Lea este artículo en español aquí.
Though the meeting was uncharacteristically short, at just over 45 minutes, the San Juan Bautista City Council worked its way through some important housekeeping on Jan. 7 as it voted to fill several vacancies in city government offices.
The first vote was to confirm a contract with Interim City Manager Ashley Collick, who replaced retired city manager Don Reynolds. The council unanimously appointed Collick to the job at its Dec.17 meeting. She was one of three finalists and previously served in Seaside as a recreation coordinator, youth center supervisor, and assistant city manager, holding the last position since 2021.
In an interview with BenitoLink, Reynolds described Collick’s hiring as a “great opportunity” for San Juan, saying, “She wants to impress and will work hard to serve the city.”
Understanding that the city is still searching for a permanent replacement for Reynolds, the contract specifies that her employment is temporary and can be terminated with 30 days’ notice. She will be paid $14,882.40 monthly and is exempt from overtime.
After assigning council members to positions on various intergovernmental committees for this year, the meeting concluded with filling the four vacancies on the Historic Resource Board/Planning Commission.
Over the last two years, the joint commission has seen frequent turnovers in members, starting in 2022 with commissioner Mary Bains’ disqualification based on residency requirements. At the end of 2022, the terms of commissioners Yolanda Delgado and David Medeiros expired, and Jackie Morris-Lopez was elected to the City Council, leaving Tony Correia as the only remaining member.
In 2023, the council appointed Jose Aranda and Iraida H. Pisano while reappointing Medeiros and Dan DeVries. At the end of 2024, DeVries’s term expired, Aranda was elected to the City Council, and Correia and Medeiros resigned, once again leaving only one commissioner, Pisano. As a result, at least three meetings were canceled last year because there wasn’t a quorum.
The council received six applications for the four positions, reappointed DeVries to a four-year term and added three applicants who had not previously served on the board: Elise Brentnall and Chris Martorana, both to two-year terms; and Eduardo Sanchez to a four-year term.
Martorana has previously served as a council member and mayor and was a member of San Juan’s Sphere of Influence/Urban Growth Committee, which was recently disbanded after completing its work. He worked with fellow committee member DeVries on a draft agreement with the San Benito County Board of Supervisors to allow San Juan a more significant say in developments immediately outside the city.
Brentnall is the chief operating officer for Garlic.com and South Valley Internet, which recently received a $29.5 million grant from the California Advanced Services Fund to build a state-of-the-art broadband network in western San Benito County. According to her application, she has lived in San Juan for 37 years and is interested in helping the city maintain its historic character.
Sanchez attended San Juan Elementary in his youth and moved back to the area in 2019. He is a production planning manager for Heinzen Manufacturing, which designs, produces and installs food processing equipment. His resume shows he is interested in promoting economic growth through strategic planning while maintaining San Juan’s historic character.
The next regular meeting of the City Council will be Jan 21 at 5 p.m.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.
The post San Juan City Council agrees to contract with Interim City Manager appeared first on BenitoLink.