Valley Voice Newspaper

Old School Board Plans One More Meeting

Visalia - With three members stepping down in early December, the Visalia Unified School District trustees plan one more “special” meeting - likely November 29th - to take care of unfinished business. That’s the plan, confirms chairman Russ Bassett who notes the board may call a meeting with three days notice.

After a tumultuous roller coaster year of highs and lows, board member Nina Clancy - ousted by voters in the November 2th election - is ready to “do something right” including reversing a decision about middle school band uniforms. “I want to take them out of the closets, dust them of and utilize them,” says Clancy, hoping to push the issue that would allow kids to march in the Christmas Parade this year. Concern about Grand Jury charges that all kids could not afford band uniforms, Clancy says she believes that can be worked out with fund raising.

The issue is only one public relation fiasco that has dogged the board this year after the first bond measure in decades had passed in late April.

A series of new rules - pushed by Superintendent Linda Gonzales - including a ban on field trips - aroused criticisms in the community leading to the defeat of two popular incumbents, Clancy and Louie Montion, and Lynn Meyer’s decision not to seek reelection. In the meantime, a citizens group has organized a recall move on two other VUSD members that according to them is near the number of signatures required to have another election that would oust Russ Bassett and Chuck Lindahl. Having been raked over the coals over all sorts of issues in the past few months - the two are unlikely to contest an election if it indeed makes the ballot. If the two step down, trustee Milt Morrison has confirmed he’ll “walk” too. That would likely set in motion an election to fill their terms.

In the meantime, a scheduled evaluation of the district’s three top administrators that happens this time of the year anyway, had turned into a very closely watched political ballet.

After two meetings in which evaluations for Superintendent Linda Gonzales, Deputy Superintendent Don Trigg and Assistant Superintendent Georgia Renne were discussed - new contracts for Trigg and Renne were brought for a public vote at this week’s board meeting. Since the contracts arrived late in the day the board voted to postpone there adoption “at least for one more meeting,” says Bassett. He says he isn’t sure whether the special meeting November 29th will take them up although there appears to be no controversy about them.

In the case of Gonzales however, we are left to reading tea leaves. That’s because no contract was offered after the evaluation was over. All that Bassett can say about the issue is that “the contract is in process.” If it will be discussed at the special meeting the board would notice it - likely on the closed door agenda since it is a personnel matter.

Bassett had told the Voice earlier this month that the evaluation could result in a contract for another year or if improvements were needed in performance as outlined in the evaluation that a person could be put on one year probation. The other option is a buy out of a contract.

Supporters believe Gonzales enjoys wide support in the Latino community where she pushed for improved school performance at schools that have the lowest test scores in the community. As a result they say attendance and reading scores are up. A Curriculum Audit done on the VUSD beginning last fall suggested a disparity in the community between schools where there were a large number of low income minority kids and schools that were better off. That’s the backdrop for many of Gonzales’ decisions to make changes, say supporters.

But critics say the changes she pushed, including resignment of district personnel, were not always by the book, overstepping her power as Superintendent doing what she thought was right ahead of the political will needed to do those changes. On top of that her husband, Moses - who sells school text books - became an issue when his name was associated with a so-called “hit list” of Visalians who were critics of the district.

Today finds her embattled for at least the second time in her career as an educator having found her left in a similar split from her former L.A. area job.

This week Gonzales is out of town on another crisis having to go under the knife to provide her brother with a piece of her liver that will allow him to live. She is expected to be back in town for the meeting of the 29th facing an uncertain future here.

Board member Chuck Lindahl says he is ready to have the contract issues carry over to the new board - allowing them some buy in. That board doesn’t take office until the scheduled swearing in December 14. The three retiring board members step down December 3rd. That puts the board in limbo with only 4 members during the interim. But Bassett says if a special meeting is needed before then the new board members are already really sworn in and could attend and make decisions.

Speaking of the 29th - that’s the day Chuck Lindahl must decide if he is going to run for Board of Supervisors. For Lindahl this journey has been a strange trip indeed. “When I was elected, everybody told me to go in there kicking butt. Now like others, I’m having to pay the price.” He is “cynical” about lots of the charges critics have brought up over the course of this summer including the charge that the lottery money paid for a limo to Sacramento. “That was a van that carried people to Sacramento to lobby for the Heart Program” (after school reading programs for low income kids) that was owned by a local limo company. But critics and former school trustee Sally Winn says the recall group has been unfairly characterized as a small group of malcontents and that the result of the current election shows otherwise.

