Sunkist Backed Insurance Plan Upside Down

More trouble for the big citrus cooperative Sunkist Growers as a health plan that covered member packing houses will go out of business filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy according to a December 10th letter sent to providers, employers and employees and agents. The health plan is called SGP Benefit Plan.

The letter said that Sunkist Growers Inc. had earlier agreed to fund a workout plan underway but now Sunkist "has decided to withdraw funding of the workout effort," says the letter signed as The SGP Board.

Not a traditional insurance company, SGP Benefit Plan is a MEWA - a Multiple Employer Welfare Agreement - says Department of Insurance attorney Lorraine Johnson. The plan was administered by a separate entity - Fresno-based Glacier Insurance which will also go out of business by December 31, says the letter. That company employs some 50 people and is owned by company CEO Larry Thompson with a minor stake by businessman Stan Simpson.

The health plan will go out of business without paying an estimated $10 million in claims from health providers, says Norris Clark deputy commissioner with the California Department of Insurance. The number of employees the health plan covered is not known but some 4800 separate providers are owed money, says Clark.

The Sunkist board and SGP Benefit board include some of the same people. The Sunkist board earlier had a vote to work out a rescue of the plan but more recently backed away, say sources, letting the claims go unpaid.

Such insurance trusts are self funded for at least part of the risk, says industry sources, thus fueling the need to grow to have premiums cover payouts. The attraction is obviously cheaper rates, but the danger is always who assumes the risk if payouts are more than the premiums coming in the door.

Glacier administered the trust but did not assume the risk either.

The employer is now on the hook for the unpaid claims says a source meaning there are some unhappy packing houses out there. Employees by now are probably getting a letter from physicians says they are liable for the unpaid bills.

The Department of Insurance representative expects that negotiations between providers and employers/employees will pay out cents on the dollar "perhaps as low as 25 to 40 cents on the dollar," says Norris Clark. The Department of Insurance had been aware of the trouble with the health plan since midyear, says Lorraine Johnson, but was still hopeful Sunkist would stabilize the problem. "We have only limited state authority," says Johnson, to do any kind of bailout would have stretched the Departments resources, she says.

Sources say when SGP Trust found it had set up year long rates too low to cover costs, it tried to raise rates hurting new cash flow and sending the plan into a sort of death spiral, says a source familiar with the organization. The source says the company had at one time a $35 million premium volume that covered around 10,000 employees. Some employees say they now fear the unpaid bills will hurt their credit.

Sunkist packing houses facing the unexpected costs may lobby to have the grower cooperative cover it to spread the loss among the members - not likely too popular with other members, says a source.

One member of the SGP board told the Voice that the problems the company had was that a software package estimated how much loss would need to be covered was "way off".

Sunkist spokesperson did not respond to calls nor did Mr. Thompson of Glacier Insurance. Mr. Thompson is already the founder of another trust in Visalia that went out of business - Valley Oak Trust.

Stan Simpson was not available for comment at press time.

In the past few months employees have been searching out other health plans including one with Western Growers.

Sunkist has a new president with only a few months under his belt but this issue and a few others will be keeping him busy. The Voice reported that two major suppliers had left the cooperative recently and now some other growers affiliated with the Kaweah Citrus Association are suing to try to get records of fruit shipments because they claim they are owed money. Claims that they are owed money are coming from members of the Tulare County Lemon Growers as well.

Sunkist is in the position of marketer of fruit from some packing houses and has no ownership control in the case of privately owned packing houses like Kaweah Citrus, says the Sunkist president.

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By Miles Shuper

Three Rivers - The long anticipated expansion of Lake Kaweah aimed at increasing flood control and agriculture water supply storage officially got under way this week with a pubic ground breaking ceremony at Lemon Hill overlooking Terminus Dam.

The estimated $33.3 million project will increase the storage capacity about 30 percent and result in reconstruction of sections of Highway 198 including Horse Creek Bridge. Completion is scheduled for Oct. 2004, The project is sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers, the state Reclamation Board and the Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District. Teaming with the KDWD are Tulare and Kings counties,, and the Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District and landowners.

