The plan calls for a landing pad, crew quarters and a
maintenance shed to be built as soon as Hollister’s building
moratorium is lifted.
The city council has approved a plan to build a CALSTAR helicopter base at the Hollister Municipal Airport.
Once the 41,000-square-foot base is built, the helicopter ambulance company can respond faster to emergencies in the Hollister area, said Michael Baulch, CALSTAR director of base operations.
The plan calls for a landing pad, crew quarters and a maintenance shed to be built as soon as Hollister’s building moratorium is lifted – which city officials have predicted will happen by the end of the year.
Two flight nurses and one pilot will run the station 24 hours a day from Thursday to Sunday – typically their busiest days of the week. Baulch said he hopes to move to a seven-day weekly schedule within a year.
“Having a base (in Hollister) will add an important resource to the Hollister area,” Baulch said. “We’re going to improve response times around Hollister and provide support to Gilroy and Salinas.
“We had been looking for a place to build a base, and it just kept coming back to Hollister. The airport has the right weather, less fog, and the timing is right.”
Baulch also said the nurses and pilots earmarked to work in Hollister once the base is built have been hired and trained and are working at the Salinas base.
Interim Airport Manager Mike Chambless said the base will be a financial boon for the city not only from lease revenues, but also in fuel taxes.
“CALSTAR has a history as a great community partner,” Chambless said. “Besides, the weeds aren’t paying the rent and they cost money to mow.”
