Major Issues Confront Hospital Board

By Julie Fernandez

Tulare - A contentious Tulare Local HealthCare District board race is over and the focus now is on how the hospital district will resolve several old and new issues.

Still unclear early this week, though, was when Drs. Lonnie Smith and Prem Kamboj, who handily defeated incumbents LeRoy Trippel and Victor Gonzalez, will take office. Will it be this month? In December? Or in January? The answer depends on whom you ask.

The board is scheduled to meet on Nov. 29 in regular session, when it may have to consider changes to a controversial agreement to develop an east campus, and again on Nov. 30 to hear Chief Financial Officer Lucy Reimche's outline in open session her concerns about the way the hospital has handled certain financial matters.

In addition to the east campus and Reimche issues, the board can expect to have a conversation with Montion about his health. He said he experienced a second dissection in his aorta and was hospitalized with that and other health problems for four days beginning Oct. 31. He nearly died in January when the first tear occurred.

Montion called this second dissection “a wake-up call” and said it was an indication his blood pressure is not under control despite the numerous medications he takes to lower it.

Whether he continues will be a group decision involving the board, his doctors, and his family—just as it was earlier this year, he said. “I want to stay as long as I can,” he said. “My goal was to finish the west and east campuses—if there is an east campus—and then retire.”

Emergency Room

After its new members are seated, the board can expect to take up the matter of emergency room improvements. Kamboj and Smith have both said their top priority is finding a way to improve the existing emergency room, which will be in operation for at least six more years until a new hospital tower is built.

“We need to move quickly on that issue because that will change the whole perception of the community and the hospital,” Kamboj said.

Taking Office

Montion said he spoke with legal counsel, and was told Smith and Kamboj would take office at the board's first meeting in January.

The Tulare Voice, however, was given a copy of district by-laws which indicate the terms of board members expire on the last Friday of November, which is Nov. 24.

Board members Dr. Parmod Kumar and Deanne Martin-Soares said they don't recall the board changing the by-laws and Montion said he will ask Counsel Suzanne McGuire to double check the matter when she returns from vacation.

If the by-laws do call for incumbents to vacate their seats on Nov. 24, the board could face another problem. Martin-Soares said she was told by one of McGuire's colleagues that it appeared new board members could not take office before Dec. 7 because of how election laws are written. This would leave only three board members for the November meetings.

County election officials have 28 days following a contest to certify the results, a factor that may be at play in this situation.

The board could conceivably reschedule its regular meeting to next week and the special meeting with Reimche to Nov. 20 or 21 after she returns from Australia. It could also delay both meetings until after Dec. 7.

Reimche's Request

Reimche is nearing the end of a six-month leave and is the subject of a personnel investigation related to her relationships with her peers and subordinates. Montion felt those relationships had become so “severely impaired” that it was in the best interest of the hospital that she not return, Trippel told her in an October letter.

The board had intended to discuss Reimche's situation in a closed-door session on Nov. 1, but changed its mind after her attorney Leonard Herr sent a letter to Trippel that warned “any action against Lucy will be at the hospital's peril.”

Herr said he had evidence “you and the board have violated the Brown Act concerning Ms. Reimche” and repeated her request to address the board in open session regarding her concerns.

“As you know, Lucy has documented significant illegal and improper misconduct at the hospital for over a year now,” his letter said.

McGuire, the hospital's attorney, has said Reimche did not raise any allegations to the board until the personnel investigation began. She also said the board takes “very seriously” her claims and is taking steps to fully investigate them.

East Campus

Montion said the board-approved contract with Bruno and Associates to put together the elements of an east campus, which would include medical offices, surgery and medical imaging centers and other components, has not been signed because the hospital's attorney wants to have one more look at it.

If she recommends changes, the contract will go back to the board for consideration, he said. The current board approved the original contract in a 4-1 vote. Kamboj and Smith have indicated they want to look at the project and make sure it is economically feasible.

“I don't feel comfortable with that contract [with Bruno] at all—the way it was rushed,” Kamboj said. He and others had asked board members to hold off on a decision until after the election, which they refused to do.

Kamboj said he is not opposed to an outpatient surgery center, but believes the hospital can form partnerships with surgeons and build one without a developer.

Getting Along

Relationships among the board members have deteriorated for several months as they deliberated the east campus and other issues. Much of the board's unhappiness has been with Kumar, who opposed the Bruno contract.

Whether the new board will function better remains to be seen.

Kamboj thinks board changes will help as long as members “leave outside [the board room] any personal issues.”

Kumar said he will try to work with all board members. He was the target of allegations from fellow board members that he opposed the east campus because he had his own plans to develop a surgery center. He vehemently denied this at October's public meeting and said he had already addressed the issue in closed session the previous month.

“They have to trust me,” Kumar said. “They have to stop the politics of personal destruction.”

Deanne Martin-Soares, who publicly confronted Kumar with the surgery center issue in October, said she is “very optimistic” the board will work together.

“We have to move forward with some of these issues, so it doesn't affect the organization,” she said.

