A portion of the downtown fire station is shown. The building is slated to be torn down and rebuilt now that council members approved a bond to pay for the project.
Hollister council members Monday approved a $20 million bond issuance for the redevelopment agency to fund two projects, a reconstruction of the downtown fire station and landscaping improvements to the west side.
They voted 3-0 to approve the bond issuance, with council members Ray Friend and Pauline Valdivia absent.
The RDA expects to use $5 million to tear down and rebuild the fire station on Fifth and Sally streets, along with $3 million for the west-side gateway project.
City officials have had the fire station reconstruction on the table for years, while officials say it has structural deficiencies and other problems that necessitate the project.
Councilman Victor Gomez today said his concern with the building was not necessarily that the station originally was built as a tractor repair shop.
"What it comes down to more is, they have termite infestation. It's pretty much just an old facility," he said.
He said he would take a different view of the proposal if it was a 9-to-5 job, but he noted how firefighters have to live there, too.
"I wouldn't live there - no thank you," he said.
The west-side improvements would focus largely on landscaping and making the area more pedestrian friendly.
From an economic perspective, Gomez is particularly excited about fixing up that area, he said.
"What we want to see is presentable lots," he said.
RDA officials say the city does not expect to use the entire $20 million from the bond. The dollar figure is used as a financial tool, they say.
Kollin Kosmicki Kollin Kosmicki is editor of the Free Lance and Pinnacle. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 337 or editor@freelancenews.com.
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