Clancy says she wants to keep pushing communication even after she steps down from a task force to address the problems. She will work with John Farhang on the issue.

$4.8 Million Grant For New Downtown Senior Complex

Visalia - Visalia will get a new 60 unit senior complex Downtown with news this week that HUD funded an application from Visalia Senior Housing Inc. So says Don Hutton, past president of the non profit group that is supported by four local churches. “We got the news from Don McCreary,” president of Christian Church Homes, who operates two senior complexes in Visalia already. Hutton says Housing and Urban Development funded the project for $4,869,4000.

The new complex will be located just east of the Visalia Senior Center on city owned land. The city has been planning to erect a parking garage on the northwest corner of Oak and Court to accommodate the parking needs in the block since the new residential facility will displace some parking. The city has said they would also abandon School St. just north of the Senior Center as well.

Hutton says since their group has already worked closely with the city the project could be fast tracked and ready for occupancy in 2 years.

Visalia Senior Housing Inc. owns the 100 unit Meadows apartments on West Tulare and the Town Meadows 9 story senior building on Murray.

This new complex will meet the housing needs of very low income residents, says Hutton.

The city had been expecting the application for this project, which competed against others around the country, would get a high ranking. But since the latest budget was tied up in Washington until this week, the news we had been granted the funds did not come out until now.

Why The Trains Want To Go Faster
Item: Union Pacific RR Will Go 60 MPH Through Tulare In December

San Joaquin Valley - Until this year rail companies had been tearing out more miles of track in the southern San Joaquin Valley to melt down for its scrap value than they were investing in the track they still use. That changed early this year as the merged Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) put in some $11 million into upgrading track and bridges between Bakersfield and Fresno through Corcoran and Hanford.

The upgrade completed in February was long overdue with BNSF putting in over 76,000 new wooden cross ties that support the line and 6 miles of new steel track. Until the merger Santa Fe, like its other California counterpart Southern Pacific, suffered through years of deferred maintenance as railroads nationwide experienced a long period of decline.

These two land grant railroads essentially founded almost all the towns in the valley, platted their streets and sold land off to the settlers. In recent years the founders were floundering. In Tulare County alone, about half the historic railroad track has been abandoned and right of ways sold off by a Utah company. That firm, Tulare Valley Railroad, who had acquired much of the SF line, critics charge is really in the scrap iron business.

Now two strong players have emerged in the railroad industry in the West and they are each showing strong signs they are in the freight and people moving business.

The stocks of both companies - not as hot as the Internet - are still enjoying a good year as investor confidence has surged.

The two merged railroads each say their recent combination (1995 BNSF-1996 SP/UP) has allowed them to make the investment necessary to be competitive with trucks for more freight transport.

As of September 1999 it was three years since Union Pacific merged with Southern Pacific railroad to create the nation’s largest railroad company. Union Pacific announced a 3rd quarter net income of over half a billion dollars in 1999 compared to a loss last year as it continued to digest the merger with SP. Commodity revenues are up 10%, the company says.

UP spokesperson Mike Furtney says profits at Union Pacific will allow it to do major track upgrades in the Valley in the near future similar to what BNSF has done. By contrast, the old SP company who Furtney worked for “suffered 10 to 15 years of negative cash flow” resulting in the company doing only what maintenance was necessary to meet safety concerns.

By contrast, the well capitalized Union Pacific “recently made an order of 1000 new locomotives to be purchased over the next 3 years,” says Furtney. “There’s no way the old SP could have made that kind of capital investment.”

When Congress deregulated the railroads in 1980 they started a slow comeback, says Furtney. At the time only 37% of intercity cargo traveled by trains having lost their business to trucks. “Now we’re on the way back approaching 41% of the business,” he says.

Still, railroads have something to prove comparing trucks that arrive on time with their delivery 95% of the time. “On our best days it’s 70%,” says the UP spokesman.