Smith and board member Roger McPhetridge could not be reached for comment before deadline.

---

Target to Include Full Grocery Store, Starbucks

Tulare - Building plans filed with the city indicate a SuperTarget with a full grocery line and Starbucks will go in on the 18-acre Tulare Market Place shopping center site in northeast Tulare.

Planning officials were told the 177,000 square-foot store would be one of only three SuperTargets in California, senior planner Bonnie Simoes said. The company's web site indicates only 159 of its 1,418 stores in the U.S. are SuperTargets.

When Browman Development Company of Oakland brought its plans for the 233,480-square-foot shopping center to the Planning Commission for approval in mid-July, company officials said the center on the southwest corner of Prosperity Avenue and Mooney Boulevard would include either a 125,000-square-foot Target and a separate grocery store tenant or a SuperTarget.

Unlike smaller Target stores that offer limit amounts of groceries, the SuperTarget will include a bakery and deli and meat and produce selections. It will also include a pharmacy and optical center. Site work has begun and Vic de Melo, vice president for Browman, said the mega-retailer plans to open its doors Oct. 14, 2007.

Tulare currently has one major grocery store—FoodsCo in Plaza Del Lago—east of Highway 99, where the city has seen an explosion of residential growth both north and south of Mooney.

In another development matter, the city has received plans for the vacant land on Prosperity that is immediately east of The Tulare Market Place and just west of where Valley Business Bank is building.

Submitted were plans for:

• Tractor Supply Company, which will have 22,670-square-feet of indoor retail space and 20,194-square-feet of fenced outdoor sales space. The business is expected to include fencing, boots, lawn mowers and other farming supplies.

• Valvoline Quick Service Oil and Lube, a 2,432 square-foot oil-changing facility.

Both projects are scheduled to go to the Planning Commission for approval at the first meeting in January, Simoes said.

---

Tulare's Music Man Parade Grand Marshal

Tulare - Ken Lange is modest when asked about his selection as grand marshal for the Children's Christmas Parade scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 4.

“I told someone they ran out of people to give it to,” said Lange, 79, who is retired from Lange Plumbing, a Tulare company his family continues to operate.

That, of course, is not the case.

“Every year the parade committee, because it's the children's parade, looks for somebody who's really made a contribution to the youth of our community,” said Jennifer McCoun, chief executive officer of the Tulare Chamber of Commerce, sponsor of the parade.

A line of several hundred children could testify that Lange meets that criterion. They are current and former middle school and high school students and young Salvation Army brass band members who have musical instruments, thanks to Lange and his late wife, Virginia.

Luz Gomez, a 12-year-old who has played trumpet, cornet, slide trombone and valve trombone in the Salvation Army band, said she is grateful that Lange has allowed her and other youngsters to experience the world of music.

“He has changed lots of people's lives by giving the Salvation Army instruments,” said Gomez, who also plays in the Mulcahy Middle School band.

Ray Ferenci, director of the Tulare Western High School band, said Lange quietly assists many bands.

“He's a very modest guy, Ferenci said. “He keeps things very low key.

He doesn't toot his own horn at all."

About 15 schools in Tulare, Visalia, Traver, Three Rivers, Kingsburg, Exeter, Lindsay and elsewhere have benefited from Lange's generosity, along with the Salvation Army's brass band.

Lange started helping students about 25 years ago, when he and his wife heard about a young boy who wanted to learn to play an instrument but couldn't afford to buy one.

They gave him one and then began going to pawn shops and scouring classified newspaper ads in search of used instruments they could buy and have repaired for other students. They also began buying new instruments from a company that sold to them at “rock bottom” prices, Lange said.

“I just wish more people were involved,” he said. “There are many, many people who have had instruments in their closets for 10, 15 or 20 years and no one uses them. It would be so nice if they donated them to a child who wants to learn to play.”

Capt. David Scott of the Salvation Army's Tulare Corps is delighted Lange will head up the Children's Parade that he and his wife presided over in 2005.

“Ken loves music, but I think he loves kids more,” Scott said.

“Whenever he's here and we have the kids, he really brightens up and you can see it in him,” Scott said. “People help, but when people help consistently and faithfully for a very long time and ask the right questions, you know they're interested in kids and giving them a good life.

Lange talks to the kids about school and what they like and he listens well, Scott said. “And the kids know he's actually interested in them personally.”

Lange, who plays the baritone horn, is a member of the Tulare Community Band and the Tule Brass Band.

“He loves British Brass, but he just loves any music,” Scott said. “There's a youth mariachi program in Visalia and I've been with him at some of their events as he supports that too.”

Lange was born in Fresno but moved in 1936 to Tulare, where he played in the bands at Cherry Avenue Middle School and Tulare High School, from which he graduated in 1945. He eventually took over Lange's Plumbing Supply Inc., which is the business his father and uncle founded and his son, Curt, heads up today.

