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Matheny Residents 'Very, Very Unhappy’

Tulare - More Matheny Tract residents appear interested in annexing to the city than city officials previously had thought, but whether the number equals more than half the property owners – the amount needed for the city of Tulare to act – is not yet known.

After a lively 21/2-hour meeting last Thursday with about 70 Matheny residents, city Planning Director Mark Kielty said one thing was clear to him: “They're very, very unhappy with the county.”

But even given that unhappiness with the county, residents appeared “all over the board” when it came to the question of whether they wanted to be annexed to the city, Kielty said.

“There's obviously some who would support it, depending on what the cost was; others – not a chance; and still others want more choices,” he said.

Tulare County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) staff members attended the meeting and Kielty said he was told they will likely recommend the city conduct a survey to get a better handle on how much annexation support exists.

LAFCo, the agency authorized to approve or reject annexation requests, postponed in February a city request to annex 461 acres adjacent to Matheny Tract for an industrial park until a meeting was held with subdivision residents.

The lack of consensus among residents was apparent when Kielty said he would report to his boss, City Manager Darrel Pyle, that the residents were dissatisfied with county services and want city services.

“Not everybody wants to be city,” one woman shouted out as a portion of the audience nodded its head in agreement.

Lew Nelson, the city's public works director, has been working with the Pratt Mutual Water Company and Self Help Enterprises for three years on a grant application to replace Pratt Mutual's old, undersized and contaminated water system so the city can either sell water to the company or directly to residents.

“I've heard for three years…a majority of Matheny residents don't want to be annexed,” Nelson told the audience.

If that is not the case, then they must petition the city for annexation, he said, predicting a request from a majority of property owners would get “good support” from LAFCo.

Nelson and other city officials have been blunt in their assessment that annexing the Matheny Tract would cost the city lots of money – $8.6 million according to a study by City Engineer Mike Whitlock – because it is so far below city standards and would not benefit the city in any way.

“But that doesn't mean we won't do it if a majority of property owners asks for it,” Nelson said.

Industrial Park

The meeting with Matheny residents was called at the insistence of LAFCo – which is considering the proposed 461-acres along South I Street zone for an industrial park.

The park would be adjacent to the Matheny Tract and LAFCo staff and commissioners wanted to make sure residents were aware of the plan and had the opportunity to comment on potential impacts.

During LAFCo's February meeting, Maria Sofia Corona, a community worker for California Rural Legal Assistance, presented commissioners with a petition signed by 18 residents asking that action be postponed until residents received more information.

State law requires the city to send public hearing notices on proposed general plan amendments, zoning changes and annexations to all property owners within 300 feet of the area under consideration.

The city did what it was required, which resulted in about 25 to 30 notices going to Matheny property owners, Kielty said.

But the subdivision includes nearly 300 parcels, which prompted LAFCo staff to cite “a lack of public outreach” to Matheny residents and the commission to postpone action on the proposed industrial park annexation until 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 7, in the Tulare County Board of Supervisors chambers at the County Civic Center in Visalia.

Asked about the proposed industrial park, several Matheny residents expressed concern about the noise, pollution and traffic congestion they suspect will occur with large industrial operations next door.

“You put a 20-foot wall out there and it's still not going to stop it,” one man said in response to Kielty's comment the city would require a developer to put in a brick wall to separate the industrial park from the residential subdivision.

“We don't want none of this out there,” another resident said.

“There's no advantage to us,” yet another said.

About two years ago a major warehousing company was looking at property in the proposed new industrial park but the land was neither within the city's limits nor zoned for industrial use at the time, Kielty and Nelson told residents.

That operation would have employed about 1,000 people – creating jobs for people who live in the Matheny Tract – but it also would have generated about 160 truck trips a day, Kielty and Nelson said.

Addressing the noise impact, Nelson said the city can require developers to place loading docks away from the Matheny side of the parcels.

The proposed annexation would include land bound by Bardsley Avenue on the north, the Union Pacific Railroad on the east, Pratt Street on the west and the Matheny Tract on the south.

Rural Legal Assistance

California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) became involved with Matheny residents after they heard there was concern about the industrial park plan, CRLA attorney Kara Brodfuehrer said after the meeting.

CRLA has held two meetings with residents to inform them of their rights. The first drew about 25 people and the follow-up attracted about 50, Brodfuehrer said.

Asked if she detected a consensus among the residents who attended the city's meeting regarding the annexation and industrial park issues, she said she didn't want to speculate on what the majority might be thinking.

CRLA will hold another meeting with residents prior to the LAFCo meeting in Visalia, she said.