The project will not increase the height of the dam but will raise the level of the Terminus Dam spillway by 21 feet to 715. Capacity; will be increased by 42,699 feet to 22,154 feet at the gross pool elevation, an increase of 241 acre.

The federal government will pay the lions share of the cost ($17.8) with the state picking up $10.1 million with local agencies chipping in the 45.4 remainder.

The heart of the project is the installation of fusegates, the method chosen instead of raising the level of the rolled earth fill structure completed in 1962 which is 130 feet and 870 feet long and designed to provide a 60-year level of flood protection downstream. Cost of the original structure was $24 million. The original capacity was 150,000 acre feet but now is estimated at 143,000 acre feet, a level which engineers and water experts claim has created a 46-year level of projection. The reduction is the result of sediment deposition and the revised hydrological information, officials say.

Since its completion, the damn has seen 10 different floods, starting in 1966 with the last coming in the 1998 season. The new capacity is anticipated to provide for a 1,000 year occasion flood, according to Bruce George, the Kaweah Water District manager, who cited three flooding conditions alone in the 1990s. "This project will lessen the risk that currently exists for downstream communities and agriculture lands adjacent to the flood plane that are currently at a higher risk of flooding. In addition, the enlarged lake will provide additional storage for agriculture irrigation water."

Dennis Keller, an engineer familiar with the Valley's situation, agrees that the larger reservoir will garner added benefits to many persons not involved in agriculture. Flood insurance rates are likely to drop or even go away due to the decreased likelihood of flood waters.

Some parts of Visalia will now get above a one in one-thousand year event area when re-mapping of the area is completed, Keller said. "Some people think the benefit of the higher spillway will be the Tulare Lake area. But the City of Visalia is where most of the high dollar improvements are invested," he said, noting that is why the city is a co-sponsor of the big project.

Keller says construction of the new west 198 freeway depressing more of the highway will change flood maps as well since a sheet of water plunging down the mountain could empty into this new depressed section.

Considerable engineering efforts and comprehensive tests resulting in the decision to use the fusegate system of raising the Terminus Dam capacity rather than increasing the height of the dam structure itself. The conclusion showed that fusegates are flexible, and versatile, cost-0peffecrt, rapid to install, require minimum maintenance and are reliable and safe.

The cost of construction and installation of the fusegates is estimated at $2.8 million compared to an alternate system which was considered at a $4 million estimate.

Six fusegates will be constructed along the Terminus Dam spillway forming a watertight barrier. Moderate flood waters are discharged over the crest of the fusegates. When flood levels increase the water spills into wells which are part of the system. When the wells ( or drain holes) cannot discharge all the water, pressure increases and the uplift pressures reaches a predetermined level causing the gate to overturn The fusegate is washed downstream and is destroyed. Increasing flood level would overturn successive units until at the maximum water level is reached.

Although the official ground breaking was this week, the project has been underway for several weeks with a crew from AFA Construction Group enlarging the spillway. John Hicks, project manager for AFA, said an estimated 90,000 cubic yards of rock and soil will be removed. Although the company's contract provides nearly a year for completion, Hicks estimates the job will be completed by mid-April. Crews using huge trucks and loaders are working five nine-hour days. The project involves removing "shoulders" of the spillway. The spillway won't be any deeper, just wider on the bottom.

A massive D-11 Catapillar, which weighs 260,000 pounds, has caught the attention of many local residents. The tractor, which generates nearly 900 horsepower, burns an between 30 and 40 gallons of fuel an hour, according to company workers. The rig, which carries a price tag of a between $1.2 and $!.,4 million is being mainly to rip and breakup the ground, much of which is laced with hard rock. Still the job also involves a considerable amount of blasting. Huge dump trucks are hauling the rock and to a location downstream near McKays Point where it is being stockpiled.

In building the construction and hauling roadways workers had to jog the alignment to avoid destroying or damaging numerous Elderberry bushes, a host shrub for egg laying cycles of the endangered Long-horned Elderberry Beetle.

