Westside Auto Mall Hearing Set For Aug. 18

Visalia - Should the City of Visalia rezone some 70 acres of farmland near Plaza and 198 for a new westside automall? That’s the contentious issue the Visalia city council faces August 18 in a meeting to be held at the Visalia Convention Center at 7 p.m. Expecting a good crowd, council will shorten its regular meeting to ensure everyone has their say on this one.

Craig and Andy Mangano want to develop the site - Visalia Auto Plaza - with room for some 10 new car dealers. The site would be rezoned service commercial and city planners say that a development agreement will prescribe the uses of the property to only new and used car sales.

The issue of siting an auto mall in town is an old one with a decades long debate in town over where the right place for an auto mall ought to be.

That issue appeared to be settled in the 1980s when the city opted to assemble land on Ben Maddox for an auto mall. That mall at 17 acres is considered too small by today’s standards - an issue even dealers who are located there will admit. But in the east part of town new car dealers located in the area are now expanding their operations on south Ben Maddox with Frank Serpa and Don Groppetti both announcing new projects south of 198 in recent months.

Downtown dealer Tim Razzari has stayed out of the current fray.

Pushing for a new west 198 site are two local car dealers Frank Surroz and Jack Petty. Mr. Surroz rents a showroom on Mooney and seeks 7 to 10 acres out on 198 to expand his sales of Chrysler, Jeep and BMW. Surroz has maintained that the freeway visibility and ease of shopping will translate into more car sales.

Jack Petty has signed a sale agreement to buy 10 acres at the new site to relocate his Chevrolet and Cadillac dealerships. Mr. Petty built his current south Ben Maddox showroom only a few years ago and regarding the property he says he hasn’t decided just how he would use the current site.

Now other dealers seem to be buying land all around him. It amounts to conflict of signals for Visalia’s car dealers who, after all, are an independent minded lot.

Mr. Groppetti announce a month ago he would be buying 11 acres across Ben Maddox from Giant and now Frank Serpa who already has three dealership showrooms planned on south Ben Maddox, says he has purchased 4 acres across from Giant as well next to the 11 acre parcel Petty wants to buy.

Critics of the westside auto mall say it is clear that the eastside auto mall is doing well and point to the increased annual tax increment the city receives from rising property values.

Former mayor Greg Collins remarks that auto sales have risen from under $150 million in 1999 to over 200 million last year in Visalia. They also criticize the expectation the auto mall will bring in new dealers or car lines to Visalia.

“What new lines of cars are coming in” because of the west 198 auto mall, asks Collins. In fact the proponents of the auto mall had earlier suggested that dealers would be busting down the walls to get into the mall, but the proposal to date are simply local dealers who want new sites.

But consultant Bob Dowds says the uncertainty over whether the project will be approved hampers its chance to attract new car lines. Once approved - more dealers will be eyeing this freeway visible location, he maintains.

The only new car lines announced to come to town at this time is a new Saturn dealership that Mr. Serpa plans to build on south Ben Maddox - construction is set to begin in 90 days, he expects.

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Look Ma...No Blackouts
No Power Crisis Despite Blistering Summer Heat

California - Last month’s 20 or so days of 100 degree weather provoked no big electric power crisis in the state in stark contrast to the blackouts we saw a few years ago. The energy crisis became a nationwide scandal and had huge political and economic impacts in California that is still dogging Governor Gray Davis as this is written.

So what’s happened in the interim to keep the juice flowing?

The California Independent Systems Operator (ISO) spokesperson Stephanie McCorkle says the big difference between July 2003 and July 1999 is some 9000 megawatts of new power generation online today that wasn’t there 4 years ago.

That’s about a 20% increase in power availability to the grid that has a peak demand of around 43,000 mw during the hot summer months in California.

Despite four years of population growth in the state, the peak power demand on the hottest day in the state this year was 42,486 mw compared to a requirement of 43,609 mw on July 12, 1999 - the highest peak demand ever recorded, says McCorkle. “The slower economy has played a role” despite a surge in the number of new homes, says McCorkle, in large part because the state’s manufacturing sector is way off.

