AboutAbout
About
Situated as the southern gateway to the Bay Area, Gilroy provides an idyllic place to live and work. Gilroy is known for its peaceful residential environment, its award-winning wellness parks, golf courses, outlet shopping, Gilroy Gardens Theme Park, and the annual Garlic Festival.
Gilroy is a growing community with a population of approximately 58,756, representing 3% of Santa Clara County. The 2018 US Census ethnic breakdown in population shows approximately 30% Caucasian, 60% Hispanic, 7% Asian, 2% African American, and 1% American Indian. The median household income is $86,742, across 15,874 households within the 16 square mile incorporated area.
Gilroy, a charter city, has a seven member City Council with four-year terms, included a separately elected mayor who can serve any number of terms. The City of Gilroy operating budget is $57.5 million and employs approximately 260 full-time and 100 part-time employees.
The City of Gilroy’s Recreation Department is committed to engaging toddlers, children, youth, active adults and seniors in recreational, social and educational opportunities that nurture the health and well-being of our community, environment and economy. The Recreation Department has an operating budget of $3.6 million annually; offers an average of 750 classes annually; and employs 13 full-time, and 40 part-time employees year round and an additional 40 seasonal employees during the summer.
Our parks hosts many special events that include the annual Garlic Festival (Christmas Hill Park), Wyatt's Walk (Gilroy Sports Park) and the Bonanza Parade (Miller Park).
Gilroy is one of a few select areas that benefits from a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and cool, mild winters, making it perfect for agriculture and recreation. Nestled between the Diablo and Santa Cruz mountains in the Santa Clara Valley, Gilroy residents enjoy mild temperatures, while missing most of the coastal fog.
Historically, Gilroy’s economy has been based on agricultural products and process. Over the years, prunes, tomatoes, flowers, onions and of course, garlic, have contributed to the economic health of the agricultural industries. Food processing centers have established themselves in Gilroy, and government centers also employ many local residents. The Gilroy Outlets draw shoppers from all over the bay area and central coast regions to Gilroy.
The Team
Since the firm was established in 1995, PROS has completed more than 900 projects in over 47 states and numerous projects internationally in six countries.
Management consulting and planning services offered by PROS span the full spectrum of planning needs for public agencies, and are grouped into the following practice areas:
- Strategic Planning
- Master Planning
- Operations, Maintenance and Organizational Development
- Financial Planning and Management
- Feasibility Studies and Business Planning
- Marketing and Branding
- Web Design and Development
- Customer Service Training
The project will be led by Neelay Bhatt and supported by Nick Deardorf from the PROS Team.
The ability to Effectively Listen & Involve Citizens and Clients has given ETC Institute a reputation as one of the premier public policy market research firms in the country. ETC Institute’s services focus on involving citizens, users, and stakeholders in the decision making process and developing creative and sustainable funding strategies.
Core services of the firm involve conducting statistically valid phone and mail/phone services and related market research. They have conducted more than 600 surveys for parks and recreation systems in 46 states across the Country for a wide variety of projects including parks and recreation master plans, strategic plans and feasibility studies.
Established in 1992, ETC Institute helped secure funding for more than $2 billion of parks and recreation projects. PROS Consulting and ETC Institute have teamed on more than 300 similar parks and recreation projects