Hollister
– On Thursday afternoon, David Hernandez watched his four
daughters play on the swings at Tony Aguirre Memorial Park. The
park and its neighboring streets were bustling with children and
parents, but barely a block away, a scratched, faded play structure
sat empty and forlorn.
Hollister – On Thursday afternoon, David Hernandez watched his four daughters play on the swings at Tony Aguirre Memorial Park. The park and its neighboring streets were bustling with children and parents, but barely a block away, a scratched, faded play structure sat empty and forlorn.
When asked why he didn’t take his children to the nearby John Z. Hernandez Memorial Park, Hernandez said, “It isn’t safe for kids.”
He told the Free Lance that during the year he’s lived here, the park hasn’t received any attention from the city.
“It’s like they forgot about it,” Hernandez said.
However, Hernandez Park may soon be getting a major facelift.
At the urging of Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz, San Benito County’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last week to give $50,000 to the city to pay for a new play structure and landscaping at the park.
“At the end of the day, the entire community benefits (from the improvements),” De La Cruz said.
The county’s plans for the park – which occupies one-fourth of an acre at the corner of Ranchito Drive and Central Avenue – include the installation of a modern plastic play structure and replacing the sand with engineered wood fiber.
De La Cruz said the changes will make the park safer, as well as allowing it to conform with Americans with Disabilities Act.
The funding, according to De La Cruz, will come from the state’s 2000 per capital grant program. Although the state still needs to approve the grant, De La Cruz said he’s not worried that the request will be denied.
“The money is already earmarked for San Benito County,” he said. “This is just an administrative procedure.”
Now that the supervisors have given the thumbs-up to the contribution, the project will go before the Hollister City Council in January.
According to a memo from Clay Lee, the city’s community services director, the lack of new development – which funds park projects – has drained Hollister’s park development budget.
“With the county funding the project and the city providing labor and ongoing maintenance, it seems to be a win-win situation,” Lee said.
Work should begin in March or April 2007, De La Cruz said, with a reopening in May or June.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
