Tulare - Three City Council incumbents seeking re-election on Nov. 4 face a single challenger who praises the council for its fiscal responsibility but says “a fairly wide swath of people” is questioning whether the council listens or values its opinions.
The charge comes as the council nears a decision regarding the Tulare Motor Sports Complex proposed for 711 acres adjacent to the International Agri-Center.
Councilman Richard Ortega, who is not seeking re-election, and others have identified this as a decision that could change the face of Tulare forever.
As important as the Motor Sports Complex issue is, voters are also likely to consider such things as:
• The council's bold step in creating 13 new police positions and then convincing voters to increase the sales tax to pay for them, for more firefighters and for road improvements.
• The series of council moves that has led to state funding for two long-desired railroad grade separations at Cartmill and Bardsley avenues.
• The decision to sell bonds to build a $14 million public library and City Council Chambers in downtown Tulare.
• The adoption of the 2030 General Plan, which is being challenged in Tulare County Superior Court. The plan would convert more than 16,000 acres of farmland to accommodate more than 130,000 people over the next 20-plus years.
Not all the votes in connection with these moves were unanimous, another factor for voters to consider.
The candidates in this City Council race are, in alphabetical order:
• Incumbent Carlton Jones, 35, a Fresno city firefighter, who was first elected in 2004. Jones is a coach for Tulare Youth Athletic Association football and basketball teams and the California Express track team, a strength coach for the Tulare Western High School girls' basketball team and a supporter of the Tulare Athletic Boxing Club. He has five children.
· Wayne Ross, 43, owner of Ross Wealth Management, a financial and insurance advising company. He is a member of Noon Rotary and has coached girls' softball and AYSO soccer and is a former Tulare Union High School junior varsity football coach. He is treasurer of the Mission Valley Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization. He is married with three daughters.
· Vice Mayor Phil Vandegrift, 59, owner of Target Realty. He is also a member of the Tulare District Cemetery Board, the Tulare Memorial District Board and chairman of the Council of Tulare County Cities. He is married and has two adult daughters and a grandchild.
· Mayor Craig Vejvoda, 51, owner of Vejvoda Financial Services. He is a member of Tulare Noon Rotary, co-chair of the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast, a TIP board member and an executive board member of the Southern San Joaquin Valley division of the League of California Cities.
Carlton Jones
Jones said he was tired of a “do more with less” philosophy with regard to public safety when he “went out on a limb” four years ago and made the motion to give the Police Department more than double the number of new officers that staff had recommended.
The vote was 3-2 with Mayor Craig Vejvoda and Councilman Richard Ortega opposed because the council did not know how it would fund the positions beyond the first year.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the Measure I sales tax increase, which solved the funding problem and also provided money for more firefighters and road improvement.
“You've got to take a leap of faith now and then,” Jones said. “I took a lot of heat for it.”
Jones was disappointed his fellow council members would not agree to make it a special sales tax, which would have required a two-thirds majority vote to pass and make it impossible for future councils to use the money for anything other than public safety and roads. (The measure was supported by more than two-thirds of the voters.)
He also wanted a clause that would allow the council to suspend or reduce the amount if it became a burden to local residents, but said when Darrel Pyle became city manager he explained there were other ways the council could provide relief.
Jones said he was a “no” vote on the library because state support was not forthcoming and the city would have to spend $14 million of its own money on the project, he said, adding Tulare voters also had rejected a library bond measure that would have given Tulare money for the project.
He stressed that now that the decision has been made to build the library, “I'll work as hard as anyone to see and make it happen.”
He called the council's 3-2 vote in favor of a manufacturing housing project in West Tulare “a horrible decision” and said, “I still don't see one positive aspect of building a zero-lot manufactured housing development at West and Bardsley.”
As for the motor sports complex, he sees his job as “not slamming on anybody's dream, but making sure their dream fits with the city's,” Jones.
Comments on his MySpace and Facebook internet pages are running 4-1 in favor of the project, but he has not made up his mind how he will vote, Jones said.“I'm still listening to the facts.”
