Council OKs Sale of GPD Firearms, Denies Closure of South Valley Pool

The Gilroy City Council voted 6-1 to approve the sale of 49 surplus firearms of the Gilroy Police Department to Pennsylvania-based Phoenix Law Enforcement Distributors in exchange for six new Colt AR-15 patrol rifles and additional safety equipment during its regular meeting Monday night.

Council member Dr. Peter Arellano was the lone dissenter on the sale of the used guns, which have a total cash value of $9,020. The sale also comes with a strict stipulation from the council that the licensed distributor will only sell the firearms back to law enforcement personnel.

In a , the council directed the department to research the fair market value of the weapons and come back to the council with other options of disposing the guns. The department then researched 10 local agency practices and obtained four different firearm distributor quotes.

According to Gilroy Police Chief Denise Turner, Phoenix distributors will also throw in 40 tactical slings and 40 mounted patrol vehicle lights as part of the deal.

In other news, the council voted 5-2 to work with the Gilroy Unified School District and the city’s recreation department to find funding to keep the pool at open for the city’s Summer Aquatics Program, which offers subsidized swimming and lessons for Gilroy youths.

Maria De Leon, the department’s director, recommended that the council close the school's pool because of staffing challenges resulting from the pool at and the opening of a new water park at that will feature water slides for Gilroy residents.

According to city administrator Tom Haglund, the city will need to hire 56 lifeguards in order to keep all three pools open, which he sees as a challenge.

“We may not be able to hire and train that amount of lifeguards,” Haglund said. “We’ve never had that amount of applications.”

The city will need to pay the school district $117,000 to keep South Valley Middle School's pool, with $70,000 going into operational costs.

Councilmen Dion Bracco and Bob Dillon both opposed the motion, stating that the city does not have the appropriate funds out of its balanced budget to operate and maintain the three pools.

Mayor Al Pinheiro, who used the middle school's pool as a kid himself, said closing the pool would block east Gilroy residents from having access to the city recreational program.

“We’re looking at these numbers and we’re looking at blocking the 20 or so kids from the east side, and that bothers me,” he said.

Other items discussed during Monday’s meeting include:

• The council unanimously approved modifications to the city’s proposed Entertainment Ordinance. City staff recommended the council approve language changes to the city’s Downtown Specific Plan and Zoning Ordinance that regulate venues hosting public dancing in Gilroy’s downtown zone.

• State Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Salinas) gave a legislative update to the council on the state budget, including Gov. Jerry Brown’s November tax initiative that will bring additional revenue to the state to fund K-12 education, higher education and public safety. Alejo has also authored two bills that will help farming and agricultural small businesses in South and Monterey County with modified regulations to truck weight and water allocation. According to Alejo, both bills have received bipartisan support in the state legislature. “These bills will make a big difference in the work that small farmers do, and they will keep people in business and not take them out of business” he said.

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