What happens in Hollister doesn’t necessarily stay in Hollister.
That’s the lesson the city has been learning the hard way ever
since May 2002’s sewer spill and resulting building moratorium.
Since then, local companies that are unable to expand have been
facing going out of business or relocating, according to local
developer Ken Lindsay.
Hollister – What happens in Hollister doesn’t necessarily stay in Hollister. That’s the lesson the city has been learning the hard way ever since May 2002’s sewer spill and resulting building moratorium. Since then, local companies that are unable to expand have been facing going out of business or relocating, according to local developer Ken Lindsay.
But in a few weeks, the City Council may be looking at legislation that will give businesses that purchased land pre-spill another choice.
Lindsay has helped spearhead an effort that will allow local companies to install septic holding-tanks, independent of Hollister’s struggling sewer system, in order to expand their businesses. The intention is not to encourage wide-spread development, he said, but to help out businesses that were set to build in 2002 but got stonewalled by the moratorium.
“I have a number of companies I’m talking to right now that won’t consider Hollister because they don’t want to get caught up in all this (the moratorium). It’s like heading off on a trip some place and you don’t know that there’s a gas station along the way. You’d have second thoughts about going on the trip,” Lindsay said. “But now they’re saying, ‘We can still consider Hollister if this makes economic sense.'”
Lindsay’s proposal even has the tentative blessing of the Regional Water Quality Control Board, which will ultimately lift or continues Hollister’s sewer moratorium.
Although they have no jurisdiction over holding tanks, according to the RWQCB’s Matt Keeling, the board is well aware of what is going on in Hollister. While the RWQCB is somewhat concerned developers might use holding-tanks as a means to circumvent the moratorium, Keeling said, small-scale use would be just fine.
“We are concerned that we don’t want to see the wide-spread use of these tanks. But as long as all the officials over there (in Hollister) are OK with this and the appropriate requirements are fulfilled and we aren’t going to have any more spills, we are OK with the idea,” Keeling said.
Holding tanks not only make financial sense for businesses, they also make perfect sense for Hollister’s ailing economy, said local Economic Development Director Al Martinez. New and expanded businesses would create more jobs and stimulate the economy, he said.
“Apparently there are people who do care and are willing to look into (holding-tanks), and that’s all I care about. All I want to see is that some relief goes into this area, that we bring in some new business,” Martinez said.
Former Hollister Mayor Tony Bruscia, who was involved in formulating the plan before leaving office in December, agreed.
“What we need to look at right now are things that are going to benefit the community, that are going to bring in jobs, and this would do that,” he said.
Bruscia, Lindsay, and City Manager Clint Quilter all confirmed that no one has built a holding-tank yet, but that anyone who does will need permission from the City Council.
While the idea is still in its seminal stages, Quilter said it was one he was aware of.
“It’s been kind of groups that have approached me so far, but I don’t have anybody specific,” he said.
The Hollister City Council will be looking at the holding-tank idea in a study session next week, and will probably have some kind of agenda item before them at the next meeting after, Quilter added.
The idea behind the holding tanks is “economical, and not sophisticated,” according to Lindsay. Companies would construct concrete septic tanks to hold sewage, and would hire a company to pump the system periodically and transport the waste to Gilroy or Watsonville. This would continue until the sewer moratorium is lifted, at which point businesses would fill their holding tanks with sand and hook up to the main system.
“The bottom line is, this is a good thing,” said Bruscia. “But we can’t just say ‘OK, anything goes.’ We really have to make sure people pump their sewage and take it out of town, that they’re not just dumping it in a manhole somewhere.”
Lindsay estimated the cost of constructing a holding-tank could be anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000 depending on how large a tank is needed. Once built, the cost of hauling the waste out of town would be only a few hundred dollars a load, he said, adding that this is a fairly modest price.
And for the companies considering this option, which Lindsay could only say were “some of the biggest employers in Hollister that already existed here and just needed to expand,” the cost could be well worth it.
“As far as the financial aspect is concerned, my guess would be that it’s a lot easier to build a holding tank and pay for the hauling than it is to move your whole facility (to another city),” Lindsay said.
If the sewer moratorium lifts on schedule in October of this year, the worst-case-scenario for business owners would be that they had built a temporary tank they no longer needed, Lindsay said. Still, he said, this is a small price to pay for the security of being able to go ahead with building plans in such uncertain times. And besides, Lindsay and others believe the odds of the new sewer plant being completed by October are slim-to-none.
“In my opinion, I don’t see how the city could have the plant up and running in a year,” said Lindsay.
Either way, building a holding-tank could be worth the gamble, according to Martinez.
“It depends on how willing and anxious they (businesses) are and whether they’re willing to make this investment saying, ‘OK, I may have to use this (holding tank) for only two or three years, but I might have to use it for a lot longer,'” said Martinez.
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at jq*****@fr***********.com.
