Hollister
– A recent meeting with staff from the state Administrative
Office of the Courts was a good first step toward San Benito County
Superior Court getting funding for a new courthouse next year,
according to a local court official.
On May 19 a state team, composed of an architect, facilities
planner, real estate specialist and budget specialist, was in San
Benito County to start assessing the county’s need for a new
courthouse and start looking at potential sites, Court Executive
Officer Gil Solorio said.
Hollister – A recent meeting with staff from the state Administrative Office of the Courts was a good first step toward San Benito County Superior Court getting funding for a new courthouse next year, according to a local court official.
On May 19 a state team, composed of an architect, facilities planner, real estate specialist and budget specialist, was in San Benito County to start assessing the county’s need for a new courthouse and start looking at potential sites, Court Executive Officer Gil Solorio said.
“I think it was very, very productive in respect to taking the first step toward being able to turn in a solid report to get in the ballpark for funding,” Solorio said, adding that he has met and spoken with members of the team since the initial meeting.
A long time on the list of counties in need of new court facilities, San Benito County was ranked 11th out of about 200 court projects statewide. The county was later bumped up to third on the list. And last month, the state announced that San Benito was one of six counties that could have their courthouse projects funded during the 2007-08 fiscal year.
With just two courtrooms and cramped office space for employees, the county’s 46-year-old courthouse is too small to handle the thousands of cases heard there each year, according to Presiding Judge Steven Sanders. The current facility, attached to many county offices, also lacks security, he said. People are able to enter the courthouse without any security check, and shackled inmates are walked through the facility’s paltry lobby, where there is the possibility for contact with the general public.
During the May 19 meeting, the state team discussed and visited potential sites for the courthouse, according to Solorio. Among the possibilities, he said, is the vacant Fremont School site in downtown Hollister, a county-owned property near the jail on Flynn Road and about four privately owned parcels, which Solorio declined to identify.
For the many people in the county, court and City of Hollister who wish to see the courthouse remain downtown, the old Fremont School site is ideal. At about three acres, it falls short of the five acres the state requires to build a courthouse. Sanders has said, however, that the school site might work if the court is able to use adjacent properties for parking. Hollister Redevelopment Agency Bill Avera also said the parking structure on Fourth street is a possible option for courthouse parking.
Frank Halayay, owner of Cozy Cup Cafe near the courthouse, said he gets a significant amount of business from people who are downtown because of the courthouse. If the courthouse has to move, he said, it should stay downtown.
“We get a lot of business from there, quite a bit of business,” Halayay said. “A lot of people come here from the court – lawyers and workers over there and people going to court.”
Solorio said he will continue to work with the state to create a plan for a new courthouse in San Benito. The plan needs to be sent to the state Department of Finance by September so legislators can decide whether to fund the project as they plan the 2007-08 state budget.
While there is no guarantee that the project will be funded, Solorio said this is a good opportunity for San Benito County.
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected]
