City of San Juan Bautista City Council Councilmember Jose Aranda

San Juan Bautista and San Benito County have rejected Hollister’s latest proposal for fire protection services, citing an inability to cover the $3.9 million in shared increased costs.

The consent agenda for the San Juan Bautista City Council meeting on April 15, which ordinarily would be passed with little comment, proved to be the source of a lengthy discussion over several issues, particularly street closure times for the April 25 Rib Cookoff.

As negotiations over countywide fire protection services continue for a fourth month under a new City Council, the city of Hollister is proposing a new deal to San Juan Bautista and San Benito County.

Lacking a quorum for its April 7 meeting, members of a San Juan Bautista city council committee dealing with growth informally discussed changes to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the city and the San Benito County Board of Supervisors.

San Benito County is moving forward with plans to clear homeless encampments along the San Benito River in the third week of April. The effort will involve the cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista, following an agreement reached on April 2. The San Benito High School District will also participate in future collaborative work between the agencies.