As promised, the grand opening of the new City Hall on Aug. 9 was heavy on ceremony and light on official business.
Many city employees and community members gathered on the plaza of the new building to mark the city government's return to downtown San Jose. Before conducting the first council meeting in the new chambers, Mayor Ron Gonzales reflected on the significance of the building.
"We brought our city services to one place to make it more convenient for our residents and business to do business with City Hall and easier for our employees to coordinate and communicate with each other and with the community we serve," he said. "We are using technology that will make the legislative and policy process easier and more transparent for council members, the public and staff."
Five Taiko drummers kicked off the afternoon followed by the fire department choir, which sang the national anthem. Color guards from the police and fire departments raised the U.S., state and city flags for the first time. Even the City Hall's logo was represented on a fourth flagpole.
In addition, council members recognized four former San Jose mayors: Ernie Renzel, 98, was mayor from 1945-1946; and Bob Doerr was mayor from 1956-1958, during which time the old City Hall on North First Street was dedicated. Ron James was the first mayor to be elected directly by San Jose residents and served in 1967. Previously, the mayor's position was rotated among council members. Finally, Susan Hammer was recognized for starting the City Hall project during her term from 1991-1998.
A ceremony followed inside the chambers. Almost every seat in the hall was taken, and some residents took pictures to remember the day. Monsignor J. Patrick Browne gave the invocation, and Superior Court Judge Paul Bernal, whose family has been in San Jose for eight generations, provided prospective, describing the first adobe town council house. According to Bernal, when the adobe building was first built, it was newsworthy because people were jailed for refusing to work on it. Among those jailed was San Jose's first mayor.
Gonzales also noted how the city has changed since the last time the council convened at North First Street.
"At the last city council meeting, San Jose was the 11th largest city," he said. "San Jose is now the 10th largest city. San Jose will continue to grow and change."
During the business portion of the meeting, council members voted using a touch screen system for the first time, and after a brief delay, the tallies were displayed on giant screens to the oohs and aahs of the audience.
Council members also allowed the city's finance officials to place a lien on the next property bill for 27 property owners because they have not paid their invoices for sidewalk repairs. The sidewalk grant program partially reimburses residential property owners for fixing sidewalks. But the city would like to collect on the outstanding invoices, including work done as long as six years ago.
These residents have already received two formal notifications, but District 2 Councilman Forrest Williams asked city staff to look into ways to get property owners to pay more promptly.
Alex Mordinow, principal construction inspector with the city, said that it is the responsibility of property owners in San Jose, and typically in other large cities, to fix sidewalks. Very often, trees that have overgrown roots can break the sidewalks, as can cars parked on sidewalks when people use them as driveways.
"The sidewalk is a complaint-driven program," he said.
Community members also commented on the issue of Taser stun guns and their safety. Police Chief Rob Davis answered that the stun guns "are used whenever absolutely necessary."
The 90-minute meeting, which was punctuated by cell phones that kept chirping throughout, was pretty short by the council's standards. District 10 Councilwoman Nancy Pyle noticed other differences between the first meeting in the new chambers and those held at the former city hall, including more enthusiasm.
She added that she felt more connected to the audience because the council is seated closer and more at eye level.
Pyle said that it was hard to get the meeting started initially because current and former elected officials were busy getting reacquainted. |