Construction and installation of the fusegate system will follow the excavation phase.

The third facet of the project is the work on Highway 198 (Sierra Drive).Caltrans will reconstruct sections along Slick Rock and rebuilt Horse Creek Bridge. Although the new bridge will be higher and up stream it will remain a two-lane structure. The current bridge has been a dangerous area for many years and the scene of numerous major traffic accidents.

A levee in Three Rivers will protect the flat area in the area near the Holiday Inn. Despite the relatively short time estimated for the completion, Bruce George said he is optimistic that the overall project will be done on time.

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Eastside / Westside Water War Flows On

Tulare County - The long time water war between the valley's eastside, represented by Friant Water Users, and the westside, represented by Westlands Water District, shows no sign of letting up. In recent weeks the battle spilled over into Congress with alternate versions of language introduced CalFed Bay-Delta Program authorization.

The battle started 17 months earlier when Westland Water District made a play for San Joaquin River water by claiming it had an historical right to some of the water that comes from the big river - the only source for the Friant-Kern canal that waters eastside farms to the tune of 1 million acres.

Westland filed a long shot bid for San Joaquin River water with the state Water Resource agency. The bid started a war of words between the two water districts each representing farmers who require water to be brought into the district in order to survive. FWU mounted a fierce lobbying campaign with the backing of valley cities pledging to fight the effort to steal the river water from the thirsty small farms - water they had depended on for more than 50 years.

Then something happened. Last winter Westlands chief, Tom Birmingham strode over to the Friant board meeting and suggested that if FWU would support the Westlands effort to retire some 200,000 acres of land on the westside with federal funds, they would withdraw their application for the river water.

Words are cheap, FWU board members said wanting Birmingham to follow up with action. That never happened. Instead the Westlands vowed to try another angle - get funds for retirement and get an assured supply of CVP water for the 400,000 acres that remain wanting the Bureau of Reclamation to assure them they would get 65-70% of the contracted water.

They tried to insert that language into the CalFed authorization bill and all hell broke again.

Friant Water Users smell a rat. The only source they can assure that water will come from is from the San Joaquin River fears Dan Fults, the general manager of Friant. The issue has divided the congressional delegation in the valley with Radanovich now supporting no assurance in the legislation and Dooley trying to broker a middle ground.

On the Senate side Senators Boxer and Feinstein have introduced CalFed legislation without any assurance in it. Now Metropolitan Water District has allied with Friant to support their position. "A statutory mandate to guarantee water supply levels for one water user inherently risks creating a disadvantage to others - directly contrary to the balanced outcomes promised by CalFed," says a letter released last week to Congressman Ken Calvert from Metropolitan CEO Ronald Gastelum.

Friant believes that a 70% supply of water to the westside would be some 15 to 20% more than is available now on the westside even in good water years.

But westside farmer Mark Borba - whose brother sits on the Westlands board says the district doesn't really want the San Joaquin River water but if they withdraw their application any entity can jump in and take their place - pushing the westside one notch further down the line if water was ever to be appropriated from the San Joaquin River.

He says Friant has nothing to fear from the assurance language and that the Bureau says they can meet the percentage by managing the sources they have to provide the district with the water supply.

"Friant is being vindictive when they say they will fight us every inch of the way on our land retirement plan, too. People have to realize we're dying out here on the westside."

"We want to work together to bring more water to the valley," says Borba and once we get the language we would drop our application for San Joaquin River water." Borba says Radanovich has changed horses now that his district has been redrawn but thinks that some compromise language will be approved. Borba says the Senate version of the bill will likely not contain the assurance language and the House version will - putting Dooley and Feinstein in conference committee. Dooley will convince her it is needed," says Borba. Borba says the dispute between the two groups is like two gunmen facing off - each says the other should trust him and lay down the gun. "This s a fall on my sword issue," says Dennis Keller, FWU engineer. Dan Fult, FWU general manager says Westlands needs federal appropriations to get monies for their planned 200,000 acre land retirement. "They are going to run into heavy resistence on that federal appropriation until they get rid of their San Joaquin River application," vows Fults. "Sounds like get even time," says westside's Mark Borba.

