Hello Gilroy!

I hope the information provided here will entice you to attend this year’s State of the City address on April 1st. There’s certainly a lot going on and much to be proud of.

A quick bit about myself—I’ve been a Gilroy resident since birth and graduated from Gilroy High School in 1981 with three siblings to follow. I have two adult children with my husband, Steve (and three dogs from local rescues and shelters), a career as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1988, and I’m in my third year as your mayor. I am continually honored to follow Roberta Hughan, whose family also has deep roots in Gilroy, as the second woman to be the mayor of Gilroy since 1870! I hope you’re as pleased as I am with all that we’ve accomplished since the pandemic and with the many, many projects in the works.

See for yourselves!

Beginning with opportunities meant to foster revenue to the City, either directly or indirectly, the following recreational and commercial developments are in the works:

The City of Gilroy is working to build and staff a temporary Santa Teresa District (STR) fire station at 10th and DeAnza. Today, the STR is served by a part-time fire crew located at a temporary facility at Christmas Hill Park which helps to reduce emergency response time throughout the City. Progress with the temporary station at 10th and DeAnza will proceed as soon as PG&E provides necessary service. Building the permanent STR fire station at Miller Avenue and West Luchessa Avenue will be initiated when the Glen Loma developers reach the number of new construction permits specified in the development agreement and remit the required funding for the new fire station. Until that time, the temporary STR fire station will help the district, and the City as a whole, improve its overall response times and meet the adopted Standards of Coverage recommendations for fire and EMS service delivery.

The Gilroy Police Department is committed to keeping our residents and neighborhoods safe. To that end, GPD continues to prioritize employee retention, recruitment, hiring and training efforts. While vacancies still exist, GPD has hired eight new police officers, one detention services officer, one community services officer and one public safety communications trainee since the beginning of the fiscal year. To ensure the health of our police team, the City provides mental health resources, including a wellness program, the costs for which have been supplemented by a state grant from the Bureau of State and Community Corrections.

The level of detail provided in the February Spotlight with the Mayor newsletter says it all.

While the February Spotlight with the Mayor also reports on how city resources are distributed to benefit the unhoused, some of whom suffer from mental and behavioral health issues, I’ve since signed on in support of two State Senate Bills, one to propose Conservatorship Reform and the other to direct the State Department of Health Care Services to create a database of behavioral health facilities and share bed capacity as it is changing in real-time. A comprehensive repository of specialized services such as chemical dependency recovery hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, and mental health rehabilitation centers will assist with overwhelmed emergency centers and link individuals to condition-specific resources. Organized by San Jose mayor Matt Mahan, each mayor of every city in Santa Clara County was asked to support this legislation for full county-wide support. Something else I learned—11 mayors of our 15 cities in the Santa Clara County are women!

Over the last year, much discussion has occurred concerning the addition of a Community Center which is greatly needed to address the needs of Gilroyans of all ages. As part of the upcoming budget cycle, the City will consider providing funding to conduct initial studies concerning facility opportunities at the Gilroy Civic Center, defined as the 3-block area from Church Street to Dowdy Street between 6th and 7th Streets.

Together with the City Administrator, I meet monthly with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the GUSD Board and the Superintendent to discuss matters of mutual concern/interest. Kudos to the beautiful new campuses that are Brownell Middle School and soon-to-be completed South Valley Middle School.

I’d like to close this year’s State of the City with the sentiments of unity and togetherness. Gilroy is a community of heart, heart that drives me every day to do the best that I can for the community I love. Unity comes when we recognize heart, the sincere and genuine efforts put forth by so many in Gilroy to solve problems and help others with no expectation of recognition or compensation. Heart brings us together, builds trust in one another, and contributes to real and effective solutions that we can all support and feel proud of. I hope that in the coming year more and more Gilroyans feel the heart that has kept me in Gilroy since birth, unites us in community and moves us forward together.

We are Gilroy, together.