The old clubhouse in the James F. Dunne Park on the west side of Hollister could be coming back to life thanks to a Prop. 68 grant of $177,000 after the Hollister City Council on Aug. 16 approved spending the money to remove lead and asbestos from the building. Mayor Ignacio Velazquez was absent from the meeting.
The city was allotted the money after successfully securing the non-competitive grant from Prop. 68 funds of $10.4 million made available to cities and local districts with populations of less than 200,000.
“Once the project is completed, staff would like to host seasonal day camps, youth and adult art classes, computer classes, and summer activities,” said Tina Garza, Hollister’s recreation services manager. “We can use that money for any project that we see fit that is in an area that could be considered low-income or at-risk youth.”
The grant money can only be spent on capital outlays, acquisition of land or improvement to existing property beyond its original condition, Garza said, adding that city staff recommended the money be spent on the clubhouse. She told the council that more than 20 years ago the city allowed a nonprofit agency to host an after-school drop zone program there.
“The program focused on afterschool activities for school-age children,” Garza said. “After a few years, the agency moved to a different location but continued to use the area as storage. In 2016, recreation staff used the site for recreation projects. Then after two years the building was closed due to the room testing positive for high lead and asbestos toxins.”
Garza mentioned that Hollister and San Juan Bautista each received $177,000 in Prop. 68 funds. San Juan Bautista City Manager Don Reynolds did not immediately respond to BenitoLink’s request for a comment.
Councilman Tim Burns asked Garza if some of the money could be used to purchase a camera so police could monitor the site. She said she would find out. Councilman Rick Perez asked if the money could be used to repair the clubhouse roof. She said it could not and told him the work would cost between $30,000 and $50,000. City Manager Brett Miller told BenitoLink a request for money to repair the roof would be brought up at a future council meeting.
Councilman Rolan Resendiz said he believed that the Prop. 68 grant would be used to build a new recreation facility at the old Leatherback site along McCray Street.
Garza told him the city had applied for Prop. 68 grants in 2019 for the Leatherback property and Fire Station #2, but the city received no money. In 2020 the city applied for a grant that could be made available for those two properties, but the city has not heard back from the state on this.
Miller said the grant money for Leatherback is a competitive rather than noncompetitive application, meaning Hollister would be competing against other cities for the money.
The resolution certified that the funds would be used to supplement, not replace, local revenues in existence as of June 5, 2018. It also guaranteed the funds would follow, as far as practical, the January 2017 presidential memorandum “promoting diversity and inclusion in our national parks, national forests, and other public lands and waters.”
Hollister will consider a range of actions related to the memorandum that include, but are not limited to:
- Conducting active outreach to diverse populations, particularly minority, low-income, and disabled populations and tribal communities, to increase awareness within those communities and the public generally about specific programs and opportunities.
- Mentoring new environmental, outdoor recreation, and conservation leaders to increase diverse representation across these areas.
- Creating new partnerships with state, local, tribal, private, and nonprofit organizations to expand access for diverse populations.
The Prop. 68 Grant is the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018, which voters approved in June 2018. Its purposes include creating parks, enhancing river parkways, and protecting coastal forests and wetlands.
In recent years, Dunne Park has been a source of controversy as neighborhood residents have complained that homeless people often congregated or camped there.
Other related BenitoLink articles:
https://benitolink.com/shopping-cart-ordinance-sign-of-bigger-issue-with-hollisters-homeless/
Dunne Park getting new benches with artistic twist
Dunne Park renovations include new picnic tables
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