Brodfuehrer and Corona, the CRLA community worker, said the city's concerns over what the annexation of Matheny would cost can be addressed in part by tax-sharing agreements such as the ones the cities of Visalia and Porterville entered into with the county when they annexed county subdivisions. They also said the city could qualify for grants to help pay for improvements.

Kielty is skeptical a tax-sharing agreement would help. He said Matheny Tract pre-dates Proposition 13, which means the value of most properties is low as is the amount of property taxes paid.

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'Business as Usual' Not Option for High Schools

Tulare - Fewer security guards, coaches and contracted adult school classes are among changes in store for the Tulare Joint Union High School District, which would face a projected $6.8 million deficit in the 2010-11 school year if trustees decide to conduct “business as usual.”

But “business as usual” is not a wise option in the next fiscal year because that would dramatically reduce the size of the district's reserves – its fiscal safety net – and create a critical cash flow problem by July 1, 2011, business manager Vivian Hamilton told trustees in a March 25 meeting to study the budget.

“I would not recommend doing nothing,” Hamilton said.

In a first step toward trimming the projected deficit, trustees directed staff to move ahead with a list of 23 proposed reductions that total $1.08 million and include elimination of one part-time security guard position at both Tulare Union and Tulare Western.

Trustees also were given a chart outlining additional savings the district could realize by increasing the average class size from the current 22.5 students per class.

An increase to 22.6 students would save an estimated $48,204 in salaries only, while going all the way up to 25 students could save $1.12 million, Hamilton said.

Because class size can have a big impact on students, trustees have chosen to think about the issue more before deciding what to do.

'Painful' Cuts

Superintendent Howard Berger told trustees he and his staff tried to be fair and proposed cuts in all areas.

“These are going to be painful,” he said in introducing the proposed reductions.

Trustees appeared especially reluctant to eliminate the two half-time guard position, even though Tulare Union and Tulare Western, as well as Mission Oak, will still have one full-time security guard, as well as police and probation officers on campus.

“We're not compromising any safety?” trustee Cathy Mederos asked.

Chairman Steve Lessley said campus safety is a district priority and “maybe we'll want to look at that more closely.”

But after trustees were given a look at the whole picture – in both open and closed sessions – they supported all the proposed reductions. The closed-door meeting focused on budget issues that will involve negotiations with employee unions, administrators said.

Reduction of the part-time guard positions will save the district $23,760 – not a lot of money in light of the large deficit. But to keep the positions would in all likelihood mean increasing the budget shortfall because the district – to treat all schools equally – would have to add a third part-time guard job at the new Mission Oak High School, which will have four grades for the first time, business manager Vivian Hamilton said.

Coaching Positions

Reducing the number of coaching positions on each campus from the current 50 to 45 is expected to save the district $45,691, Hamilton said. Athletic directors will decide where to make the cuts.

“Some schools are eliminating levels of sports; it's not our recommendation that we do that,” Hamilton said.

The district also plans to eliminate bus travel within town to athletic contests, with the exception of football, for a $3,400 savings. A 10 percent reduction in athletic supplies will save another $24,320.

The largest savings on the list – $224,355 – will come from eliminating Tulare Adult School contracts with the Tulare County Office of Education, ABLE Industries in Visalia, Tulare Beauty College and the city. Through its contract with the city, the Adult School has offered art, crafts, exercise, swimming and other classes to Tulare's senior citizens.

Other reductions and their projected savings include:

· Not hiring substitute workers when maintenance and operation employees are on vacation or sick leave, $94,809.

· Reducing student co-op positions in the district, eliminating summer hours and limiting work to 15 hours a week per student, $55,320.

· Reducing the purchase of classroom supplies by 15 percent, $49,881.

· Eliminating all travel and conferences that the general fund must pay for, $60,330.

· Reduce by 58 percent the amount of money transferred to cover technology deferred maintenance, $140,000.

One of the largest savings – $159,740 – will come from shifting the cost of security services from the general fund to state and federal categorical programs.

Dwindling Reserves

The state's fiscal crisis resulted this year in a decrease of about $750 in the amount of money the district gets for each full-time student. The state is expected to shave off $6 more dollars per average daily attendance in the next fiscal year.

This caused the district to dip into its reserves this year, as well as make modest cutbacks. The result is the $22.60 million in reserves the district had at the end of the 2008-09 year are projected to drop to $17.16 million by June 30.

“Business as usual” budgets would reduce the amount to $10.33 million at the end of 2010-11 and to $3.09 million at the end of 2011-12, Hamilton told trustees.

“Three million dollars for us is about one month worth of salaries and benefits,” Hamilton said, calling this “an absolutely worst case scenario.”

