Hollister
– People say the best view in Hollister is at the top of Vista
Park Hill.
Hollister – People say the best view in Hollister is at the top of Vista Park Hill.
The park itself, however, is considerably less attractive. The facilities are a little lacking – a swing set, a dilapidated slide, two benches and a single picnic table. On Thursday afternoon, the park was empty, and the ground was littered with cigarette butts, lime slices and latex gloves.
Police Captain Bob Brooks said the park has its share of problems, including graffiti, dope smokers and homeless people who start fires for warmth in the winter.
“It’s kinda scary going up there,” Hollister resident Robin Pollard said.
However, plans are afoot to improve the park. Don Kelley, who chairs the city’s parks and recreation commission, said he hopes to hold a town hall meeting in late February or early March to provide an opportunity for the public to discuss the park’s future. From there, the commission will draw up a master plan for improvements.
Not surprisingly, the biggest obstacle is money. Community Services Director Clay Lee told the Free Lance that the city’s parks fund – which consists mainly of fees charged to new developers – has been drained by the recent development standstill. Lee said money should start coming in again after the city’s moratorium on new sewer hookups lifts at the end of 2008. He also said the city will consider applying for state grants, but he pointed out that such grants are competitive and that application opportunities don’t come around every year.
“Any significant improvements are several years off at the earliest,” Lee said.
The absence of funds makes community involvement and assistance all the more essential, Kelley said.
“I hope it’s going to be a community effort at heart,” he said. “It has to be.”
That community involvement has already begun. Local architect David Huboi, who sits on the city’s planning commission, volunteered to draw up a site plan of the existing park. And the fact that the park is on the commission’s radar is itself due in large part to Pollard’s efforts. She’s been attending commission meetings for the last few years and pushing for changes; she also brought in more than 400 signatures from local residents who want to see the park improve.
And the lack of money hasn’t stopped locals from dreaming big. Developer Tod duBois described the park as Hollister’s “dusty family jewels.” DuBois said he’s spoken to one company about building an 18-hole disc golf course on the hill. His most ambitious vision, however, involves erecting a new county library at the hill’s peak. DuBois said there’s plenty of state money available for building new libraries, as long as the city has a plan.
“It’s time to brush the dust off,” duBois said.
Huboi would also like to see a library up there, as well as a school. His biggest dream, however, is to build an outdoor amphitheater into the hillside.
“We need a venue for the arts,” Huboi said.
Pollard’s hopes are a little less ambitious. She told the Free Lance she’s hoping for both a stairwell and a switchback walking trail going up to the park from the community center on West Street.
Pollard noted that she’s already trying to attract more people to Vista Park Hill, through the laughter club, which meets at the park twice a week, and through the nearby community gardens.
“If nobody goes, then the bad element says, ‘Oh, it’s safe to hang out here,'” Pollard said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
