The little mission town of San Juan Bautista, with a population of approximately 1,906, has had a professional civil engineer as its city manager since July 2011.
Note: This is part of the annual Pride section included with this week’s edition of the Free Lance.
The little mission town of San Juan Bautista, with a population of approximately 1,906, has had a professional civil engineer as its city manager since July 2011.
A native of neighboring Hollister, Roger Grimsley graduated from San Jose State University and worked in Los Gatos and Campbell until his wife, Toni, also a Hollister native, persuaded him to return home and open his consulting civil engineering business in their hometown. In 1972 he was hired by the City of Hollister as the director of Public Works and city engineer and soon after became the city manager. He was there for 10 years until he retired in 1982.
Three and a half years ago, while happily retired, Roger was asked to take on, and accepted, the city manager’s job in San Juan Bautista. He loves his job, his staff of nine dedicated employees and the citizens, although the job has not been without its challenges.
The beautiful mission town has had some bad luck with its now-dormant chamber of commerce. Four and a half years ago, the San Juan Bautista chamber closed its doors due to some misappropriation of funds. Since that time, a group of local business owners and citizens have filled the void calling itself the “San Juan Committee” (not wanting to be affiliated with the prior chamber of commerce) to promote and advertise the town for tourism and a step back in time of early California history. The San Juan Committee has made great strides in promoting San Juan Bautista to the surrounding communities of Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara.
Grimsley, the San Juan Bautista Planning Commission and the San Juan City Council have also made significant efforts to bring in new businesses and, most recently, an automobile fueling station with a convenience store and restaurant at the south end of town on Highway 156 and The Alameda. This would bring in new sales and gasoline tax revenue and provide employment to about 20 people. However, because of objections from some residents, the project has stalled and is in superior court awaiting a hearing.
Although a new residential subdivision Creekbridge was built in 2000 at the north end of town, there is a concerted effort among many in the community to maintain its historical California mission architecture and ambiance.
Says Grimsley: “In 2007, the council adopted an ordinance against big box stores in order to restrict franchise businesses and to maintain the early California history of our mission. In traveling while on vacation to foreign places such as Norway, Rome and Amsterdam, I have seen how they have incorporated franchise buildings to blend in with their history and architecture. I feel this can also be in done in San Juan Bautista.”
In 2013, the council rescinded the “no franchise ordinance” and replaced it with a more lenient statute. But this too was challenged with a lawsuit and has been rescinded to avoid a costly legal fight.
On the plus side, since December 2014, the water situation is now resolved and nitrates are no longer a problem in the city’s wells. Residents, restaurants and visitors no longer have to worry about their water’s safety.
Last spring it was discovered that the nitrate level in Well # 2 was too high for human consumption due to a sanitary sewer main fracturing and spewing effluent. Residents and businesses were asked to purchase and use only bottled water from June to December.
This fracture has now been repaired and Well #2 is pumping water below the maximum contaminant limit of 45 milligrams per liter. The town has a 1.3 million gallon reservoir uphill that can provide approximately one week’s supply of clean water for everyone in the event of a town well’s failure or a power outage. The city is proceeding on drilling a new fourth well.
In this time of extreme drought, great efforts have been made to educate the public about conserving water in their homes and businesses. Informational leaflets are available in the city hall lobby.
Grimsley says when he went to high school in Hollister in the 1940s, San Juan Bautista did not have a high school so all the kids had to be bussed to high school in Hollister. As a result, he knows many of the people in this community and has a soft spot in his heart for it.
“It’s like coming home,” he says.
Good friend and fellow Hollister High classmate, Gordon Mochado, says Grimsley “has always been a worker and can do anything he sets his mind to.”
“He has talent, ingenuity, tenacity, and one way or another, whatever needs to be done, he can make it happen. San Juan Bautista is lucky to have him as city manager,” Machado says.
