Nearly a year after it was initially scheduled to open to the
public, the grassy riverside park on Hollister’s west side is now
slated for an Aug. 1 debut.
Nearly a year after it was initially scheduled to open to the public, the grassy riverside park on Hollister’s west side is now slated for an Aug. 1 debut.
Purchased by the city for $5 million as a place to use treated wastewater from the nearby sewage plant, the 50-acre plot has not been accessible to the public over the past couple of years as the city has worked to make sure the grass takes hold and proper fencing and signage was installed.
“We’re finishing up the signs and trying to shoot for Aug. 1” as the opening date, City Manager Clint Quilter said. “That’s not a guarantee at this point.”
The city graded the site to eliminate standing water and added fencing to keep people away from the banks of the San Benito River as well as poison oak on the outskirts of the parcel, which is bordered by hills to the south and west.
PG&E recently completed the undergrounding of utility lines that formerly ran through and above the park, which has not been formally named. A master plan for the park will be drawn up in the future, but that won’t be for years to come, city officials have said.
In the meantime, the park will operate much like other city-owned facilities, opening from dawn to dusk and closed at night behind gates. The main function of the park, Quilter noted, is as a place to spray reclaimed water instead of releasing it into the San Benito River, which the state prohibits.
“The point of it isn’t to be a park; the point is to be a place where we’re dealing with reclaimed water,” he said.
A high-tech irrigation system monitors wind speed and weather conditions to determine the optimal times for irrigation at the park, which is one of two so-called spray fields the city uses for its treated water. The other is near the Hollister Airport.
Reservations will not be taken for use of the riverside parcel, Quilter noted.
“It’s big enough for everyone,” he said.
