A state agency has made a narrow-minded, potentially disastrous
decision to build the new courthouse on Flynn Road instead of
downtown
– a determination that stands to wallop the local economy,
muddle the city’s civic core and destroy some small businesses in
its path.
State makes poor call on courthouse
A state agency has made a narrow-minded, potentially disastrous decision to build the new courthouse on Flynn Road instead of downtown – a determination that stands to wallop the local economy, muddle the city’s civic core and destroy some small businesses in its path.
The Administrative Office of the Courts chose a Flynn Road location near the San Benito County Jail against the will of a local site selection committee that preferred using the old Fremont School. The Hollister Redevelopment Agency had offered the old school site on Fourth Street, and the county had pledged to give land next to the jail and juvenile hall.
State officials ultimately favored the northern gateway setting because further assessment would have to be done at the downtown location that would have delayed the project and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more. The construction, overall, is expected to cost more than $30 million.
Higher-ups ignored local preference
In choosing the Flynn Road site, state officials ignored a local recommendation, which they were supposed to weigh heavily as part of their decision. More important, they have exposed why higher-ups with distant perceptions of San Benito County are bound to make short-sighted conclusions with little, if any, understanding of the real consequences.
The move would cause economic, symbolic and environmental ripple effects and confuse the very core of this community’s makeup. Many businesses, particularly restaurants, depend on the courthouse activity as it brings a base of customers that would vanish if the facility is built elsewhere.
Some, however, say courthouse users or employees would merely drive downtown to those businesses if it’s built on Flynn Road. That’s a flawed view for two reasons.
An increasing number of people prefer convenience, as in short trips, when they go out to get meals or run errands. Second, if a portion of the courthouse community does drive back and forth on a daily basis between Flynn Road and downtown, it would create further congestion on the city’s main thoroughfare and lead to spiked gas consumption and unnecessary spillage of greenhouse gases into the environment.
Strong protest necessary for reversal
The county’s only hope for a reversal is by mounting a strong opposition to the agency’s decision. Businesses and government leaders must speak out. Citizens must write to their local and state representatives.
The Hollister Downtown Association has already officially opposed it, and other organizations are likely to follow suit.
It’s crucial that they do because this is much too important to concede. With those in charge so far away, it’s going to take a barrage of loud, sincere, committed voices – because they obviously didn’t hear us the first time.
