Hollister officials Monday took a symbolic step forward on the $4.1 million west side beautification project by approving an engineering contract amendment for the first phase.
Council members approved the $10,500 amendment with San Benito Engineering for preparation of plans and specifications, and agreed to set aside another $100,000 in proceeds from the city’s sale of land now used for Walgreens to help fund the first phase.
That first phase, which involves a roundabout a San Juan and Graf roads, would cost about $1.1 million, planning official Mary Paxton told council members. The city has just under $900,000 in former redevelopment agency funds left from a 2009 bond to use toward the project, so the $100,000 is meant to help fill the funding gap.
The West Gateway Streetscape Beautification Capital Improvement Project is a $4.2 million endeavor intended to reduce blight on the west side. Council members first approved an engineering contract on the project in February 2010, but the city has been held up by lacking funds to move ahead.
Paxton indicated planning officials hope to progress in phases as funding becomes available.
“If we just get this started, it starts to create a visual transition to the west gateway,” she said.
She talked about plans for a roundabout at Graf Road and noted the wide intersection. The roundabout would replace the lighted signal there now.
“It gives the driver a lot of comfort in speeding,” she said. “If you come to a roundabout, no matter what, you have to slow down. And that’s traffic calming.”
Councilwoman Mickie Luna represents the west side and mentioned how the city expects to progress on a downtown plan as well. She was concerned about construction schedules possibly overlapping, causing congestion issues.
She and other council members considered another matter for the west side Monday, as they approved pre-zoning the 52-acre area known as Brigantino Park—it is primarily used as a spray field for the city’s wastewater operations—as “public facility/institutional zoning.”
Avera explained that it isn’t an actual park and shouldn’t be considered one. The move Monday opens the door for future annexation of the land, west of the San Benito Bridge and south of San Juan Road, into city limits.
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