In the upcoming weeks, San Benito County residents should expect
flyers mixed in with their credit card bills and letters from
Grandma, along with phone calls from volunteers stumping a bond
measure that would help pay for a $56 million expansion to Hazel
Hawkins Hospital.
Hollister – In the upcoming weeks, San Benito County residents should expect flyers mixed in with their credit card bills and letters from Grandma, along with phone calls from volunteers stumping a bond measure that would help pay for a $56 million expansion to Hazel Hawkins Hospital.
The property tax initiative, Measure L, will arrive in voters’ mail boxes in early April and will mark the first mail-in special election in the county’s history, according to Ken Underwood, the hospital’s chief executive officer. If passed, it would garner about $31.5 million over the next 20 years to help finance a total makeover of the 44-year-old hospital, he said.
To inform residents of the upcoming election, a hospital campaign committee that has grown to almost 100 volunteers, is holding a kick-off event tonight from 5 to 6:30pm at the committee’s campaign headquarters on Fifth Street, Underwood said. He’s hoping the event will enliven volunteers and rouse community support.
However, devoted volunteers have already called more than 2,000 county residents to inform them of the upcoming election – what it’s for and why they believe it’s needed, said campaign committee co-chair Fernando Gonzalez.
Of the residents volunteers have already called, Gonzalez said between 70 to 75 percent of those contacted have been supportive.
“People are aware the facility’s not adequate for the population we have – that’s why there’s a lot of support,” he said. “People really see this as a real need. It’s not something that would be nice to have – it’s something the community needs.”
Residents will have until May 3 to return the ballot, and at least two-thirds of residents will need to approve it to pass. The proposed revamping would include 50,000 square-feet of new facilities, including a new emergency room almost three times the size of the current one, he said. If the bond passes, the hospital’s administration hopes to open the doors to the new emergency room by 2007, then begin work on new obstetrics and rehabilitation units and an upgraded laboratory, among other amenities, Underwood said.
The bond would add $14.95 in taxes each year to every $100,000 of assessed property value, which would amount to an extra $84 to the average homeowner’s property taxes annually. While tax is considered a dirty word to most, Underwood said it would tack on less than a dollar a week to most homeowners.
To finance the committee’s education and advertising campaign, Gonzalez said the finance committee has already raised about $44,000 – mostly from private residents and some local businesses.
“Many people are donating in the $1,000 range,” he said. “Including myself, because we really believe in it.”
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Mary Anne Hughes at 634-0347, or stop by the committee’s headquarters located at 361 Fifth St. in downtown Hollister, Gonzalez said. The kick-off event, which will include food and speeches from volunteers and others involved with the hospital, is open to the public.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