Gaming the System

Southern California Edison spokesman Glenn Cardonella says all the investigation by regulators over what happened in the California energy crisis has resulted in a more stable power supply. “They found a number of companies were gaming the system,” says Cardonella “creating power shortages when they weren’t real. I think the generators learned a lesson,” says the SCE rep and as a result we’ve seen an increase in capacity.

Another factor, says McCorkle “we’ve had a good hyrdo electric year in northern California,” says McCorkle in part due to the wet spring - the “awesome April” you might remember. A factor in the energy crisis of 1999 and 2000 was poor electricity production in the Pacific Northwest - improved in 2003 but still down from big production years. The state still imports into southern California from the southwest. But this summer McCorkle says transmission problems have slowed this source of imports of power.

Always a factor in the ISO’s monitoring of the grid is the number of unplanned power outages at power plants - a number that reached the sky in 99 and 2000 with some accusations that plant operators were holding production in an effort to drive up prices.

On an everyday basis some 2500 mw of California produced power is down in unplanned stoppages.

Californians conserved their way into improved power outlooks in the early years of the power crisis but McCorkle admits that this year much of that conservation has gone by the wayside. Still the effort to improve the efficiency of appliance motors and lighting “will pay off long term,” says McCorkle - flourescent bulbs, for example, last many years.

Every day the ISO estimates the amount of power the state will use and flows it on a chart available on the Internet (www.caiso.com/) hour by hour with usage highly dependent on the temperatures across the state. If the entire state is hit by hot weather the demand is highest.

New Capacity

The ISO figures in a 7% reserve backup in its forecast. Total capacity in the ISO forecast area, that does not include the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, is over 56,000 mw including now some 3500 mw that has come online since March of this year as of August 2003. In 2002 the state added 2764 mw of new generation often replacing older less efficient units.

But of that the summer months can means thousands of megawatts go offline including wind units that may not run, hydro that doesn’t run despite its rated capacity and forced outages of pump storage units, says the ISO report on this summer’s forecast.

One thing to keep in mind with this series of hot days will result in some skyrocketing bills in your mailbox coming in the next few weeks. But at least the lights and air conditioners remain on this summer. When you get that federal tax check back from the President you can just take it out and send it the SCE.

The California ISO is a not-for-profit public benefit corporation charged with managing the flow of electricity along California’s open-market wholesale power grid. The mission of the California ISO is to safeguard the reliable delivery of electricity and ensure equal access to a 25,000 circuit miles of “electron highway.” As the impartial operator of the wholesale power grid in the state, the California ISO conducts a small portion of the bulk power markets. These markets are used to allocate space on the transmission lines, maintain operating reserves and match supply with demand in real time.

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Two New Ethanol Plants In Works
Tipton & Hanford Add To Visalia Project

Tipton - Calgren Renewable Fuels has ambitious plans for two new ethanol plants that could produce a total of 100 million gallons of the crop-based fuel at sites near Tipton and the Hanford industrial park. “The two plants are on a parallel development schedule,”says Matt Schmitt - a principal with the company. They could be in production in 2005.

Schmitt says the company has land in escrow next to JD Heiskell on Highway 99 just south of Rd. 120. The company is planning a second facility in the Hanford industrial park across the street from GWF power plant next to the big IGM feed mill. IGM is a partnership between Zacky Farms and Harris Ranch.

“There is an advantage to using the big infrastructure in place at those huge mills,” says Schmitt including the rail yard able to handle big corn carrying cars typically brought in from the Midwest. “We’d love to get our corn locally if farmers are ready to provide it,” says Schmitt.

The company is in the financing stage of the project although Schmitt says he is “confident” that financing is likely to be in place next month on each plan valued at more than $60 million each.

He says recent news that both California and the nation will be looking to completely replace MTBE as a fuel additive has put the financing of such a plant on the radar screen for investment bankers.

The possibility of producing as much as 100 million gallons of ethanol at the two plants would be in addition to the Pacific Ethanol plan to build two new ethanol facilities in the valley as well producing a total of about 80 million gallons.

One of those plants is being proposed at Highway 99 and 198, acres from the airport along the Union Pacific line.

