Lea este articulo en español aquí.
City Manager Don Reynolds’ monthly report to the San Juan Bautista City Council at the May 21 meeting featured news about movies, recreation and food.
In a post-mortem on the recent Paul Thomas Anderson film shoot in February, Reynolds said that working with Warner Brothers had been a great experience and that he is exploring ways to open up the city to film productions to generate tourism and publicity.
“We will be reviewing the state’s Model Filming Ordinance,” he said, “and if we jump through all the hoops successfully, the commission will promote us as a certified location.”
Reynold said that the Friday Film Night program at Verutti Park has been successful and that he looked forward to it growing as evenings become warmer. Monday Night Lights at Abbe Park has also been well received, he said, and several food trucks have committed to being there through August, opening the possibility for them to be joined by a Farmers Market.
The city has also approached Youth Alliance, YMCA and organizations for seniors to help Recreation Assistant Caitlin Brady with staffing, which would allow the city to sponsor more events.
An ordinance that loosens restrictions on food trucks and pop-ups is being crafted following public workshops held May 18 and 20. Reynolds said participation was “vigorous” and the ordinance would be revised to accommodate some of the input, and that it might be ready for a first reading before the council in July.
Reynolds reported that progress is being made on the former Neals Market on Muckelemi Street to move it closer to occupancy. The market will have a meat counter and possibly serve BBQ.
Back to business
Reynolds began the meeting by reviewing the 63 goals included in the city’s Five-Year Strategic Plan (and reprinted on pages 115-122 in the meeting agenda) saying 54 were completed, addressed or in progress. According to Reynolds, 27 goals are tied to economic development.
Completed goals include funding the sewer project, staff training on customer service, preparing maps for possible residential development, exploring a residential parking plan, creating new public safety partnerships, developing an active transportation plan and setting up a disaster fund.
Pending goals include hiring an economic development specialist; developing a Chamber of Commerce; unifying the vision of downtown with all of the business owners; updating zoning ordinances; and implementing a downtown beautification plan. Reynolds said all of these are pending appropriate staffing allocation and funding.
Reynolds also said that he was working on the city’s fire services contract with Hollister after concerns were raised about San Juan Bautista not paying its fair share in terms of the number and length of calls. Negotiations are ongoing.
He reported that the proposed gas station at the corner of the Alameda and Hwy 156 is in the final stages of development and that the city took responsibility for dealing with the right-hand turn lane because the property owner on that corner “wants nothing to do with us.” The city is looking into acquiring the land by eminent domain, should its offer not be accepted, he said.
Reynolds also discussed the settlement agreement with the state’s Water Resources Control Board. A request was submitted in January to extend the agreement from June 2024 to October 2026, but the board was still holding to the current deadline.
The delay in completing the water project was necessitated by problems getting the required electronic equipment, which is back-ordered with an 80-week wait time, but Reynolds reported the paperwork has now been accepted.
More than five of the required seven miles of pipe have already been laid in the wastewater project and work on the Rancho Vista segment will start the first week of June.
Congressmember Zoe Lofgren, Reynolds said, has supported a $3 million grant for the project to import drinking water and while useful, he said the city is still pursuing state grant requests that may be finalized by August.
Public Safety Coordinator Roy Morales reported that the city was in the last phase of the Flock Camera project including installation and training, which will be completed by June 1. Six cameras will be installed throughout the city, including City Hall and the three intersections that provide entrances and exits. One additional camera is planned for the Copperleaf development.
The Flock system can be used to gather vehicle and license plate identification from passing vehicles which can then be matched against a law enforcement database to identify any that might be stolen, involved in Amber Alerts, or of other interest to authorities.
A camera could, for example, be used to monitor the area around the roundabout on First Street for oversized vehicles which are not allowed to enter the city using that roadway.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.