He said he favored putting a measure on the Nov. 4 ballot to garner public opinion and could favor that again if the public appears sharply divided on the matter.
As for the next four years, he said the council needs to continue to address water issues and make sure the railroad grade separations and other projects get built.
Wayne Ross
Ross said the City Council has done a good job keeping the city fiscally sound and building its general fund reserve, but he has concerns about how it has interacted with the public.
“Taking the pulse of people you talk to…I don't know if they feel like their opinion is being heard of if it's being valued,” he said. “I detect his from a fairly wide swath of people.”
Whether that is perception or reality, the problem needs addressing, he said. “People were expressing some dissatisfaction with their ability to give input to the city and its leaderships.”
Ross said he favored the decision to build a new library with Council Chambers but questions putting it downtown instead of rebuilding on its existing west Tulare site.
“Moving it to the east has possibly moved it further away from the people who need it the most,” Ross said. “I'd hate to think we're building something that's an expensive meeting place.”
Admitting no easy solution exists, he said he wishes more time had been spent exploring other options, even if they were a bit more costly.
“If it's about money every time, you don't always make the best decision,” he said.
Ross said he is “leaning against” the motor sports complex, because questions about how much it will cost taxpayers haven't, in his opinion, been fully addressed.
He also has called for a community-wide vote on the project, remarking that the reason our forefathers broke with England was over an issue of taxation without representation.
“We probably missed a golden opportunity to bring it before voters with the current election,” he said, adding the council “maybe” should consider providing another opportunity even though a special election will cost more than if the matter had been included on the November ballot.
“Leadership is a pretty awesome responsibility,” he said. “Yes, you do have to lead. Yes, you have to make tough decisions, but does that mean leaders make all the decisions — the answer is 'no.' This is a situation where citizens are going to have to pony up some money.”
Ross said he would bring a strong fiscal background to the council at a time when the community can expect to see tighter budgets because of the national and economic situation.
The community will have to make a distinction between “needs” and “wants,” he said.
Craig Vejvoda
Vejvoda is proud of what the City Council has accomplished in his first term on the five-member body and said if re-elected, public safety will remain his top priority with “economic vitality falling right behind that.”
“We have uncertain economic times ahead of us and we really have to pay especially close attention to our revenues and expenditures,” he said.
He said he would like to see improvements to the city's fire service, which a consultant has said needs more firefighters and stations, so homeowner insurance ratings go up and payments that residents make are reduced.
“Our Fire Department is just as vital to our city as the Police Department,” he said.
Vejvoda voted against hiring more than a dozen new officers four years ago because “that was going to be a $1 million a year obligation and I don't like spending money we don't have,” he said, adding the city would have been broke in three years had a funding solution not been found.
Nevertheless, he calls the council's decision to hire the officers one of its best it made because it led to Measure I, a sales tax measure that provided funding not only for the police officers but for other public safety and road improvements as well.
He also is proud of “the series of strategically good moves” the council made to get money to build railroad grade crossings at Cartmill and Bardsley, the vote to build a new public library — which he calls a “learning center” — and the council's commitment to address the water issue by purchasing $250,000 worth of additional water during a wet year and putting it in a recharge basin and buying 160-acres of land for a recharge basin.
As for the race track project, Vejvoda said he is spending a lot of time listening to people and is “more inclined to vote in favor of it than against it” but still remains open to other points of view.
A majority of the concern is rooted in the location of the project (“not in my backyard”), rather than the concept, he said.
He recently spent time questioning Chaze Allen, the mayor of Newton, Iowa, about a new racetrack in that community of 15,000 which has attracted as many as 70,000 people for races.
“He talks about what a wonderful thing it is to have all these people show up from out of town, spend their money and leave,” Vejvoda said.
Allen told him the same arguments raised in Tulare by track opponents were raised there but today “nobody is complaining,” Vejvoda said.
At meetings and other locations, Vejvoda has been asking people for their opinion on the project. Among people who have formed an opinion, he estimated the response has been more than two to one in favor.
Vejvoda does not favor the city putting the project to the ballot for a vote.