To speed up the delivery, Union Pacific is increasing both freight and passenger travel times “system wide,” says Furtney, including up the coast of California and in the Valley. The increase in speed trains will travel through coastal and valley towns, like Camarillo and Tulare, has caused safety concerns. Tulare, a city founded by the railroad, has 10 at - grade crossings through town.

As of November 15 the trains will speed up through the city from 35 mph to 50 and then to 60 mph by December 15. “The good news is that the trains won’t block traffic waiting at the signals as long,” says Tulare city manager Kevin Northcraft. The railroad held a meeting in Tulare to explain their need for speed.

Tulare Fire Chief Al Miller says the city was sent a letter in October detailing that Union Pacific has won a Supreme Court case on the issue. “We had a meeting with Union Pacific officials November 5th,” says Miller who still remembers a major derailment in town in 1982 at 35 mph. “We told them we were concerned about the condition of the rails if they were going that fast. Today they are out there working on it.”

Northcraft says his city has applied for state funds that would build at least one new grade separated crossing at Bardsley but the project has to compete against nearly 100 others in the state. Only 3 or 4 projects a year are funded.

“Clearly if the railroads are competing against trucks going 80 mph on Highway 99 or 5 the trains have to speed up,” says Fresno rail expert Paul Bartlett. Nationwide trains carry about 40% of the freight by tons compared to 28% for trucks. UP has it both ways since it also owns a subsidiary truck company - Overnite Transportation.

While UP speeds up, the second largest nationwide railroad, Burlington North Santa Fe has just announced another major investment in the Valley with new intermodal facility south of Stockton to be operational in 2001. The new complex will expand lift capacity by 150%, says Fritz Draper, BNSF Vice President. Draper cites “increased demand” for the truck, train loads. The new facility will be able to store 1000 containers/trailers at one time. BNSF has seen its intermodal business increase by 20% between 1996 and 1998.

The increase in nationwide capacity helped BNSF also declare improved earnings over 1998 in the 3rd quarter announced in recent days - up 6%. The railroad cut 1400 positions this year cutting costs even as revenue climbed. Ag commodity revenue increased 17% on stronger export demand.

Helping to work on the railroad in the Valley is CalTrans who operates the Amtrak passenger service over the BNSF line up from Bakersfield. Since the line has both passenger and freight service the state is interested in increasing the efficiency on the line, says Warren Webber, chief of the CalTrans rail division. “With 10 passenger trains and 32 freight trains a day we see the need for more capacity and coordination.” That means improvements in signaling and double tracks. “The state expects to enter into a contract with BNSF to spend some $50 million in January or February,” says Webber. That will put public monies into building up the capacity of the BNSF.

Webber says improvements in signaling devices will help trains run closer together. As it is now, trains may have to pull over for 10 minutes while they wait for another train to pass.

Two technological improvements, includes the industry supported Association of American Railroads in Pueblo Colorado testing cab control devices that allow the engineer to see the red or green signals far ahead - technology that could decrease the running times nationwide and improve safety. That would help trains to run closer together without as many fits and starts. Another technology that gives more control to dispatchers is positive train separation being tested at the 52 mile Transportation Technology Center operated in Pueblo by the AAR. The technology is also being field tested in Illinois next year to help speed passenger trains to Chicago as the nation seeks to increase travel by train by making it more competitive to car and air travel.

Such signal improvements if adopted by the industry could “cut the running time of the Amtrak from Bakersfield to Oakland by an hour” in the future claims Paul Bartlett, between track promised and signaling devices.

With nationwide company humming and growth in California, the two newly integrated railroads are feeling their oats. The most recent rail traffic numbers show intermodal cargo shipped by rail up 3.4% nationwide. While freight cars loads are down nationwide, they are up 5.4 % in the West.

With the apparent lack of enthusiasm in the legislature to build a high speed rail system soon (see other story) the new focus may be to make more modest improvements to the existing rail lines, double tracking, signaling devices and grade separations to improve passenger train service in the state at least to the position it is being done elsewhere nationwide. Improvements in train travels for Californian’s would go a long way to improving the air in California, easing congestion in the Golden State and reducing the number of long haul trucks that clog our freeways, supporters agree.

