Cartmill Grade Separation Funded

Tulare - A call for bids to construct an overpass at the Union Pacific Railroad at Cartmill Avenue should go out in a couple months now that the city has received funding from the California Transportation Commission (CTC).

The Cartmill project was one of just seven projects funded last week, said Tulare City Manager Darrel Pyle. One of the other seven funded was the Betty Drive overpass over Highway 99 in Goshen.

The CTC had tentatively approved $18 million to build grade separations at Cartmill and Bardsley avenues, but last week's action finalizes the money for the Cartmill crossing. Pyle expects a final decision on the Bardsley crossing, which will have Bardsley go under the railroad tracks, to come in September.

Vice Mayor Phil Vandegrift said the approval of the seven projects last week will be the basis for the next bond sale of Prop. 1B bond money.

“Isn't that exciting,” said Vandegrift, adding that the four-lane crossing will “be a major change down there.”

He added that work will begin next year and could be completed in as short a time as a year.

The city also hopes to eventually construct a crossing on Paige Avenue.

City residents have called for a grade separation for years as they've struggled with trains that have blocked quick access to Tulare Regional Medical Center or thrown them off tight time schedules as they were forced to wait at the tracks.

Like everything else, the cost of such projects has escalated dramatically. The Cartmill overpass is expected to cost $22.7 million and the Bardsley underpass $14.4 million, but that cost is likely to go up because the city wants J.D. Heiskell to be able to extend its spur over the roadway as well.

Besides Prop. 1B money, Measure R funds, the county sales tax measure for transportation projects, will also be used.

The RR crossing will be one of just two major improvements to Cartmill that is destined to become a major east-west route in town. Vandegrift said work should begin in late 2012 or early 2013 on the Cartmill-Highway 99 interchange.

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Vandegrift Denies Suit Allegations

Tulare - Vice Mayor Phil Vandegrift said money he received from Hidden Oak Development Company after it sold property to the city for $5.24 million was for work he did over an eight-year period prior to the developer's negotiations with and sale of the property to the city.

“I got compensated for eight years worth of work on that project, starting in the year 2000, and did not vote and did not lobby and I did not interfere with the transaction [with the city],” Vandegrift said. “There's nothing nefarious here. I don't believe there are any improprieties.

Vandegrift is the target of a lawsuit Dr. Tom Drilling, a retired dentist and former mayor, filed in Tulare County Superior Court on July 1. The lawsuit charges that in accepting $200,000 from Hidden Oak, after the sale of property on Cartmill Avenue at M Street, Vandegrift violated Section 1090 of the California Government Code.

That section prohibits public officials from benefiting either directly or indirectly from a contract entered into by the city.

Attorney Mike Lampe, who is representing Drilling, said refraining from discussions, deliberations and voting does not protect Vandegrift or any other public official as far as Section 1090 is concerned and neither does full disclosure.

He cites a 1985 Supreme Court ruling in which the court explains that this particular section has three goals: to eliminate temptation, avoid the appearance of impropriety and assure the city of “the officer's undivided and uncompromised allegiance.”

The lawsuit is asking the Superior Court to require Vandegrift to forfeit the $200,000 to the city and pay for attorney fees.

Vandegrift, who was in Fresno last Thursday when he first heard about the lawsuit, had not seen the document yet when he was contacted by the Tulare Voice and said he might be able to respond more fully when he does.

He said on Friday he still had not been served with the suit.

In addition to the lawsuit, Lampe, again acting on behalf of Drilling, sent letters to Tulare County District Attorney Phil Cline and the office of state Attorney General, charging the Statements of Economic Interests filed by Vandegrift between 2005 and 2009 failed to identify five deeds of trust totaling $600,000.

Calling this a violation of the state's reporting laws, Lampe is asking for action to be taken under provisions of the Political Reform Act.

Vandegrift said some of the items were business loans that he did not realize he had to report.

“If there was something I was supposed to do, I will make it right,” he said. “But I do not believe there were any improprieties.”

Racetrack

Drilling has been a strong opponent of the proposed Tulare Motor Sports Complex, a project Vandegrift supports, which has led people to suspect the lawsuit is somehow connected to that.

Lampe, who recently filed a lawsuit charging the City Council with Brown Act violations and has represented other racetrack opponents, said:

“There have been a number of people who have expressed the opinion Councilman Vandegrift is compromised, using his office for his own political gain and we've been looking at that issue.”

Lampe said the investigation has continued over the course of many many weeks and he is confident the allegations will be sustained.

“These actions have not been taken lightly,” Lampe said. “We are mindful of the fact that these complaints allege corruption at the highest levels of city government. We are equally mindful of the fact that political corruption eats at the very core of a community.”

Vandegrift said the situation makes him feel “very sad” and “I don't even know how to respond.”

His relationship with Hidden Oak Development goes back about 30 years over which time he has served as a broker and marketing consultant to the developers.

