It now looks as though there's no seismic activity at the old Fremont School site and potential future home of the San Benito County Courthouse - a major hurdle for advocates of a downtown location.
Although Mayor Doug Emerson this week said he's "not comfortable saying these things aren't seismic," he noted that the "features" that were in question appear to be non-seismic.
City Manager Clint Quilter gave a report to the city on Monday night's Hollister City Council meeting about the findings of the tests, which included trench digging and soil tests and are done to determine if the site would be safe in the event of an earthquake. The Hollister Redevelopment agency covered the estimated $250,000 cost of the testing - required by the state before it can be used as a courthouse site.
San Benito County Court Executive Officer Gil Solorio said a report should be ready within a week. Although this was only preliminary, Solorio said, "Our expectation is that the report will not return any significant seismic issues that would prevent the courthouse to be built on that location."
RDA manager Bill Chow concurred that although the final report is not yet completed by the state agency, indications are that there wasn't "anything seismic" at the school site.
If the final report comes back with a confirmation of no seismic activity, environmental testing still would need to be done at the site, said Emerson. Another issue will be the approval of transfer of the property to the county by the state public works board, Solorio said.
The new courthouse had been proposed for two sites, while the state will pay the cost, estimated at more than $30 million. The first site is near the San Benito County Jail on Flynn Road. The second, and more popular site with businesses people and government leaders, is on the site where the old Fremont School sits.
Colin McConville Colin McConville is a reporter with the Hollister Free Lance. You can reach him by email or at (831) 637-5566.
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