner of the cement factory has said they would be willing to move.
Both Robinson and Child expressed a desire for a location with open space.
Leatherback not ‘off the table’
“We had two very well-prepared presentations on Leatherback,” Perry said. “It’s not off the table.”
Don Marcus, of Marcus Building Systems Inc., spoke on behalf of a developer who had proposed a joint project between Gavilan College and the YMCA at the former Leatherback site.
“Ask, what do you want? You want seismic, that’s at the Leatherback site. You want free land, that’s at the Leatherback site. You want 20,000 square feet, that’s at the Leatherback site. You want transit, that’s at the Leatherback site,” Marcus said at the meeting. “If someone offers you a free car with the tires worn, I think you’d take it.”
Marcus said that there is limited time for Gavilan College to make a decision on the Leatherback site because of the deadline for Redevelopment Agency projects.
“Wait 60 to 90 days and it will be off the table,” he said. “I think the traffic, the train and the cement factory can be mitigated.”
In an e-mail sent after the meeting Marcus wrote, “The Hollister Redevelopment Agency is currently bringing the site to a build-able condition. Once complete, the Agency will begin accepting formal proposals for the use of this property. The time line is not clearly defined. If Gavilan remains uncommitted to the site, it will obviously loss the option for a satellite campus at that location.”
He also stated some of the other benefits to the site such as proximity to the downtown and easy walking to nearby stores.
Ruiz and Jerry Muenzer, a member of the HDA and a downtown business owner, both stressed the benefits of a partnership with the YMCA such as access to a swimming pool and other recreational facilities for Gavilan students in San Benito.
“You can’t offer a swimming pool at Briggs,” Muenzer said. “You can’t offer a gym … I don’t think you’d get that at any other site than working with the YMCA.”
A few students expressed support for the Leatherback site, including one who cited issues with traffic at the Briggs building. Others pointed out that the Leatherback site is close to shopping centers, the movie theater and eateries. Others who commute to Gilroy said the drive time makes it hard to manage classes in between work and family obligations.
“Everyone is commuting out for work and commuting out for school,” said Richard Ferreira, a Realtor and developer. “Some of the finest universities are right in the middle of downtowns throughout the nation.”