Californians are expected to need 700 to 900 million gallons of ethanol a year in coming years but little now is being produced in the state.

Principal with Pacific Ethanol, Neil Koehler, agrees there is probably room for multiple ethanol plants in the central valley figuring between Sacramento to Bakersfield there is a need for 250 million gallons of the fuel additive for valley cars. Whether the financing is there for multiple projects is another question, he suggests. Koehler says it is likely the company’s Madera plant will get off the ground first before the Visalia plant is built. They just filed their air quality permit application this week, he says.

Schmitt says the site of the Tipton plant depended on the rail infrastructure of the mill and allows the distillery to use the waste water from the big California Milk Producers facility that is currently discharged on ag land. In Hanford there is opportunity to use the steam from the GWF plant.

Regarding the fact there are a number of local projects on the horizon, Schmitt says he “believes there is a market for as much as 180 million gallons of ethanol in the central valley without hurting the market. That would give a strong incentive to grow local corn or other crops for feed stock for plants and offer a large quality of distiller’s grain for local cows - a highly prized feed.

The impact of growing corn in the valley to supply 180 million gallons would be substantial providing essentially a new crop for farmers who now grow mostly silage corn for animal feed. Today the state produces around 500,000 acres of all corn. But if the corn was supplied locally, 180 million gallons would require in the neighborhood of 500,000 acres of corn here in the central valley, by one estimate, dedicated to ethanol production giving field crop farmers a new alternative. Midwest farmers say one acre of corn produces around 300 gallons of ethanol.

Schmitt says one offshoot of the plan is to build a number of E-85 fueling pumps around the valley to offer the 85% ethanol - 15% gasoline blend to motorists with cars built to handle either fuel - typically flexi fuel vehicles like big Ford or GM pickups. Surprisingly, there are 200,000 such vehicles statewide and several thousand locally, typically fleet cars and trucks used by agencies, rental cars and larger companies.

The fuels offer a 25% cleaner tailpipe for greenhouse gases. Such a fueling site could be perhaps at the International Agri Center. The first pump - widespread in the Midwest, just opened in San Diego.

Not that everyone is behind ethanol. California Senator Dianne Feinstein has consistently questioned the need for ethanol in California choosing to ignore its possibility as a renewable source for the state but siding with some in the oil industry who says the state can make gasoline clean enough without an oxygenate added in. The EPA to date does not agree. Feinstein asked regulators to research whether ethanol this summer had made the air quality in the South Coast Air Basin worse citing a report of additional smog and ethanol’s volatility. South Coast Air officials say the matter was meteorological and more people on the road.

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Pack Station Gets New Life
Too Late to Help Current Operator

Sequoia Park - The Wolverton Pack Station in Sequoia Park has been put out to pasture by the Park Service last year. Closed because they said its operation conflicted with other nearby uses - particularly construction of a big new car parking lot for the famous Sherman Tree.

But riding to the rescue this winter were Congressmen Devin Nunes and George Radanovich who wrote Sequoia superintendent Dick Martin in March pointing out that the Park Service has consistently recognized pack and saddle stock use as “historical and traditional” uses. Because of that principal the decision to discontinue the Wolverton concession made in May of last year should be reversed, they wrote.

This May Congressman Nunes got an answer from the park who agreed they would begin working with the local Backcountry Horsemen of California - to do a search for a new site for the Wolverton corrals nearby.

The decision to relocate the Wolverton corral may be good news for horse riders three years from now, but it doesn’t help concessionaire Jerry Page out much.

Lost Savings

Page is in the process of selling all his stock and equipment after operating the station for seven years. The NPS decision to shut his operation down meant he lost some $300,000 worth of improvements he put into the current corral site. Because of the closure “we’re in debt, lost our life savings and will probably lose our house over this.” Page says he had been promised that he could stay at the current site discussing any notion that the corral posed any kind of safety problems.

Page says he sank $300,000 into the current site because the Park Service plans to build a much larger parking and transportation staging area never materialized that would have required he move the corral. He says the smaller parking area the Park Service ended up building isn’t so close to the corral to pose safety problems. “Crossing a street when the speed limit is 15 mph to access a trail isn’t that big a problem,” says Page who believes the real agenda is to get rid of pack stations in the park.

