Many times an issue will confront a community, and local
government will work for a long period of time to prepare in making
a decision.
Many times an issue will confront a community, and local government will work for a long period of time to prepare in making a decision.
Research will be solicited, meetings will be held, reports will be issued, votes taken, stories written, the public notified.
And the public and government officials will gather for a town meeting. Tonight at 7pm at the Maze Middle School Gymnasium (Meridian near Memorial Street) a town hall meeting will be hosted by the group Community Leaders for Economic Activity and Recovery (CLEAR) and we urge you to attend.
This meeting means something. It is about a major issue in Hollister and the county: sewage treatment. This affects a lot. For specifics read the column on this page by Hollister city councilman Doug Emerson. A new sewage treatment plant will cost $120 million and must be paid for in some way. The city has created a plan that uses sewer rate increases as a means to help pay for the project.
The meeting tonight provides the public a chance to respond to the rate increase and an opportunity to allow city officials to get a better gauge on the depth of the response. Hopefully, a large crowd will be on hand.
That the city must have increased sewage capacity is difficult to argue. The moratorium placed on new sewer connections has brought construction and development nearly to a standstill. It has helped to keep the local economy in a depressed state. CLEAR has been animate in its belief that the lifting of the moratorium is vital to the economic well-being of the city.
“We need this for the economic vitality of Hollister and San Benito County,” said CLEAR organizer Annette Giacomazzi.
If you do not agree with that statement, it is even more important that you attend the meeting tonight to let your voice and your presence be felt. The floor will be opened for questions.
The panel will include City Manager Clint Quilter and sewer project manager Dave Jones, and Emerson and vice mayor Brad Pike will also be on hand to participate and listen to public concerns.
This is a topic vital to the future of the city. The session should yield useful information for anyone who attends. We hope you can make it.