Improvement in train competition against trucks in California still has a long way to go. Trucks move about 75% of all commodities in the state by weight. In part this is because some 68% of shipment in California were between places less than 100 miles away. Railcars for example are bringing in more tons to feed from the Midwest to Tulare County’s dairy farms (Tulare’s JD Heiskell Co. unloads almost 100 cars of feed for a day’s work - but the dairy farmer’s new wide screen TV is being trucked in from the port of Stockton or LA.

Most of California’s population is close to large ports. Because we are located in the middle of the state, Visalia/Tulare has become a shipping hub with the presence of UPS and large distribution companies. But there is no first class rail facility that could piggyback on this strength. If the high speed rails were to ever happen the Visalia city council had been pushing for a main freight and car switching yard to be located here. Assemblyman Dean Florez is pushing for state help for improvements on the Coalinga to Goshen rail line to help companies in the Westside to expand their shipments of goods (see other article). The investment would increase the importance of Goshen as a rail hub to the main line. The line is operated by the short line San Joaquin Valley RR who feeds freight to the UP.

Slow Boat For High Speed Rail
Measure Unlikely To Make Next Year’s Ballot

San Joaquin Valley - Hopes to get a $25 billion plan to build a high speed train system in the state on next year’s ballot are fading fast. “I can guarantee you it won’t be put on the ballot,” says Assemblyman Dean Florez of Bakersfield - a former member of the High Speed Rail Commission. The successor of that group, the High Speed Rail Authority, will submit its final report and funding recommendations to the Governor and it will be up to the state legislature to decide whether or not to put the plan on the state ballot next November.

This week the Authority met in Los Angeles and voted on the go slow approach. Instead of seeking a full funding for the 680 mile project they passed a resolution to be forwarded to the state legislature to fund only the first step requesting $25 million to begin an environmental review. The review process could take 6 years and another 10 years to build. Staff of the Authority is suggesting a 1/4 increase in the sales tax to pay for the line. But critics of the go slow approach says the state needs to make a commitment to see the project through. Others say more study is needed.

Florez says that “we need more time” to sort out the complexities of building such a costly system by including more Valley representation on any task force. “We need to finance the high speed rail through government revenue bonds and decide what’s more important improving freeways or high speed rail.” He says the Governor is tending toward freeway improvements as a priority.

If the current High Speed Rail plan is derailed and the High Speed Rail Commission goes out of business - the effort is likely to move toward making more modest improvements on existing rail lines, says Florez. The High Speed plan called for building a new line west of 99 or on 99 to carry trains at 200 mph or more.

Rail advocate Paul Bartlett says already a $9 billion bond measure to build new bridges statewide will be on the 2000 ballot making it harder to sell another big bond measure to voters next year. He criticizes the work of the High Speed Rail Commission and staff. “I think they’ve done a poor job,” formulating the existing plan. Bartlett criticizes the fact the high speed route won’t allow freight to be carried because some of the grades on the route they have selected will be too steep. He says the route selected made the cost of the project too high. Instead he says running the track on existing train company owned right of way would be far cheaper than buying new right of way through the Valley.

Florez Seeks State Monies To Help
Fix Goshen To Coalinga Line

Goshen - Bakersfield Assemblyman Dean Florez (D-30th District) is backing an effort to upgrade the rail tracks between Coalinga and Goshen with as much as $6 million in state funds. “We’re looking at a $25 to 30 million project that the private sector would jointly fund over 30 years,” says Florez saying that this effort could boost the economy of the westside. “Companies tell us they will expand and hire more people if the track if fixed,” he says.

Currently big processing companies like Leprino in Lemoore can’t expand because rail cars have to creep over the tracks at a few mph because of their poor condition and the fact they are not built for heavy weights.

Leprino is seeking a location to build a new mozzarella plant almost double the existing Lemoore plant size.

Florez says Los Gatos Tomatoes and Del Monte want to expand on line as well. The line is the Southern Pacific built line dating from 1876 that connected Goshen into the historic Mussel Slough area that founded the towns of Hanford and Lemoore and connecting out to the top oil rich fields of Coalinga.

Today the line is owned by Union Pacific and leased to San Joaquin Valley Railroad, says Tom Northrup, track manager for San Joaquin Valley Railroad. “We have to go a maximum of 10 mph because the track needs so much work,” he says. Northrup believes if the track was improved companies would ship more out of the Westside by rail. Portions of the line have been wiped out by flood waters and need to be rebuilt near Highway 5.

