City officials hope to avoid getting tripped up when they weigh a new sidewalk repair program Monday.
Council members at their 6:30 p.m. Monday meeting at Hollister City Hall, 375 Fifth St., are scheduled to consider appropriating $100,000 into a sidewalk repair program.
The sidewalks with the biggest problems would get first priority, while homeowners would be eligible for a deferred loan program on a first-come, first-serve basis for the remaining funds, according to the council meeting agenda.
Other matters on the agenda include the following:
With Hollister taking over control of San Benito Street, the city has received an abundance of requests for use of banners that hang over the main drag in downtown between Fifth and Sixth streets. In response to the requests – and due to the state’s transfer of the road to the city – the council is set to weigh a set of rules for applicants interested in placing the signs. The proposed restrictions include groups having to be nonprofits and events having to be open to the public, among others.
In attempt to lower costs for rodent control in city parks, officials will consider a new pest control contractor for the services. Council members are set to weigh going with Wild West Pest Control Services instead of the current business, Gavilan Pest Control, for services at six of 10 city parks. The city expects the annual pest control budget for parks to drop from $16,200 to $10,640.
To align the city’s transient occupancy tax with that of the county – which is placing a measure on the November ballot to hike the hotel tax from 8 percent to 12 percent – the council will weigh placing the same consideration on the ballot for city voters. Hollister has collected more than $120,000 in TOT revenue each of the past three fiscal years, so the increase could net somewhere around $60,000 annually.
Due to restrictions on salinity content in wastewater from the state water board, the council is scheduled to weigh barring certain types of new installations for water softeners. The new rules would not affect currently existing water softener systems, but would bar certain types of new ones.