The district also has a cash flow issue to consider that could become critical by July 1, 2011, if spending reductions are not made, she said.

She explained the state this year has deferred payment of about $7 million it owes the district until the next fiscal year.

“Even though we are projecting a $17 million fund balance at the end of this year [June 30], in reality we will probably only have $10 million in cash,” she said. “And that deferral is on-going and we're always going to be $7 million behind. That is a big issue for us.”

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Pride and Joy Returns with New Faces

Tulare - The 2009 Pride and Joy Concert was so successful organizers have scheduled another for Friday, April 16, again featuring soloists who have grown up in Tulare and want to share their talents to benefit LightHouse Rescue Mission.

Ticket sales and sponsorships raised about $14,000 last year for the shelter, which serves homeless women and children, board member Collette Lorenzo said.

“The concert is also to raise public awareness about the shelter so we can continue to bring in donations,” Lorenzo said.

Kasi Beck-Beaney and Steve Walker, who performed in last year's concert, will be joined this year by Erin Machado Anderson, Mary Briseno and Scott Horton.

Anderson is a Tulare native who was one of Encore Theatre's Encore Kids when Beck-Beaney and Maureen Doherty-Cox, who participated in last year's program, were in the musical theater program. A 1992 Tulare Western High School graduate, she also played the flute in the school band.

“It [music] wasn't really part of my vocation until college,” Anderson said.

While in college she taught herself to play the guitar and played the piano and guitar and sang with the choir at St. James Church in Davis, where she attended the University of California.

When she returned to Tulare in 1998, she played the guitar and sang at the Sunday evening Mass at St. Aloysius Catholic Church. Today she and a group of other volunteers provide the music at the 11:15 a.m. service. She also provides music for special events at the church and its school.

Anderson was facility director at the Heritage Complex at the International Agri-Center for eight years before joining BMI Mechanical as a sales and human resource manager.

“The mission and shelter and what they do for the community is invaluable and I can't believe we went so long without it,” Anderson said, explaining why she agreed to perform in the concert.

Briseno, also a Tulare native, is a member of Tulare First Baptist's worship team and said she started singing in the church at age 19 quite by accident when a vocalist, for whom she was playing the piano, failed to show up one day.

“I decided to sing it and it just went from there,” Briseno said.

“I've never really liked the limelight, but as long as it's for a good cause, it's O.K.,” she said.

A singer, songwriter and musician, Briseno has been a back-up singer and played rhythm guitar for local bands that have opened for artists such as Sara Evans, Lorie Morgan and Lee Greenwood at the Hanford Fox Theatre.

She also has shared the state with the Sons of the Pioneers, Dusty Rogers and Don Edwards in Branson, Mo.

Her music is mostly country, but she has done a lot of blues and a lot of worship music, Briseno said.

“Because I enjoy a lot of different kinds of music, I'm grabbing from many different kinds of styles,” she said.

Briseno works for the Tulare City School District and also attends California State University, Fresno, where she is a liberal studies major. She plans to teach English as a Second Language to adults. She also gives guitar and voice lessons.

Horton, also a first time Pride and Joy performer, started taking piano lessons at the age of seven and continued with music lessons at Fresno Pacific University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1991 and a master's in organ performance music in 1994.

“Music is just something I always wanted to do and opportunities kind of availed themselves,” he said.

Horton taught music at St. Aloysius School and played the organ and directed the choir at the church for several years. He also played the organ at Tulare First Congregational.

Since 1995, he has taught music at both Buena Vista and Oak Valley elementary schools under a shared contract between the districts. He also is director of music and the organist for the First Congregational Church of Fresno and coordinator of the annual Ursula Bisconer Chamber Concert held at Tulare First Congregational.

Horton will play the piano at the Pride and Joy Concert.

Beck-Beaney is vocalist who began singing at the age of four and was involved in musical theater here for 11 years, including five with Encore Kids.

She has been the opening act for the Christian recording group “Salvador” and is a part-time vocalist for a Los Angeles-area band. She also has written and recorded original Christian music.

Steve J. Walker is a musician, singer and songwriter who learned to play the saxophone at age nine and has played in various worship bands since he was 14 years old.

Walker also taught himself to sing, play keyboards and rhythm and lead guitar and has written about 350 songs since he wrote “Sin Deleted,” a Christian hard rock song. The 2008 album “So Sweet” includes his songs.

He has performed with other Valley artists and ensembles, including Prayed in Full and 23Hundred, and toured Europe 14 years ago with Springtime, an evangelical group that is an off-shoot of the Celebrant Singers.

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