“People elected us to the council to represent them and I think I do that,” he said “We haven't gone to the public for a vote in anything so far and we've been able to make decisions.”
Phil Vandegrift
Vandegrift said the City Council has had four great years with its best decision being the hiring of City Manager Darrel Pyle, whose strong financial background has been a tremendous asset.
“His mind is faster than a calculator and his ability to inter-relate different revenue streams and programs so the city's ready to step up to the plate when money becomes available is outstanding,” he said.
The result is the community will soon realize such “long-standing dreams” as the building of grade separations at the Union Pacific Railroad Tracks, he said.
Vandegrift, along with Jones and Councilman David Macedo, was one of the three council members who voted four years ago to provide the police department with more police officers than staff had recommended. He also voted with Vejvoda and Ortega to build a new public library with city funds.
He is proud that the council has been able to build and maintain a general fund reserve equal to at least 15 percent of its operating budget and that code enforcement has become a top priority, along with public safety and economic development.
“An ounce of code enforcement is worth a pound of redevelopment,” he is fond of saying.
He thinks it is important for the city to diversify its economy, which is why he tends to focus on the types of jobs and related industries the race track project would bring to Tulare.
“What would happen if the price of milk fell and they [dairy owners] picked up their cows and moved to Georgia?” he asks. “What would happen to our economy?”
He does not think the race track project should go on the ballot for a vote.
“The elected are charged with representing the people as a legislative body and are responsible for studying the issues and rendering an opinion, the vote,” he said.
He noted the process also has and will continue to involve public hearings and other discussions before the Planning Commission and City Council.
“There has also been solicitation for interested parties to participate in an oversight committee formed by the Tulare Industrial Site Development Foundation, he said.
“I support this kind of involvement/participation over
an emotionally charged vote of the people in which most choose not to or
did not participate in the study and planning processes,” Vandegrift
said.
Tulare - Library Michael Stowell smiled as he looked into the faces in the large crowd assembled for the groundbreaking Monday of the new Tulare Public Library and City Council Chambers.
“One of the nicest things about this ceremony today is we have a lot of children,” Stowell said.
About 200 students from St. Aloysius Parochial, Tulare Christian, Garden Elementary and Cherry Avenue Middle schools were in attendance and Stowell said that was very appropriate.
“This facility is about the future of our city,” he said.
Eleven of the students participated in the actual groundbreaking, standing side-by-side with Stowell, Mayor Craig Vejvoda, Vice Mayor Phil Vandegrift, Councilman Richard Ortega, City Manager Darrel Pyle, businessman Tony Taylor, retired school superintendent Ned Kehrli and others who had played a significant role in bring the project to this point.
“I think the quickest way to a higher paycheck is higher knowledge,” said Vejvoda who, after attempts to get state bond money failed, voted with Vandegrift and Ortega to use city funds to build the $14.3 million project.
“I applaud everyone involved in this process,” Vandegrift said, thanking his council peers “for having the courage to move forward.”
Ortega called the groundbreaking “a very historic event,” a sentiment echoed by project architect Paul Halajian, who predicted “what's happening here today is going to change a whole bunch of things” as the library becomes a catalyst for change on adjacent streets and neighborhoods.”
“We'll see you back here in 14 months,” he said. Taylor, president of the Tulare Library Foundation, reminded the crowd the foundation had promised to raise $1 million for the effort. He said later the foundation will meet soon to map out a fund raising campaign.
Kerhli, chairman of the Library Advisory Board and former chairman of the Tulare Joint Union High School District, said a community becomes a “good community” because of its infrastructure, which includes its library.
Before the ceremony began, Mike Anderson, construction manager for Zumwalt Construction, Fresno, outlined in orange the footprint for the project.
“I'm standing in what will be the middle of the City Council dais,” he said.
After the ceremony, Anderson said bids on the earthwork are due in by Oct. 17 and work is expected to begin on the site by Halloween. The project is expected to be completed by March 2010.
Asked what kind of books they hope to find at the new library, St, Aloysius School first graders shared some of their favorite topics.
“NASCAR, I like NASCAR,” said 6-year-old Christian Figueroa.
