Some time later this summer, the Santa Clara County Board of
Supervisors will likely vote to evict the Lions Club from the San
Martin Lions Club and Community Hall where they’ve spent the past
27 years and let the Gavilan College Aviation Program take over the
building.
Some time later this summer, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will likely vote to evict the Lions Club from the San Martin Lions Club and Community Hall where they’ve spent the past 27 years and let the Gavilan College Aviation Program take over the building.
It makes sense. The building and 5-acre parcel would be leased by the aviation program – a use that is required, the county says, since the land is on airport property and funded in part by a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The move would be beneficial in two ways. First, it would be advantageous to have a tenant that is aviation related, presents minimal community impacts and furthers the academic mission of an educational institution.
Second, the county would earn more in rent, and in these tough economic times, every dollar helps.
The Lions Club signed a lease with the county in 1984 at the rate of $1 a year for 20 years. The lease was amended in 2004 to increase rent to $100 on a month-to-month basis with the understanding the county could move the Lions out with a 30-day notice.
Earlier this week the board delayed making any decisions, giving the club and the county a chance to find some sort of compromise that would allow the nonprofit group the chance to continue its philanthropic ways. That’s a good idea.
The sweet deal on rent allows the Lions to pour tens of thousands of dollars back into the community. Every year, the club donates about $100,000 into San Martin, Morgan Hill and Gilroy thanks entirely to its Wednesday night bingo game that attracts about 180 people each week. The center is the town’s meeting place for CalFire, the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance, political campaigns and debates and its rented by nonprofit groups at a low cost.
In the past two years the Lions Club donated $25,000 to San Martin/Gwinn School, including $10,000 for a new marquee, $4,000 for backpacks and supplies for needy children, $7,000 for new fencing and $2,000 to the library, said Lions member Alan Black. They have also donated thousands to Rebekah’s Children’s Services in Gilroy that helps neglected children. CalFire and nearly a dozen other groups use the facility for meetings and training several times per month.
That’s the type of giving that must continue, and the two-month continuance gives the two sides the time to find a solution.
“It’s not over. We have until August to put together a strategy that’s a win-win so each of the parties can come out of this with a benefit,” Black said.
