The old Fortino's building at 351 Tres Pinos Road is one of two structures to receive facade improvements through the Hollister Redevelopment Agency program.
Two K&S Market buildings on Tres Pinos Road will receive a total of $40,000 in Hollister Redevelopment Agency funds for facade improvements after council members Monday approved the action in a 3-2 vote.
With the two $20,000 loans - forgiven in five years if the owner doesn't leave either location - K&S is set to do such work as painting and replacement of signs and doors. The company had requested the loans, requiring a one-third match, through the RDA's facade improvement program.
That program aims to reduce blight in the RDA district, made up mostly of the downtown area but also by outlying parcels such as the two K&S properties. There have been nearly 20 building owners who have taken advantage of the program, RDA officials say.
Council members Victor Gomez, Eugenia Sanchez and Pauline Valdivia voted to approve the two items. Council members Doug Emerson and Ray Friend voted against them.
Prior to the meeting, Gomez had expressed doubt about the proposals, particularly work to the old Fortino's building at 351 Tres Pinos Road. He had said he did "not understand" the need there and called the other proposal at the former Pinnacle building "debatable."
In ultimately voting to OK both proposals, Gomez noted how he and other council members' biggest problem on the matter was their discontent with the current facade program guidelines, such as a provision denoting paint work as a "significant change" and the rule that forgives the loans in five years.
"For us to turn them away because now we want to see changes in the guidelines, I personally believe it's wrong," Gomez said.
Emerson contended before the vote that if the city approves the K&S proposals - which he portrayed as primarily being paint work - then council members would have to "approve every paint project that comes to us in the project area."
"I'm not ready to spend taxpayer money on just routine painting," Emerson said.
Look back for more on this story.
The following is the latest installment of the News and You with Marty Richman. This edition focuses on the future of information technology in the county.
Editor' note: There is a clarification on the overall costs for the projects. Ray Espinosa noted the county is looking at outside funding opportunities for some of the projects. The county so far has received about $300,000 to get some of the projects started. San Benito also is pursuing stimulus funds for backup infrastructure projects. One thing he left out was that the county is earmarking capital funds for these projects, but the quote numbers aren't final.
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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