“Some of my favorites are about cats and dogs and horses,” 6-year-old Veronica Faria said.
“My favorite is Disney books,” Emily Godinho, 6, said.
As for Mia Johnson, 5, she said she wasn't sure she had a favorite topic. “I have a lot.”
Students who helped with the groundbreaking were:
· From Cherry Avenue, Joseph Medina and Meghan Flora, sixth graders;
· From Garden School: Ashlyn Romans, Fernando Garcia, Jacob Balaam and Cheyane Schooley, all six graders;
· From St. Aloysius, Audrey Faria, fourth grade, and Alexis Daley and Abenet Abraham, both first graders;
· From Tulare Christian, Jim Valov, fourth grade, and Ali Sephton, fifth grade.
By Rick Elkins
Tulare - The tragic death of Max Corbett, a Tulare Joint Union High School District ag teacher for more than three decades, has resulted in renewed support for the district's school farm and dairy.
Dairyman Joey Fernandes said the tragedy caused the dairy community to realize how important the program is and how much Corbett had put into it. There was concern over its future with the man who had overseen it for more than 20 years now gone.
“The dairy's been out there for years. It took Max's death to make people take a harder look at it,” said Fernandes, one of many who already have stepped up to make improvements to the small operation.
“There's some challenges,” he acknowledged, but “it's a gem also.”
Corbett was killed Sept. 14 by a bull at the dairy. His funeral a week later drew more than 1,000 people, probably the most attended memorial service in the history of Tulare.
Corbett, 61, taught ag in the high school district for 33 years, but it was his connection to the dairy industry that has led to the outpouring of support for the school dairy.
Dave Caetano, ag department chairman, said the support has
been “overwhelming.”
“I think it's their way of showing what he meant to them and what
the program means to the community,” Caetano said.
Tulare may be the only high school program in the nation with its own working dairy, he said. The district's ag program is situated on 98 acres, of which about 18 are for the shop, classrooms and horticulture. About 70 acres are farmed and the dairy takes up about 10 acres. Alfalfa is grown and fed to the cows.
The dairy has 63 cows and milks about 55 a day. Caetano said the dairy is down on numbers — it used to have as many as 80 cows. One thing that has changed, there will be no more bulls on the dairy.
Now, not only is maintenance being stepped up, so are improvements, including the addition of more cows.
People are willing to put equipment in there that will minimize labor and make it profitable, said Fernandes. More importantly, there are dairymen ready to donate cows to bring the herd up to what is needed. However, Caetano said more repairs and improvements will be needed before they can add a lot more cows.
Maintenance on the dairy had been deferred many years because of budget constraints, Fernandes said.
“We can get 40 cows tomorrow. It is just impressive how many people are offering to help. We have companies vying to provide free new equipment and barn improvements,” he said. “A lot of that is on emotion right now.”
On the more immediate horizon are plans to increase the milking ability of the barn from three cows to six or eight at a time. That would allow for more cows to be run through the milking barn and mean more income for the dairy.
“The dairy community is definitely stepping forward. For some of those guys, many former students of Max, they want to see his legacy continue and they see the importance in the dairy in the bigger educational picture,” said Caetano.
Both Caetano and Fernandes said questions over the long-term future of the farm need to be answered before major renovations are undertaken.
Caetano, who has taught ag at the school for more than 25 years, said he would like to see the district make a commitment.
While there has been discussion regarding moving the school farm to where College of the Sequoias has a new campus and its own farm/dairy planned, Caetano doesn't see anything happening for several years in light of the current economic climate.
“We can make some small modifications now,” added Fernandes, explaining those could include increasing the milking capacity of the barn and adding more cows.
Importance of Program
With the addition of Mission Oak High School, the farm now serves three high schools. This year, instead of separate FFA campus chapters, there is just one Tulare FFA Chapter.
Fernandes, who was a student of Max Corbett, said many people don't realize the significance of the program.
The farm and dairy are valuable teaching tools because of the number of FFA students and the fact so many come from non-farm families, he said. The ag program enrollment is nearly 900 and about half of those are students who do not come from farming families.
