Building at bypass, San Felipe needs remediation; sign will
still go up
The planned removal of a vacant building to make room for a
”
Welcome to Hollister
”
sign has hit a snag with the discovery of asbestos and lead
paint in the structure.
Still, Leadership San Benito
– the group that is organizing the sign placement at the corner
of San Felipe Road and the Hwy. 25 bypass – said the
eight-by-12-foot sign should still go up by early August, even if
the building is still there.
The original idea was for the Council of Governments, the agency
that owns the land on which the former South Valley Trailers
building sits, to offer the building at a public auction and have a
third party remove it.
Building at bypass, San Felipe needs remediation; sign will still go up
The planned removal of a vacant building to make room for a “Welcome to Hollister” sign has hit a snag with the discovery of asbestos and lead paint in the structure.
Still, Leadership San Benito – the group that is organizing the sign placement at the corner of San Felipe Road and the Hwy. 25 bypass – said the eight-by-12-foot sign should still go up by early August, even if the building is still there.
The original idea was for the Council of Governments, the agency that owns the land on which the former South Valley Trailers building sits, to offer the building at a public auction and have a third party remove it.
The sign project, now expected to cost nearly $60,000, is being funded by donations as well as nearly $29,000 from the Hollister Downtown Association, which is receiving that money from the city’s Redevelopment Agency.
Upon further inspection in April, tests on the building showed that the more than 50-year-old building contains chysotile asbestos in its exterior window putty and caulking and that lead paint was on the front and back of a metal door.
These materials must be removed by a qualified hazardous materials contractor before the building can be moved or demolished, with demolition now the more likely course of action.
“We have to hire a contractor that has all the licenses necessary to remove the asbestos and lead materials, then go ahead and demolish it,” said Lisa Rheinheimer, executive director of COG. “It’s absolutely imperative that a properly licensed contractor remove it so there’s no risk to the public health.”
In a recent report to the COG board, Rheinheimer said her staff estimates the total cost of demolition and removal of the building will approach $20,000. With no funds available from the Hwy. 25 bypass budget to pay for the work, COG is “exploring everything we can to look at different sources of funding,” she said.
Jo Schlie, who is the committee chairwoman for the Welcome to Hollister sign, said that because sign will be positioned between the building site and an existing fence, “the removal of the building does not affect the sign’s placement.”
The sign will be made of a high-density foam into which the words “Welcome to Hollister,” “Est. 1872” and references to Pinnacles National Monument, the city’s downtown and the county’s wine trail will be carved. There is also an image of the Veterans Memorial Building, the Masonic Lodge clock tower and hills.
“It’ll be quite lovely,” she said, adding that she expects to receive the building permit by the end of June and have the sign created and placed by August.
Asked if leaving the building as-is and placing the sign there anyway was an option, Rheinheimer said, “that is an option, but leaving the building there would kind of defeat the purpose.”
William Avera, Hollister’s development services director, said his “biggest concern is the maintenance of the sign and making sure there’s long-term maintenance involved. We’re pretty confident that they’ll be able to maintain it for some time.”
Schlie said that she and seven other Leadership committee members have committed to taking care of the landscaping around the site and that $5,000 was built into the budget to be offered back to the city to provide maintenance of the sign.
