Have no doubts: The City of Hollister is taking the future of
its infrastructure seriously.
Have no doubts: The City of Hollister is taking the future of its infrastructure seriously.
The Redevelopment Agency plans to issue a monumental $35 million bond – more than twice the size of any before – to jump-start several projects vital to the community’s vibrance. The largest bond issuance before the recent proposal was a $16.1 million bond in 1993.
The list of projects to be funded includes many of the most mused over in recent Hollister history: Highway 25, Fire Station 2, a new wastewater plant, downtown beautification.
As people obtain loans for important investments – houses, cars, businesses – the Hollister RDA will likely secure this historic “loan” of its own, according to officials. And it’s fitting for the magnitude of those projects, investments in themselves into the livelihood of this community.
The Hollister City Council shouldn’t hesitate to pass the bond, as RDA’s funds are dwindling from the current base of $14 million.
And the state’s budget woes have left RDAs throughout the state, including Hollister’s, hoping with anxious anticipation that the governor’s ever-growing ax won’t chop too much of their foundations.
Additionally, in an ironic twist of state government legislation, RDAs must operate in debt to collect their due property tax increments. So, whether its $35 million or $1, by law the Hollister RDA must function in debt.
Considering the shivering economic times faced by the entire state of California, Hollister would be wise to seize the immediate and enormous sum of cash now, with the likely prospect the economy will pick up the pieces by the time a brunt of the payments are due.
While it may seem as if the city would be setting itself up for a herculean climb over a treacherous mountaintop, the magnitude of Hollister’s “far-reaching four” should not be undervalued.
Officials would be rightly investing in the community’s future by passing a $35 million bond. As Hollister has never before faced a comparably crucial decade of necessary change.
