Councilwoman Hedy Chang announced at Wednesday
’s City Council meeting another step forward in opening a center
for the casual laborers, known locally as dayworkers, who
congregate on East Main and Depot avenues, looking for work.
Councilwoman Hedy Chang announced at Wednesday’s City Council meeting another step forward in opening a center for the casual laborers, known locally as dayworkers, who congregate on East Main and Depot avenues, looking for work.
The St. Catherine’s Dayworker Committee has worked for two years to find a site for such a center. Chang said a lease was signed Tuesday between the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose, representing St. Catherine’s Roman Catholic Church, and Charles Weston of Weston Miles Architects.
Weston and Lesley Miles are buying the Isaacson Grain Co. building on Depot Avenue near East Main Avenue, intending to rehabilitate the structure into offices and, possibly a café or bakery. Weston had offered the vacant land between the building and East Main Avenue as a site to locate portable buildings for a dayworker center.
Weston and others will be donating professional services to make the portables habitable; the city has waived or delayed some improvement requirements and is considering waiving more, all to allow the center to open as soon as possible.
The center’s function is to ease problems that arise between worker and employer from the language barrier. It will hold English as a Second Language classes and help the workers toward citizenship.
In other action, the council moved nearer to acquiring a new police facility.
Garrett Toy, director of Business Assistance and Housing Services, asked the council for permission to negotiate a lease agreement, purchase agreement and professional services contract with The Nicholson Company. The company owns the new but never occupied building at 16200 Vineyard Ave., north of Tennant Avenue.
Toy explained that the lease/purchase agreements would make it possible for the bidding process to begin, speeding up the time of occupancy.
At 43,000 square-feet, the building is considerably larger than the current police facility and would meet all police needs and leave 7,500 square-feet to rent out to a suitable entity. The purchase price is $8,150,000 including $1.750 million in improvements
The lease is for $1 a month, plus utilities, during construction and would end when the purchase is completed. Close of escrow, Toy said, would occur 30 days after improvements were completed. The purchase price would be reduced by the bid amount of improvements plus or minus applicable change orders.
The department has outgrown its current facility, a former bank at Monterey Road and West Main Avenue.
