South Monterey County mayors join forces to get courthouse built
South Monterey County mayors are joining forces, demanding that a courthouse promised to them almost a decade ago, is built in Greenfield.
They sent a letter to Governor Newsom urging the state to deliver on its promise.
The new Greenfield courthouse was announced back in 2010 but budget contraints kept construction from starting.
Since then King City’s aging courthouse had to close in 2013 leaving South Monterey County residents no choice but to travel to Salinas or Monterey.
Something local leaders say is a tremendous burden for many residents.
A four-acre piece of property in Greenfield, located on El Camino Real and Cherry Avenue, was to have been the site of a new courthouse to serve South Monterey County.
Now, with the funds to build it now available, the mayors of Greenfield, Gonzales, Soledad and King City want to make sure that courthouse is built.
Soledad Mayor Fred J. Ledesma says their fight to get that courthoust isn’t for luxury, but necessity for all of South Monterey County.
“[For people with] moderate income jobs going to Monterey is inconvenient but it is not impossible, but if you’re a farmworker, if you’re an hourly wage worker, you just don’t say ‘I’ve got a court date, I’m going to go and miss an entire day of work.”
“You’ve got people from San Ardo having to go all the way to Salinas, Marina or Monterey,” said Greenfield mayor Lance Walker.
Walker says that Greenfield donated the land but says certain officials now want to build a courthouse in Seaside.
“It doesn’t make sense in Seaside, you’ve got two courthouses within six miles of each other,” he said.
Backing the South County mayors are Monterey County supervisors Chris Lopez and Luis Alejo.
Alejo tells KION that this courthouse is actually considered a small court project and that the county has worked to make it a priority since last year.
Salinas mayor Joe Gunter has also shown his support for the construction of the court in Greenfield.
He said that he also sent a letter to Newsom.
