With the Veterans Memorial Building facing a $75,000 annual operating deficit, Hollister officials have been in talks with local veterans groups about the potential for the organizations to manage the property.
Hollister’s Veterans Memorial Building has an annual budget that ranges from about $150,000 to $165,000 – with revenues in recent years at around $75,000 to $86,000, City Manager Clint Quilter told officials at a recent city council meeting. That means the Veterans Memorial Building creates a general fund deficit of around $75,000.
The building is home for all major veterans events and appointments with the veterans service officers. Additionally, it functions on weekends as a rented hall for many weddings, quinceañeras and other events. Hollister’s recreation division has handled bookings since a major renovation was finished in 2003.
In light of criticism of the building’s management and maintenance, along with the annual deficit absorbed by the city’s general fund, Quilter has been in discussions with county veterans groups about those organizations managing the building.
“They would like to see that operated more like a standard post,” Quilter said at a recent council meeting.
The city manager received permission from council members at the most recent meeting to continue those talks. Quilter mentioned the prospect of handing over the building’s management and said several scenarios have been discussed, including the city continuing to subsidize $75,000 toward its operations.
Quilter and veterans at the council meeting broached the idea that a non-government operation could reduce costs. One way mentioned would be using more volunteers.
Quilter stressed the importance of protecting the more than $4 million investment from the city’s now defunct redevelopment agency – the RDA funded the renovation in the early 2000s – while also ensuring it maintains other purposes such as drawing people downtown and being accessible to the entire community.
City and veterans officials expressed a desire to prevent a state of “disrepair” that the building experienced under county ownership before the city took it over 12 years ago.
Joe Love, commander of the county’s American Legion chapter, said management of the building by veterans groups would allow them to “get their arms around something that was built for them.”
“This is a good time to show what we can do for our community,” Love told council members. “We’ve already shown what we can do for our country.”
Love talked about the ways veterans organizations can reduce costs such as those for insurance and employee retirement.
“We’re on a different ballgame,” he said. “We can hire differently. We can use local services such as the prisoners on community service.”
Jess Garza, past commander of the VFW chapter here, was mostly concerned about seeing history repeat itself. He recalled issues under county ownership with shifting of funds away from the building.
“If we do go this way, funds raised for the building stay with the building,” he said. “I’m going to write it in stone. It isn’t going to happen like it happened before.”
Garza also put in a plug for an increase to the number of hours per week, now 20, with a veterans service officer at the building.
“That’s not enough,” he said. “We need more than that.”
Sherry Stevenson, one of the veterans service representatives, was critical of treatment toward veterans and the building’s maintenance.
She said veterans visiting the office have to sit in cold, hard chairs and wait in a room without heating or air conditioning. She also mentioned that the upstairs bathroom, near the veterans services office, is locked.
Stevenson said she believes the veterans groups would take pride in the building and correct its problems.
“Let’s have a building for them that says, ‘Welcome home,’” she said.
Sandra Green, the American Legion Auxiliary president, contended that the building’s floor is “disgusting” and the windows are “filthy.”
“I say the veterans and all the rest of us that work with them can do a heck of a lot better,” she said.
Council members in attendance appeared supportive of moving ahead with some kind of transfer.
“Being a veteran, I wholly support this idea,” Councilman Robert Scattini said. “I’d like to see continued dialogue.”