---

Circa 1890 House Still for Sale

Tulare - No one has stepped forward to buy the century old two-story house at 535 West Alpine Ave. but the Tulare Redevelopment Agency is continuing its quest to find a buyer by Dec. 6.

The home, historically known as the Morrow House and built around 1890, sits on a 7-acre site where the agency is encouraging a mixed income housing project.

The house, which is in the late Victorian tradition with Craftsman elements, was listed as a Priority 2 historical building in a recent survey. It was not listed as a top priority probably because it has under gone alterations, said Library Director Michael Stowell, who heads up the city's historical resources committee. “Alterations are always a negative.”

The city, which adopted a historical preservation policy in July, expects only a “good faith effort” by the agency to save the building, Stowell said. “We haven't even had an inspection to see if it's stable enough to move.”

The house was occupied as recently as last week but is expected to be vacant any day, which will allow would-be bidders to take a look inside.

The Redevelopment Agency purchased the 1,578-square-foot house for $190,000 and, if it is not sold, might have to pay an estimated $10,000 to $15,000 to demolish it.

Art Cabello objected to a suggestion the agency sells the house for $1 to someone who would agree to relocate and rehabilitate it within the Tulare..

“We're losing too much money … and we're getting nothing for it,” Cabello said. “And that's not good business.”

He agreed with fellow board members who said the agency's goal is to redevelop and revitalize the neighborhood where the old county work yard use to be, but reiterated he does not want to give the house away if there's a possibility of a sale.

Since no one locally has shown strong interest in the house, he suggested the agency advertise to a broader audience and allow the house to be located outside of the city.

Agency officials said they will broaden the search for a buyer as Cabello suggested. Redevelopment Director Bob Nance said the agency is also considering moving the house to a temporary site or establishing an area where historic homes that have to be moved could be relocated.

For information about the house, contact Betsy McGovern, project manager, 411 East Kern Ave. or call 684-4254.

---

City Looking at Security Cameras for Skate Park

Tulare - The city may install security cameras in the soon-to-be built skateboard park and at other downtown locations.

City Manager Darrel Pyle, Police Chief Roger Hill and a delegation of other department heads traveled to Clovis on Nov. 1 to check out the offerings of Pelco, a company that designs, develops and manufactures video surveillance equipment.

Based on what he saw, Pyle said he most likely will recommend surveillance equipment at the skate board park, which will be built in Topham Park, and at the new intermodal transit center, which is expected to serve Greyhound and other non-municipal transportation companies.

Topham Park, which is on the southeast corner of Tulare Avenue and I Street, has had problems with drug dealers, prostitutes and others—a fact that has caused some people to question the wisdom of the city building a skate park at the location.

City officials, however, say they are committed to making the park safe.

“It's our goal to change the use and the behavior at the park by time the skateboard facility opens,” Pyle said.

Hill said the concerted efforts of a team of city code enforcement officers and redevelopment, building, planning and police officials who have targeted the area also will help the situation.

“It's already making some differences,” he said.

Not a Panacea

As for security cameras, Hill said “none of that stuff is a panacea” and he wants to be careful about raising expectations about what they can do.

“Yes, we can put cameras in the skate park and we can link them to the Internet so parents can watch from their homes,” he said. “They can see what the cameras see, but they can't see what the cameras don't see.”

The cameras can boost security significantly only if they are monitored in real time, but his department cannot add more tasks to dispatchers who already monitor in-house cameras in the booking area and holding cells, he said.

“The cameras are really the cheap part,” he said. “It's what you do with it that's expensive.”

The city of Clovis uses surveillance cameras in its skate park and throughout that city, but police Capt. Bob Keyes said it would be impossible for one person to monitor all 100 cameras in the system.

“We don't advertise them, because we don't want to create an expectation of safety because of the cameras,” Keyes said.

This is not to say that the cameras are useless.

If a person calls into the Police Department to report something suspicious or happens to be looking at a monitor and sees something unusual, then police can see immediately what is happening and respond, Keyes said.

Another Tool

Cameras also provide police with another tool to investigate crimes after the fact, because they can cull information from recorded video, he said.

“We've had allegations of drug sales there [in Letterman Park where the skate park is located] and it puts us in a position of investigating those,” he said for example.

The Clovis Parks and Recreation Department does not regularly staff Letterman Park, which is also a popular spot for picnics, but does put its people out there when the park is in high use “for an extra piece of safety”, said Glen Veatrez, recreation supervisor.

Milt Stowe, Tulare's director of parks, recreation and library, said he thinks adding surveillance equipment to Topham Park would be a good move.

“It's a great deterrent for vandalism and whatever illegal activity might take place because people know they are on camera,” Stowe said. “If we can put it on line [so parents can watch when they want], that's more eyes in the sky.”

The department does not intend to staff the park, but will patrol it more often, something he suspects the Police Department also will do, Stowe said.

The skate park project is still in the planning stages and Stowe expects final plans will go to the City Council within the next couple months.

“We're hoping that sometime in January we'll be able to go out to bid and perhaps in March or April we'll be able to start construction on it,” he said.

---