Because of his financial problems his son Dayna’s Mineral King Pack Station is not in operation this year either. Page blames Bill Tweed for the attitude at the Park Service that “they want to get rid of stock use because it pulverizes the soil and they poop on the trail.”

“I take them (the NPS) at their word and they reneged on it. There’s nothing we can do since they make the rules.”

Local chair of the Horsemen, Dr. Karl Pendegraft, was up in Sequoia this week scouting for a new site for the pack station - away from the Sherman Tree parking lot and across from the old Boy Scout camp on about 3 acres of flat land, he says. The site is less than one quarter mile form the current Wolverton Pack Station site.

The return of the corrals could take a while, he notes, since the approvals must go through the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) process. The Park Service notes that the Congressmen offered help in getting the funding to build new infrastructure for the horse operations that will mean visitors to the heart of the Sequoia region will be able to ride a horse and see a Sequoia tree.

Record of Decision

Superintendent Martin signed the “record of decision” last May that apparently ended the concession that has been at the site since the 1930s. The concession run by Jerry Page had a permit that expired at the end of 2001 although the permit was extended for a year. The decision suggests the current site near the new 250 car parking lot was unsatisfactory and that trails crossing a road could be hazardous.

The Park Service claims during the last 6 years of the Wolverton corrals operation they served about 3500 visitors per summer mostly producing one and two hour rides through the forest although the pack station connects to the high country on the Wolverton Cutoff Trail. The letter points out that for years the site was remote and quiet. But with the multi year removal of the Giant Forest Village and the new $8.4 million Sherman Tree parking lot, the corrals are now surrounded on three sides by busy highways and parking.

The Park Service had claimed that the closing of the Wolverton Pack Station would not have a significant effect on back country stock use since other operators in the area can produce the service.

Writing the Times Delta last year Chief Park Interpreter Bill Tweed seemed to capture the view of the Park Service toward the closure of the Wolverton Pack Station. Discontinuance of some older forms of visitor service like the Lodgepole ice skating rink and Wolverton downhill ski areas were “very expensive to operate and served very limited number of visitors,” he wrote, “the most recent casualty is the old Wolverton Pack Station where several hundred people a summer enjoyed rides through the forest. Now, with the new Sherman parking area approaching completion, this site simply no longer works for horses. The new parking area, with over 250 parking slots, will allow hundreds of thousands of visitors each summer to see the world’s largest tree.”

But supporters of the Wolverton project, like Pendegraft and Visalia attorney Dick Cochran point out that the Park Service didn’t have to shut down the operation but should have followed through to relocate it.

Under the 1980 development plan for Giant Forest the suggestion was made to relocate the pack station to the Camp Annex - the site the Park Service is looking at now in 2003. The latest environmental document covering the Giant Forest area in 1996 finds “no significant impact” on the uses in the area and does not address the need to relocate Wolverton Pack Station. The argument the Congressmen are making is that the Park Service did not follow the environmental process to either relocate or shut down the operation. They asked Dick Martin to “set aside” last year’s decision which he has now done.

Untenable

Bill Tweed says he has heard the criticism but that in this case “I really had very little input into the decision.” Tweed is regarded as the number two administrator at Sequoia. His title is Chief Interpreter for the park. Tweed disagrees that there is any hint of wanting to rid the park of horse and packing operations. The issue here, he says, was a safety issue along the Wolverton road. But Tweed notes that the parking lot the NPS has been worried about has yet to open after a contract dispute with the contractor. They hope to open it next year.

Given the delay is there any chance that Page’s current operation could stay temporarily until a suitable site is found? “The current site is untenable,” believes Tweed.

Regarding the closure of Mineral King Pack Station, the issue was totally up to the operators who chose not to run it this year apparently because of health issues in the family, he says.