Hidden Oak bought the Cartmill and M property in 2000 and he immediately began working with the developers to master plan the area so they could lease the land to hotels, fast food restaurants and other types of commercial uses to secure their retirement.

“I put the ARCO project together,” Vandegrift said, referring to the gas station and mini-market on the northeast corner of the M and Cartmill intersection.

He and the developers were working with M.S. Walker in about 2006, when the hotel purveyor wanted to buy the land. The problem was the city and Caltrans had not agreed on the design of the Highway 99 interchanges, he said.

The city favored one plan, Caltrans another and M.S. Walker could not build a hotel on the site without the risk of later having a portion of the freeway run through it.

They decided to ask the city to buy it, because the city was land locking them, and that's when he ceased his involvement with the land, Vandegrift said, reiterating his position that the money paid to him was done so for work completed up to that point.

Vandegrift has served on the Tulare City Council since 2004. He had previously served in the 1970s and early 1980s.

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Boys and Girls Club Serves 85 Daily

By Marina Gaytan

Tulare - An average of 85 to 90 children and teens per day are participating in Boys and Girls Club activities in Tulare and the good news is its director wants to see that number grow to give others a chance to find hope and grow.

“We try to keep these kids active and out of trouble,” said George Herrera, who recently became the club's director. “My goal ultimately is to develop this club to where it's steady of over 150 kids [daily] and with a lot of things to do.”

The club has around 300 members between the ages of six to 18 years of age.

Although there is a $10 membership fee for a full year, Herrera will not turn anyone away.

Open from 1:30 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, the club offers many different programs for the kids to keep them active and safe.

“As we come up with ideas, we take some of the members' [kids'] ideas and develop programs around their interests,” Herrera said.

The open gym is a huge teen attraction and he makes sure the kids participate in something physical instead of staying still for long periods of time, he said.

One of the favorite activities is the Nike Spare – speed agility and reaction equipment – which is offered three days a week. The hour-long class allows the kids to test their strength and fitness abilities.

The club provides video games like the PlayStation and Xbox 360, and would like to add the Nintendo Wii so that the kids can participate in the Wii Fit, which is a video game version of exercising, Herrera said.

The club's staff supervises computer classes in the Media Room, which allows the kids to have full access to computers and the Internet. Passport to Manhood is a special class designed to help pre-teens transition to young responsible adults. Smart Girls is identical to Passport to Manhood which teaches young girls the same concepts of becoming responsible young women.

The Club relies strictly on grants, fund raising, donations and sponsorships for its funding. If something breaks and there is no money, the club has to do without until the money comes in, Herrera said.

Galen Quenzer, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Tulare County, said it costs about $160,000 annually to run the Tulare club.

Contributions, such as the recent $41,000 check that came in from the Sunrise Rotary Club, are what helps keep the club going. The program also receives a portion of a federal grant that the Boys and Girls Club of Tulare County receives, a $25,000 Community Development Block Grant from the city of Tulare and a portion of a Tulare County Child Abuse Prevention Council grant.

The biggest challenge for the club is to find money for materials and equipment, Herrera said.

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Burger King Already a Good Neighbor

Tulare - Being a good neighbor is a slogan for another company, but the new Burger King that just opened at Bardsley Avenue and O Street has already been a good neighbor.

Saturday night's fireworks show at the Tulare County Fairgrounds was made possible, in part, from a donation from the fast-food restaurant that just opened June 18.

Owner Gary Geiger said he and Burger King made a large donation to keep the show alive and he hopes to be a good neighbor for many years to come.

Geiger owns seven Burger Kings, but this is his first in Tulare. He owns two in Porterville, one in Hanford and the rest are spread out.

“It's been really, really good,” said Geiger of the opening of the restaurant. He also heads up the Miracle League in Visalia that offers a place for handicapped children to pay baseball.

He said the store has several television screens inside, “like a sports bar” and those really help to attract customers. At 8 a.m. one recent morning the restaurant was nearly full as customers watched one of the World Cup soccer games.

He said the televisions carry sports and children programs and are very popular.

The restaurant is the only fast food restaurant in the area. The next closest is a McDonald's at Bardsley and Highway 99.

“It is and it isn't,” Geiger replied to the importance of the location, adding that the area is, “totally, totally under penetrated.”

Even though he feels Bardsley is well traveled, “a restaurant creates its own synergy and traffic of its own,” he said.

He said he looked at the surrounding areas and saw a lot of potential, especially with the light industrial area to the south with hundreds of potential customers. The fairgrounds are across the street, as is St. Rita's Catholic Church.

“I didn't do a (demographics) study. I drove the neighborhoods.”

The restaurant sits on one of the two acres he purchased. He hopes to add something to the other acre in the future.

It was not tough to find the 45 employees who work at the restaurant. “In the first four days we had 4,000 applications for jobs,” he said.

The restaurant, at 601 E. Bardsley, is open until 1 a.m. every night except Friday and Saturday when it operates 24 hours.

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