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West 198 Debate: Can We Farm
On The Urban Edge?

Visalia - There are prolific farmers growing food for local consumption right in the Visalia city limits. While this is no surprise to many of us who pass by one of our famous strawberry fields during the two seasons of the year this crop thrives, why then do we figure the farmers can no longer make it out on west 198? That's the implication of the alternative scenarios offered to the joint session of the city council and planning commission January 7 as they study the future of this area.

The alternatives offer development plans for the use of land - some 2000 plus acres - west of Akers clear to Plaza Park on one side an clear to 99 on the northside. Much of it is not in the city limits of Visalia but still in the County because it remains what it has been for a hundred plus years - farmland.

The current study of West 198 has been pushed by completion of the new west 198 freeway and new freeway offramp at Shirk, plus car dealers demands to find a location along the highway to set up an auto mall.

Some property owners along the highway believe it's time for the city to decide what will happen along these two miles called Visalia's Scenic Corridor for its combination of oak studded open space and farmland providing a bucolic and renowned entrance into the city. If this land is to be set aside in perpetuity some argue, why not compensate the landowners for it?

Others find staying in the County jurisdiction comforting. "We have a freedom to farm ordinances out there," says farmer Tokkie Elliot "so you can spray and carry out traditional farming practices without neighbors complaining" about smell or dust for example. He isn't sure that would happen if the land was brought into the city and housing developed around his farm. "We should be able to tell them we were here first," says Elliot whose family successfully farms more than 400 acres along west 198 on both sides of Shirk in nectarines and plums. Nearby walnuts grow right up to the edge of Plaza Park another "green" area open space maintained by golfing "green fees".

Elliot says the farm west of town could remain that way for years and that there is no special hardship with the location. Could another kind of green fee help maintain the corridor?

Rather than chase farmers away from the nearby urban edge, Sonoma County has organized an open space district where it has invited small farmers to grow vegetables on public lands preserving the scenery and preserving working farmland. A public greenbelt is turned into a working farm - could that work on this greenbelt?

Of the three alternatives offered (see maps) Alternative One does keep some of the west 198 land in ag including the Elliot ranch south of 198 and west of Shirk. This alternative maintains open space by purchasing easements and emphasizes creeks and natural habitat but puts substantial acreage now farmed into office and residential uses, it leaves major blocks of land currently in Williamson Contract as ag land in this plan.

The other alternatives clearly leave little room for agriculture on the corridor except at the northeast corner of 99 (alternative 2) with commercial centers at Shirk and 198. In Alternative 3 there are no farms anymore.

Consultant Bruce Race has said there is a possibility of some sort of greenbelt paid for by city parcel assessment and Packard Foundation grants might be possible to provide for scenic easement. Clearly open space and a rejuvenated oak forest out there is a popular alternative but there is no mention of possibly maintenance of farming or ever increasing it.

Interestingly, one version of the proposed new Farm Bill, by Senator Harkin, offers farmers money for setting up greenbelts and other conservation programs. The bill offers $350 million annually for farmers who allow their development rights to be purchased if they are threatened by urban sprawl.

American Farmland Trust representative Greg Kirkpatrick says the City of Arroyo Grande on the Coast recently approved a conservation easement that protects a 40 acre ranch on the edge of town - an historical farm that is within the city limits. The family sold the development rights for $550,000 while continuing to get income for the working farm. The money was raised from a grant from California Farmland Conservancy and the USDA Farmland Protection Program.

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Giant Forest Museum Open In
Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park - The Giant Forest Museum in Sequoia National Park opened to the public on December 13. The renovated historic building contains exhibits designed for the new museum, that highlight sequoia ecology and what has been learned about protecting these special trees. The museum also houses a small bookstore operated by the Sequoia Natural History Association. It is open from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily and is located on the Generals Highway approximately a one-hour drive north of the Ash Mountain entrance on Highway 198.

