Community members interested in the economic, environmental and
social future of the county have the opportunity to have their
voices heard tonight at the first
”
Vision of San Benito
”
meeting at the Briggs Building at 6 p.m.
Community members interested in the economic, environmental and social future of the county have the opportunity to have their voices heard tonight at the first “Vision of San Benito” meeting at the Briggs Building at 6 p.m.
With plans to invest millions of dollars into a new Hollister campus, Gavilan College is holding meetings to collect community ideas and opinions as to how the county will grow, and how the college can grow with it.
“The biggest misconception about this project is that it’s just about Gavilan College,” Jan Bernstein Chargin, of Gavilan College, said. “Before we can begin to design a campus or think about courses, we have to have a vision how San Benito County will develop in the next five or 10 years.”
The first two meetings, held tonight and on July 28, will be facilitated by Gavilan administrators, and as soon as an advisory board, made up of roughly 20 community members from all backgrounds is established, the Vision of San Benito committee will be 100 percent community run.
“This is really the ground floor of the project,” Chargin said.
After meetings begin, the committee will go through an 18 month process of coming up with an idea of what the county may look like in two decades. Gavilan plans to use the ideas from the committee to then develop economic, environmental and social prospects for the county. The information the committee compiles also will be given to the county. Hollister resident Nenette Corotto has been actively working to get the committee started, and said not only will this help the college, but it will also help community members play an active role in the future of the county.
“This will help us begin to look at our general plan, and as citizens put some effort in it,” she said. “In my opinion, being part of this is my way of giving back to my community constructively for my future.”
Representatives from the county also will be part of the forum, and Theresa Kiernan, executive director of the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce, said the Hollister Business Council and the chamber have also been working with Gavilan to get things started.
“We want commuters, business owners, people in the agriculture community, everyone to participate,” she said. “People need to know their voices will be heard at these meetings.”
The information collected won’t be complete unless a variety of people come and participate, Kiernan said.
“We’ve really tried to look at all the different steps, like how are we going to collect data from the community, rather than just the same people that come to everything,” she said.
The meeting will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Briggs Building on the corner of Fourth and San Benito streets. For more information, call 408-848-4724.
Christine Tognetti can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 330 or at [email protected].