To codify the issue of back country horse use on federal lands, attorney Cochran has written a bill for proposed legislation to be introduced in Congress that says the following:

“The land managers of Federal lands controlled or operated by the National Park Service, United States Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management shall manage and operate those lands in such a way as to preserve and facilitate the continued use of such lands for recreational pack and saddle stock use on such lands where there is a historical tradition of such use.”

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Walmart Plan To Be Filed

Visalia - Some 50 neighbors came out to a community meeting hosted by Walmart July 29th at La Joya school. The group viewed plans for the new Walmart supercenter at the southwest corner of Demaree and Caldwell on about 28 acres. Total square footage of the shopping center will be 220,000 sq. ft. The reaction of the neighbors was mixed with some suggesting they would like the convenience of the center and other fearing the impacts the big retailer would have on the neighborhood.

Broker on the deal, Laura Walheim of Zeeb says it’s Walmart’s intention to now file for a planning commission hearing on its application in the next few weeks. Walheim says the company will not immediately build the supercenter format selling groceries because “it will take perhaps three years for Walmart’s statewide food distribution” to be set up.

“Right now they are planning to build a standard Walmart - about 146,000 sq, ft.,” she says.

To get approval for the project Walmart must convince the city to change the area specific plan to allow the use that is larger than the current plan allows - 125,000 sq. ft. “This is not a change of zone,” she says. The property already allows retail commercial use.

Walmart is the buyer of the property, no longer working through a developer, says Walheim who represents the property owners on the project.

Neighbor Elroy Thomas who lives near Chinowth and Caldwell says the heavy traffic in the area “will ruin our way of life out here.” He says he remembers last time a big box user - Costco - was planning a site there a few years ago. “We chased them away,” and he hopes the city council does not allow the project.

Walmart wants two locations in Visalia, say sources, both of which will be supercenters eventually.

Some believe Walmart would close their current Noble store in favor of a larger location. But Walheim doubts that saying the store does 50,000 transactions a day on some days - why mess with success, she wonders.

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What's New

Serpa Automotive has purchased 4 acres next to 11 acres being purchased by dealer Don Groppetti on the south side of 198 past Mary's Vineyard across from Giant Automotive. Serpa says he purchased the land for future development although he has no potential use in mind now. Council must approve a change of zone to allow auto showrooms on this side of Ben Maddox. Serpa's new Kia showroom is breaking ground this week across the street from Mary's Vineyard. Serpa says a Suzuki and Saturn showrooms will begin construction probably in 90 days.

Tulare County election officials don't fear a crowded October 7 ballot. But maybe they should. Unlike other counties who still use the punch card system, Tulare County can print up to an 18 inch ballot - enough room on one side for lots of expected Gubernatorial candidates that could file for Davis' job if recalled. If the tally reaches several hundred by the deadline - August 9th - then things start getting a little crazy. In addition for now - two propositions are also on the special election ballot. The ease of filing for running in the recall election paying only $3500 and the requirement to get just 65 signatures has what has been termed a "zoo" of candidates considering the run for the state's top job.

Speaking of elections, Kaweah Delta's CEO Lindsay Mann is a little concerned about the flurry of news reports on upcoming ballot measures considering the hospital has put a $50 million general obligation bond on the November 4th ballot only days after the October 7th ballot. November also has city council and school board candidates as well. Then there is the March ballot when another local measure, a school bond issue, is likely to be in front of the voters. How about the City of Visalia's sales tax measures? Confused yet?

The County of Tulare has settled with farmer Tokkie Elliott over the damage done to his Shirk Ave. fruit orchard in 2001 when Elliott claims fire crews blew a meth lab spill of iodine on the road onto his land. The settlement comes after 6 settlement conferences in front of various judges.

Just a few weeks ago the Winston Tire store on Mooney hung out a sign telling customers "we're here to stay." Now the place is closed. So, what happened? Turns out developer Dave Paynter bought the lease out after earlier buying the land and will demolish the storefront in coming weeks to make way for the new Kohl's shopping center.

Visalia's airport is getting a major expansion this month as construction on 8 different projects at the airport gets underway. Airport administrator Mario Cifuentes says bids on the project come in 15% lower than engineers' estimates following the pattern seen recently in other public works projects. The airport will get 10 new private hangers and new taxiways as well as more hanger room for corporate jets. New airport signage and parking for the fleet of rental cars is also underway. Work will be done in 90 days.

