City of San Juan Bautista Government News

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.

In the final days of 2024, on Dec. 27, Don Reynolds’ tenure as San Juan Bautista’s city manager ended with his resignation after an eventful five-and-a-half years. His replacement, interim city manager Ashley Collick, will assume the job after the first of the year. 

After deciding not to run again, John Freeman ended his eight years on the San Juan Bautista City Council as it underwent a change of guard. At the Dec. 17 meeting, after a ceremony recognizing Freeman’s contributions to the city, his replacement, former planning commissioner Jose Aranda, along and reelected councilman Scott Freels, were sworn into office.

At a Dec. 2 special meeting, the San Juan Bautista City Council voted to approve the final wording of a memorandum of understanding that will be submitted to the San Benito County Board of Supervisors. If accepted by the board, the MOU would give the city a greater voice in decisions regarding proposed developments in the area immediately outside the city limits.

Jose Aranda, who currently chairs the San Juan Bautista Planning Commission, was one of two candidates elected to the San Juan Bautista City Council on Nov. 5, taking 37% of the vote in a four-person race.

Under pressure from City Manager Don Reynolds and the San Juan Bautista City Council to complete its work, the city’s Urban Growth Boundary Committee voted Oct. 28 to submit the finished draft of its final project, a memorandum of understanding, to the San Benito County Board of Supervisors that would give the city a measure of input into developments on county property near its boundaries.

At a San Juan Bautista Planning Commission meeting back on Aug. 27, Chairman Jose Aranda said he had been told that one of the city’s businesses—“a major player here in town”—would likely close in a few weeks.

During its Oct. 15 meeting, the San Juan City Council discussed new city staffing and an agreement with the City of Hollister for fire services.

In a surprise announcement, City Manager Don Reynolds notified members of the San Juan Bautista City Council and planning commission that he would not be seeking a renewal of his contract and would be retiring as of the end of the year.

BenitoLink hosted a General Election Forum at the Granada Theater in Hollister on Sept. 28. About 120 people were in attendance.

San Juan Bautista’s Urban Growth Boundary Committee has revised and simplified a memorandum of understanding with the San Benito County Board of Supervisors to be sent to them for review and possible revision.

Four candidates are running for two San Juan Bautista City Council seats. Mayor Scott Freels is running for reelection and is joined by Jose Aranda, Cherie Foletta and Tyler "Floppy" Jordan. BenitoLink sent each candidate the same set of questions. Their answers are presented here, edited for clarity and brevity.

The San Benito Council of Governments , an agency formed by the cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista and the San Benito County to deal with regional issues, including transportation needs, approved a study of the best way to improve Hwy 25.

The San Juan Bautista City Council has two seats up for contention this upcoming election and one of the candidates might sound familiar to local voters.

At a Sept. 10 special meeting the San Juan Bautista City Council approved a resolution calling for proposals for fire protection services and forming a special district to address unbalanced fire protection cost sharing.

On Sunday, September 15, 2024, Old Mission San Juan Bautista will commemorate Mexican Independence Day with a fiesta from 10:00am to 5:00pm in the historic Olive Grove.

A little over a week after a proposal to terminate San Juan Bautista’s Urban Growth Boundary Committee was defeated at the Aug. 20 City Council meeting, the committee members met Aug. 28 to discuss the way forward.

The San Juan Bautista Planning Commission accepted an amendment to the municipal code to loosen some restrictions on food trucks. If the measure is passed by the council, food trucks would pay a $150 per-day fee to be allowed to operate from three designated city street locations from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays.

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 27 voted to investigate the feasibility of forming a joint powers authority (JPA) for fire services. The cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista are expected to also consider being part of this separate, legal entity.

City Manager’s bid to City Council to terminate the group fails.

The extended nomination deadline to file for candidacy for the Nov. 5 general election was Aug. 14. Listed in this article are the candidates for congressional, state and local races including Hollister and San Juan Bautista City Council, school districts and San Benito Health Care District.

Reynolds says the projects are on track for completion as he continues to seek funding to lessen the impact on residents.

A federal committee last week approved about $63 million in funding for the improvement and expansion of infrastructure. The funds include more than $15 million in upgrades in San Juan Bautista and Hollister, according to U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren’s office.

In a 4-1 vote the Hollister City Council on June 18 agreed to terminate the city’s fire services contracts with San Benito County and San Juan Bautista. According to council members, this is a move to raise the fees it charges for those services.

At their May 28 meeting, the San Juan Bautista Urban Growth Boundary Sphere of Influence Committee reviewed a draft memorandum of understanding with the San Benito Board of Supervisors which would allow the city to have input into proposed developments on county property outside both the city limits and its sphere of influence.

City Manager Don Reynolds’ monthly report to the San Juan Bautista City Council at the May 21 meeting featured news about movies, recreation and food.

The funds are a combination of grants and low-cost federal loans to improve wastewater infrastructure.

Commission votes 3-0 to accept changes after multiple proposals were rejected.