Agenda Item # 14.1 - David Bartholomew | Received 09/26/2023CAUTION: This email originated from an External Source. Please use proper judgment and caution when opening
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From:Council Member Zachary Hilton
To:Public Comments
Cc:City Clerk
Subject:Fw: Gilroy - Santa Teresa District - Fire and Emergency Services
Date:Tuesday, September 26, 2023 8:00:20 AM
City Clerk,
Please include this as public comment for Item #14.1 Closed Session.
Zach Hilton
Gilroy City Council Member
www.zachhilton.com
#HiltonForCouncil @zachhilton_ca
From:
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2023 1:43 PM
To: Mayor Marie Blankley <Marie.Blankley@ci.gilroy.ca.us>; Council Member Dion Bracco
<Dion.Bracco@ci.gilroy.ca.us>; Council Member Tom Cline <Tom.Cline@ci.gilroy.ca.us>; Council
Member Zachary Hilton <Zachary.Hilton@ci.gilroy.ca.us>; Council Member Carol Marques
<Carol.Marques@ci.gilroy.ca.us>; Council Member Fred Tovar <Fred.Tovar@ci.gilroy.ca.us>; Council
Member Rebeca Armendariz <Rebeca.Armendariz@ci.gilroy.ca.us>
Cc:
Subject: EXTERNAL - Gilroy - Santa Teresa District - Fire and Emergency Services
Dear Gilroy City Counsel,
I want to voice my concern about two issues:
1.) The short staffing at the Santa Teresa Fire Station.
I live in the Mesa Ridge community near Miller Ave. and Thomas Rd., in west Gilroy.
Recently several of my neighbors have been denied homeowner’s fire insurance renewals due
to a perception of high fire risk in the area. With all the many new homes built in west Gilroy
we urgently need a fully-staffed fire and emergency medical response capability on this
rapidly expanding side of Gilroy.
I read in the Mayor’s update that $3M in funding has been allocated in the future budget to
modernize the fire stations and add modular buildings to the Santa Teresa fire station to
provide a 24-hour staffing capability. But where in the budget are we allocating funds to
hire the additional firefighters that will be needed?
Home values and the desirability of living here may decline if the danger of fire and our
ability to effectively mitigate the risk is not robustly defended.
Please vote to provide the necessary staffing and infrastructure to support adequate, full-
time fire and emergency medical in my home town section of west Gilroy.
2.) Please find a way to fund the Tenth Street Bridge and get it built!
This bridge was originally promised to be built by the developer as specified in the Glen Loma
Ranch Development Agreement. But that was contingent on the City being able to fund the
construction costs, either with Federal grant funds or with other municipal funds.
Now I’m learning that the recent $27M Federal grant application to fund the bridge has been
denied and the City doesn’t have the money to fund the bridge construction otherwise.
Forgive my armchair semi-informed critical analysis, but this whole bridge project seems like
a SNAFU. The original deal with the developer was a concession to influence and affect
planning approvals. Those approvals allowed building too many densely packed homes with
inadequate traffic and infrastructure provisions. Instead City planners made a contingent deal
for a bridge with only faint dreams of someday funding it, and no consequences to the
developers for the resulting delays.
Every year that the bridge is delayed puts our homes at increased risk by adding to the travel
distance for emergency responders and increased traffic congestion. The promise of the bridge
has been delayed for almost decade. The eroding bridge plans are now whittling down the
width of the bridge from four lanes to two, and eliminating other useful bike friendly features.
Now it honestly seems to me like the bridge may never be built at all.
Please understand the scope of these issues involve life saving priorities.
Respectfully,
-David Bartholomew
gilroyca.iqm2.com
___________________________
David Bartholomew