The Visalia city council race for two seats in November is getting a little more interesting. Candidates now include Bob Link, Rusty Baker, Victor Perez, Greg Kirkpatrick and Mary Louise Vivier. The last two declared candidacy August 6. Kirkpatrick is the former director of American Farmland Trust and Vivier is a former mayor of Visalia. Still time for more to declare as well.

The Visalia Chamber has notified the local carpenter's union it might be booted out of the organization for its widespread picketing of members and its practice of hiring temp workers to picket paying the minimum wage when they are asking companies they are picketing to pay union scale.

Tulare County DA Phil Cline says drunk driving arrests are getting higher again in recent years in the county after a steady decline. Last year they prosecuted 3100 drunk drivers.

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by Claudia Elliott

A planned expansion of the forensic program at Porterville Development Center (PDC) will displace the California Conservation Corps (CCC) unit headquartered there, partly to make room for a swimming pool and recreational complex.

The state budget approved last week by California Gov. Gray Davis includes $50.3 million for capital improvement projects at PDC and an additional $14.3 for relocation and construction of a new headquarters for the Sequoia Service District of the CCC.

The expense will be financed by lease-revenue bonds issued by the state. Expenditures are included in the current budget but are expected to actually take place over the next several years according to Suzanne Levitsky, public information officer for the CCC.

Headquarters for the CCC's Sequoia District has been on the grounds of PDC since 1984. Levitsky said there is no current timetable for the move or property acquisition.

"They knew we would have to find another site at the same time they have to work for several years on their plans," she said. "Both are longer-term construction projects."

The Sequoia Base Center is one of 16 residential centers operated by the CCC throughout the state. Funding in the new budget is for a center that will house 114 corps members and accommodate 22 staff, Levitsky said.

The CCC is made up of young people between the ages of 18 and 23 who are involved with various environmental and public service projects. The Sequoia Service District provides CCC services to the San Joaquin Valley including Madera, Fresno, Tulare, and Portions of Kings and Kern counties. The district includes an administrative office and residential facility in Porterville and a satellite in Fresno

Although some budget documents available on the Internet indicate the move will be to another location within Tulare County, Levitsky she could not confirm that the headquarters for the Sequoia district will remain within the county. Sequoia District staff said they were unable to provide information about the CCC's plans.

FORENSIC UNIT EXPANSION

Details on PDC's expansion were sketchy at press-time, as well. Spokesperson Clidella Graves said plans for the 96-bed expansion and a recreation complex in the forensic area have been in the works for some time, but details are not yet available since the budget has just been approved.

State budget documents prepared by the Legislative Analyst indicate the expansion is needed to accommodate the state's growing population of forensic clients.

Forensic clients include individuals who have been charged with a violent crime and determined to also have a developmental disability. These individuals are put in the care of the DDS and may or may not eventually be able to stand trial for the criminal offense for which they were charged.

The closure of Camarillo State Hospital and Developmental Center in 1997 lead to a need to house the state's growing population of developmentally disabled forensic clients. Not long after about 175 forensic clients were transferred to PDC, a series of escapes triggered community concern and additional security was put in place at the facility.

Ironically, Porterville–which had rejected the prospect of having a state prison located in the area–found itself with an area of PDC with high double fences and guard towers as the forensic clients were isolated from other types of developmentally disabled clients.

Forensic clients have not been convicted of crimes and thus do not fall under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Corrections. Some, however, have exhibited a history of violence and behavioral problems.

The isolation of the forensic clients at PDC that came partly in response to community public safety concerns, resulted in decertification of PDC's forensic unit for federal Medicaid funding, according to the Legislative Analyst's report The funding is an important component of DDS funding and helps take the pressure of the state's General Fund.

The Legislative Analyst's office earlier this year withheld a recommendation on the planned forensic bed expansion and plans for a swimming pool and recreation complex for the forensic clients specifically because of the uncertainty of restoral of the federal funding.