“The opening of the museum is a significant milestone in the park’s 15-year restoration of Giant Forest,” stated Superintendent Dick Martin. “Visitors can now learn more about the trees that are so significant to these parks and why a small city was removed in order to protect them,” he continued.

The building was built in 1928 and served as the market for the Giant Forest Village until that facility’s closure in 1998. Almost 300 buildings were removed during the project to restore Sequoia National Park’s largest sequoia grove. The Museum is the first of the new Giant Forest facilities to open to the public. The Pinewood picnic area and the Big Trees Trail will open when the snow melts in the spring.

Spokesperson Kris Fister says the opening of the museum in December was the result of an extra $500,000 the Park Service wasn’t expecting that they got news of in November. Due to funding they were not expecting to open until next Spring. The funds will help them staff the new facility and keep the snow cleared off. The dispute they had with a contractor over acceptance of a new parking lot project has now been resolved, says Fister.

Not everything is rosy in the park however, as concessionaire Delaware North would still like to close Wuksachi Lodge for the winter since the loop road will not be plowed all winter. The Park Superintendent turned down their request to close, says Fister and now Delaware North is appealing that ruling, she says. The lodge wanted to close in January until Spring leaving the Sequoia without overnight lodging. It looks like that will not happen however, as the NPS seeks to enforce their year-round contract with the concessionaire. “It’s a shame the Park Service took that extra money from Washington and used it all at the museum,” says lodge manager Tom McFadden.

The Beetle Rock Environmental Education Center, operated by the Sequoia Natural History Association, is located across the Generals Highway from the museum. It had originally been the village’s recreation hall. It is being used for educational seminars, meetings, classes and other educational gatherings. It is being renovated with private funds being raised through donations.

The area has received significant snowfall, and visitors coming to the museum will have the opportunity to partake in many winter activities. Trails marked for winter use begin at the museum and at other locations. Maps of the winter trails can be purchased at visitor centers, and snowshoes and cross-country skis can be rented at the Lodgepole Market. Ranger-led snowshoe walks will start later this month. The Lodgepole Visitor Center is open Friday-Monday from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and will be open daily between Christmas and New Year’s Day. For information on winter activities and ranger-led snowshoe walks call the Lodgepole Visitor Center at (559) 565-3782 or the Giant Forest Museum at (559) 565-4480. For updated road and weather conditions call (559) 565-3341. Visitors are advised to carry chains, as they may be made mandatory at any time.

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Study Finds County Youth Less Fit

A statewide survey of youth in school found Tulare County kids somewhat less fit than the state average. The fitness test done last Spring in grades 5, 7 and 9 tested kids in six areas to see if they were considered fit. But statewide 76% could reach the goal of passing all six tests. Overall half did pass 50% of the 6 tests, however. Nearly half weren't able to achieve what superintendent Delaine Eastin said was the standard for aerobic activity "which is perhaps the most important indicator of physical activity."

In the statewide average for aerobic activity 56% of the 5th graders passed the test while only 45% of Tulare County fifth graders passed. In the 9th grade in California 49% passed and in Tulare County 51% passed.

Passing all six fitness tests on 21% of fifth graders statewide passed, in Tulare County it was just 16% that passed it.

The numbers for Tulare County 7th graders and 9th graders were somewhat better - in the low 20s but fell short of state average.

Some 6692 kids in Tulare County participated in the tests that includes running, walking, doing pull-ups, stretching exercises and others.

School officials say kids get exercise at the school but the problem remains what happens off campus.

Last spring, more than one million students participated in statewide physical performance testing re-established by Assembly Bill 265 in 1995. The law requires that school districts administer a physical fitness test, designated by the State Board of Education, to all fifth, seventh and ninth graders annually.

Senate Bill 896, approved in 1998, requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to report results to the Governor and Legislature at least once every two years. The designated test used was the Fitnessgram, developed by the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research.

"In a society that tends to be mechanized, stress-ridden, and sedentary, our children need a well-planned program that receives strong support within the school and is understood and reinforced at home and in the community. It is essential that health and physical education be an integral part of every school's educational program to balance and contribute to children's academic learning," said Eastin.

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