Florez says he has no illusions about the difficulty in getting “the rest of the legislature’s attention about the need to fix one small rail line” but hopes to get the Governor’s support as soon as this November 30th when the Valley Economic Summit is to be held in Fresno.

Florez says that the impetus for the effort may have originated with Leprino competition - Goshen and Tulare are working hard to land the same prospect - but that even without Leprino deciding to expand in Lemoore “this is the best way the state can spend monies here to stimulate more jobs.”

Big Bucks To Lure Leprino To Goshen

Visalia - Two grant applications from different jurisdictions are winging their way to Washington to seek millions of dollars to help land a big dairy processor and the jobs that go with it.

This week the city of Visalia hired two consultants to request $2 to 3 million to one agency and a second request for up to $3.6 million in loans and $700,000 in grants. While if successful these applications will go to upgrading the city’s waste water treatment facility that would also help pay for infrastructure in the city’s Industrial Park. However, sources say $2 million of that fund would be offered to Goshen to offset Leprino’s connection to the city of Visalia sewer system.

Also, Tulare County’s Redevelopment Agency is seeking nearly $2.4 million to fund infrastructure and road improvement on Betty Dr. and Ave. 312 (Riggin) in Goshen adjacent to the site being considered as a location for the proposed new 6 million lbs a day mozzarella cheese plant to be built by Denver-based Leprino Foods.

The application to the US Department of Commerce was filed in late September and has a good chance of being funded says Jim Brown of the redevelopment agency.

The money includes $1.9 million in federal funds and $440,000 redevelopment monies that would essentially reconstruct Betty Drive northeast at a diagonal connecting to Riggin at a 45 degree angle instead of a 90 degree turn where Rd. 68 meets Riggin now.

The application says the money will be used to provide infrastructure - utilities for the site and road improvement for heavy trucks for industrial development.

Goshen is in stiff competition with Lemoore and Tulare for the company who has announced it will seek to build what may be the world’s largest mozzarella cheese plant believed to be an $80 million project.

In addition, officials believe if Leprino builds in Goshen it will anchor a new industrial park with other companies seeking to be nearby. Last month the Valley Voice reported that US Cold Storage was “tracking” Leprino’s location decision.

Visalia received funds to expand its sewer capacity when it landed Frito Lay a few years ago. Goshen dumps into the city of Visalia sewer system. The monies, if granted, would mean that Goshen could write off Leprino’s sewer hook up fees, $2 million, providing one more incentive to the company to locate in Goshen. The cooperation between Visalia and the County’s redevelopment agency has been hailed as a strong sign of mutual assistance rather than competition for these jobs - expected to be 200 to 300.

Leprino has a site in Lemoore and is being heavily lobbied to build their new plant there as well. The lobbying includes help from that town’s redevelopment agency and possible state assistance in fixing the rail line that runs adjacent to Lemoore (see other article). Tulare also is being considered.

Leprino has said that they would make a decision by October but when that came and went observers aren’t sure when the company will announce. A consultant working the firm says they are doing some engineering studies right now. The engineering may be focused on ways the big dairy processor can cut down on its salt laden waste water with pre-treatment.

Rerouting Betty Drive makes it more or less a straight shot into the Visalia Industrial Park off Highway 99 - a plan that will “help Visalia as well as Goshen,” says County Redevelopment official Jim Brown. It would provide alternative access both north and south bound trucks exiting or entering Visalia north of the big Frito Lay facility on Plaza and into the new Mid State Industrial Park.

At one point a few months ago Visalia and Goshen were rivals for these jobs. But with Goshen’s Redevelopment Zone in place, the city of Visalia assumes it doesn’t have the funds to write down the cost like other towns with redevelopment zones such as Goshen, Tulare and Lemoore. Instead the effort has been to help Goshen.

Visalia’s sewer system can handle the Leprino waste water but a 7th and 8th sewer digester will be needed to accommodate the big dairy processor and the growth other companies could bring in the next five years. Adequate sewer capacity is a key ingredient in many communities effort to draw industrial jobs - especially in the targeted food processing area.

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