“It's sure a great way to educate people. It definitely has value in that alone,” Fernandes added.
Not only do FFA members have animal and other projects, but there are scores of FFA judging and public speaking competitions.
Dairy owners were concerned about the future of the dairy program in the wake of Corbett's death, Caetano said. “We're going to continue.”
As for replacing Corbett, all agree that is going to difficult. For now, a long-term substitute – former student and FFA officer Jennifer Souza – has been hired. The district also is going to hire a full-time dairy manager. “Having someone out there on a fulltime basis will have a phenomenal impact.” Caetano said.
Tulare - When Trish Arnold, co-event coordinator, says Tulare's Relay for Life “rocks,” she's talking about the many businesses and ordinary people who go the extra-mile to help the community raise money to fight cancer.
Three examples:
• Melanie Black is so serious about finding a cure for the disease that the shift supervisor at the Hillman Street and Prosperity Avenue Starbuck's has promised to shave her head if customers donate $5,000 to the store's Relay for Life team.
Her reason: “Just because it's good for the community,” Black said.
• Marlene Sanchez, a long-time supporter of Tulare's annual relay, was not on the organizing committee this year but still wanted to help, so she organized a homeroom challenger at Mulcahy Middle School, where she is a counselor.
The result: Students raised $1,031 for the Cancer Society. “I was expecting $600 or $700,” Sanchez said. “I'm just amazed. Our kids are givers and they definitely exceeded our expectations.”
• Andrea Richardson, fitness manager at Evolutions, and her colleagues “just wanted a way to help and donate more money to the American Cancer Society,” so they went to Passion Daley — event co-chair with Arnold — and offered to put together a triathlon, Richardson said.
The result: More than 200 people from all over California will participate in the Tulare Triathlon during Relay for Life Saturday, swimming, bicycling and running to raise money for the Cancer Society.
“Their last lap is on our track,” Arnold said.
Relay for Life will be held at Bob Mathias Stadium, 755 East Tulare Ave., from 9 a.m. Saturday until 9 p.m. Sunday.
Fifty-three teams are signed up for this year's event, at least half of which are new, said Karen Smith, co-team captain co-coordinator. Each will have a member — spurred on by pledges to the American Cancer Society — on the track throughout the 24-hour event.
Cancer survivors are invited to arrive at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast, followed by opening ceremonies at 9 a.m., at which time survivors will be invited to walk the first lap around the track.
They can then hang out in the Survivor Tent, where they can enjoy refreshments throughout the day and meet other survivors like Dot Glendinning, survivorship co-chair, who is a three-time cancer survivor.
“The Cancer Society has been a big help to me,” said Glendinning, who battled cancer in 1992, 2005 and again in 2006.
When she had to go to the University of California, San Francisco, in 2005, she said for example, the Cancer Society set her and her children up in a hotel and helped pay for gas to get there.
Another special reception for survivors is planned at 7:30 p.m. at the tent, just before the Luminaria Ceremony at 8 p.m.
For more information about survivor events, call Marilyn Brazil at 303-6223.
By Steve Pastis
Tulare - Measure J supporters are optimistic Tulare-area voters will approve a property tax on Nov. 4 to raise local funds for a new College of the Sequoias campus on Bardsley Avenue.
Measure J is a bond measure that would raise $60 million as a local match to attract $128 million in state funds. The bond has been estimated to cost $24.71 per $100,000 in assessed property value, or $31.53 per year to the average homeowner, over the 30-year life of the bonds.
The new campus would serve an estimated 3,500 students and offer numerous achievement and skill certificates. College officials estimate a Tulare campus would pump $150 million per year into the local economy.
“It [the campaign] is going very, very well,” said Gerald Benton, co-chairman of the Friends of COS in Support of Measure J Committee. "We're getting a lot of positive response.”
Benton bases his comments on the telephone campaign conducted by his committee. He said that 90-95 percent of the people called have been very much in support of the measure.
The main argument against the measure that supporters hear is, “I don't want to pay any more taxes,” said Benton. “Other than that, nobody has any concerns about having a college here.”
