Government: Mayor strikes optimistic tone in annual address

Marie Blankley touts recent economic development partnerships

Photo by Rachelle Beddell
Mayor Marie Blankley gives her State of the City address to about 100 residents.

By Calvin Nuttall

In her recent State of the City address, Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley struck an optimistic tone as she highlighted the city’s accomplishments, ongoing projects, and vision for the future, while acknowledging the challenges that remain.

To an audience of about100 people, Blankley opened her April 30 speech in the City Council Chambers with remarks on economic development. She touted the city’s partnership with the San Jose Sharks to construct a new 100,000 square-foot sports complex containing two NHL-sized ice rinks.

 

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To see the video of the State of the City address, please click HERE

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“That is going to start who knows how much more interest in that sports park and anything that could be located around,” she said. “It’s wonderful economic development that I’m very proud to be a part of. It is a real win for Gilroy, and I am very much looking forward to this relationship.”

Blankley also teased the possibility of new development to come near the site of Gilroy Gardens, where the city owns 536 acres of land, including the 70 acres comprising the park itself. The city is in an exclusive negotiated agreement to vet what this possibility could be, she said.

“If we come up with something that the ad-hoc committee thinks is worthy of bringing forward, then we bring that forward to the rest of the council and the public,” she said. “We’re not there yet, but that’s what we’re doing.”

Addressing some of the criticism city staff have received regarding their economic development efforts during the past few years, Blankley assured the audience they were working actively to improve community relations.

“When I look at all of the ventures city-wide that our staff works on … I see ‘can-do’ all around,” she said.  “Businesses are opening. Development is happening. Late last year we hired an economic development manager to be a direct liaison to businesses, an actual person with a name and an email and a phone you call directly when you need.”

A point of pride for the mayor was her efforts to improve the transportation infrastructure in Gilroy, including raising the PCI (Pavement Condition Index) of the city’s streets and expanding Caltrain service.

She provided an update on the massive U.S. 101/Highway 25 interchange upgrade project, which the city has been working on since 2018. Work on the highway overpass south of the city limits is set to begin in fall.

“You’re going to see construction, so get ready for inconvenience if you drive that way,” she said. “It’s going to take a long time . . . They are going to start with building new ramps, then a new bridge, then they will remove the old ramps and the old bridge, and all of this is going to take three years.”

Blankley also addressed the question of the possibility for a return of the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Although the Garlic Festival Association and the city of Gilroy have been entangled in lawsuits following the 2019 shooting which have prevented the popular festival from returning, she sees a glimmer of hope for the event coming back.

“Moving forward from our 2019 tragedy has been a painful process,” she said. “But, last November we did hit a positive milestone, and that is the city of Gilroy and the Garlic Festival Association were both released from the largest of the lawsuits.”

There are still smaller lawsuits that continue to deter insurance providers from underwriting any form of event that carries the name ‘Gilroy Garlic Festival,’ but that doesn’t mean the iconic event is gone forever.

On the subject of housing and the unhoused in Gilroy, Blankley admitted the problems might seem overwhelming but the city is taking action. She outlined several of the steps the city government has taken to assist people in need of shelter.

“We created a position and hired a housing community services manager within our community development department to make more concentrated efforts on affordable housing production, preservation and protection for our residents,” she said.

The city also made permanent its Quality of Life Officer program with two police officers dedicated to issues related solely to the unhoused.

“Our quality of life officers pretty much know every face,” she said. “They know what is going on out there.”

Looking ahead to Gilroy’s forecasted population growth and need for expanded city services in the future, Blankley said the city council is exploring the possibilities of a new revenue stream to fund public safety. They are looking at putting a sales tax on the ballot in November to help pay to hire first responders and update equipment.

“I know it’s an election year and nobody wants to see a tax, but this is a potential for the voters to decide if a 0.25 percent sales tax is worth having improved public safety, police and fire and medical response, today, as opposed to years from now,” she said. “You have to try different ideas to move forward and explain to people why we’re in the situation we are in.”

Blankley concluded her address with a hopeful look to the future, and the promise of the ongoing projects she oversaw in her first term as mayor she would like to see proceed to fruition.

“Here in Gilroy, we are family,” she said. “Not that families don’t get angry with each other, but if we could just recognize the good and the warmth that is in each of us intending to make Gilroy stronger and better. As a city, we have lots more to do, but we’ve also accomplished a lot together as a city government, city staff, and you.”

Voters elected Blankley, a lifelong Gilroyan, mayor in 2020. She led the city through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recovery period. She served on the city council from 2018-2020, and on the boards of various organizations including the South County Regional Wastewater Authority and the Downtown Committee.

To watch the speech online, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag2eRjAjbTM

Calvin Nuttall is a Morgan Hill-based freelance reporter.