Dr. Bill Scroggins, COS president/superintendent, said that support in Tulare “is very strong.” He said the phone campaign indicates 64 percent of voters support the measure, 5 percent oppose it and 35 percent are undecided. The measure requires a 55 percent majority.
“That's pretty good, but that was before the panic on Wall Street,” said Scroggins.
“People are justifiably concerned about the economic future of the country.”
He called Measure J “a modest tax,” adding, “The money stays local, instead of being sent to Sacramento or Washington D.C.”
The $60 million would fund parking and infrastructure, such as roads and sewers, which the state will not fund. Phase one would also provide 93,000 square feet of space for classrooms and student service areas, and house the welding, ag mechanics and ornamental horticulture programs.
Measure J would also provide an estimated $3 million in local funds to match more than $27 million in state money for the vocational education complex that is scheduled to be built in phase two of the project.
The 47,000-square-foot complex would incorporate the environmental technology, automotive, industrial maintenance, electronics, construction, environmental control technology and informational technology programs.
The farm animal complex, with 48,000 square feet of farm animal buildings, corrals, equipment yard and an equine arena in phase three, would be built with $44 million of Measure J funds and $41 million in state funds.
'Low Profile' Opponents
There are those who oppose Measure J, including a group that gathers informally to discuss local issues while maintaining a low profile.
“We've agreed not to get involved in the media,” said one member of the group, who explained that this is in response to how the group had been covered by the local press.
“It's just a bunch of us that got together and decided to unite,” said Leanne E. Curtz, who supplied the argument against Measure J on the sample ballot. “We talk to each other about city events and meet occasionally, but we don't collect dues.”
The group has its origins in the 1991 fight against the construction of a minimum-security prison near Lindsay, according to Curtz, who said they bought a billboard and conducted a letter-writing campaign that led to the withdrawal of the idea.
Now, 17 years later, the group opposes Measure J - as well as Measure I in the Visalia area - mainly because of concerns about its funding.
“Everything I read that's in favor is promising matching funds, and there's no guarantee of that,” said Curtz. “The money is in a 'pot' and given out as the need arises, and there is a vetting process.
“It's a ploy for us to mortgage all our property, and the money isn't always there,” she added.
“Most of the $128 has been approved but hasn't been released yet,” said Benton, who explained these funds are not among those affected by the current crisis in state funding. “They approved the money for the campus, to build certain buildings, but this is not for infrastructure.”
He said that to create a “functional complete campus,” funds for such infrastructure as roads, sewers and parking lots have to be raised locally.
“Without Measure J funds, we would just keep applying for state funds and hope for the best,” said Dr. Bill Scroggins, COS president, in a press release issued by Measure J supporters. “However, there is a complex point system at the state for deciding which college gets the funding, and without our own matching funds, we won't be able to compete.”
'Wounded Stepchild'
Most city councils in the Tulare School Facilities Improvement District, the portions of Tulare and Kings counties that will vote on Measure J, have announced their support for it. One exception, however, is the city of Corcoran, which declined to take action.
Corcoran Mayor Dick Haile explained the city is currently paying off two bonds, one for a new water plant and another for a new hospital, and each is $18 million dollars.
“All our schools are in dire need of repair,” Haile said. “Also, we need a new elementary school. Obviously, having COS in Tulare would be a good thing, but in the future, we'll have one - if not two - more bond measures in our city.
“I also believe that Corcoran is like a wounded stepchild. Nobody wants us until they want [something from] us. I don't think COS has treated us very well in the past few years.
We believe we should have been told about this 6-8 months ago,” Haile said, adding that COS and the city of Corcoran have “grown apart.”
But he said he believes this issue may lead to improved lines of communication and added he also wanted to make it clear that the lack of official city support for the measure is different than the city opposing it.
“I may possibly vote for it,” Haile said. “I'm not going to say.”
Haile, who attended COS, said that a COS campus in Tulare would be “wonderful” for the people of Tulare. He noted the new campus would be “about 25 minutes from Corcoran,” not much of a difference from the Visalia campus, which “is 28 minutes away.”
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
October 9 , 2008