According to the Legislative Analyst's report, the federal funding was lost due to a finding that forensic clients received "disparate treatment" at PDC when DDS enclosed the Secured Treatment Program (STP) facility where they are housed with a security fence and confined the population to the fenced area.

Passage of the budget bill through the state Assembly included specific language directing DDS officials to pursue re-certification.

Graves said this action did lessen access of the forensic clients to some of PDC's facilities, including a swimming pool, but that access to the gymnasium for certain hours had since been restored.

She noted that it is the intent of PDC to seek restoration of the federal certification.

According to the Legislative Analyst, the department indicates there is a possibility that the STP at Porterville could receive federal certification again if the 96-bed expansion and the recreation and activity center are constructed.

The proposed 96-bed expansion is modeled after a New York facility for forensic clients similar to those at Porterville and the New York facility was reportedly successful in achieving full federal certification.

The Governor's budget includes about $44.5 million for the planning and construction of six 16-bed residential units, a protective services facility, and related security improvements for the PDC forensic unit. This proposal also includes an extension of the perimeter security fence and road, three new guard towers, a sally port and associated security equipment, new water well, emergency generator building, and related site work. Currently, the STP is at full capacity and, based on DDS projections of the forensic/severe behavioral population, 96 additional beds will be needed over the next five years.

The budget includes an additional $5.7 million for the planning and construction of a recreational and activity center within the STP fenced area at PDC. The project consists of a 16,140 square foot recreational facility and swimming pool complex, a 2,000 square foot swimming pool, a small serving kitchen, restroom/shower facility with lockers, large multipurpose area, and related site improvements.

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by Claudia Elliott

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has issued a notice of intent to take 40 acres of land owned by the Tule River Tribe into trust.

The land is the location of the Tribe's Airpark, an industrial area at the Porterville Airport that is currently within city limits.

The Porterville City Council was scheduled to discuss the matter at its meeting Tuesday evening, which occurred after the deadline for this issue of the Messenger. On Monday, City Manager John Longley said the council would consider response to an inquiry from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The draft response was more than five pages long and detailed the city's concerns about the Tribe's proposal.

Tribal Chairman Neil Peyron said it is the Tribe's expectation that the land will be in trust by the end of the year. He said he believes the change in status of the property will have benefits for the Tribe, the City of Porterville, and surrounding communities in Tulare County.

Steve Tree, a member of the Board of Directors of the Tule River Economic Development Corporation (TREDC), concurred. The board of TREDC, a non-profit organization that assists the Tribe in its efforts to build a diversified economic base, is made up of Tribal and community representatives.

"I believe putting the land in trust it will open up new opportunities for marketing of that piece of property," Tree said. "There may be some incentives for businesses to relocate to Porterville and to be on Tribal land. I think that's the biggest incentive. It will also give the Tribe itself more options for using the property they own."

Background

The TREDC was established in 1988 to help the Tule River Tribe build an economic base, according to Executive Director John Nash.

This was long before the Tribe became involved in gaming, Nash said. At the time the Tribe's only source of revenue was from a bi-annual timber harvest and some grazing permits.

The Tribe reached out to the business community of Porterville for advice and assistance. Soon after the TREDC was formed, its board advised the Tribe to purchase 40 acres of industrial land adjacent to the Porterville Airport from the city for $160,000.

About seven years ago, $1.5 million in grant funding was obtained to provide infrastructure, build roads, and develop utility connections on the property which is now valued at about $3.5 million.

The industrial park remains underutilized, however. Tenants include a soils and water testing firm, the Sequoia National Forest's Emergency Command Center, a USDA food distribution warehouse, bus maintenance shop for Eagle Mountain Casino and warehouse and storerooms for the casino, which is owned by the Tribe.

Although Porterville and the industrial park have much to offer potential tenants, the poor climate for doing business within the State of California is considered one of the reasons more businesses haven't been attracted.

Trust Status

Title to land owned by Indian tribes can be held in various ways. Currently, the airport land is owned in what is called "fee simple" status meaning–among other things–that the Tribe pays property taxes. Because the land is within the limits of the City of Porterville, it receives utility service, police and fire protection, and falls under all other rules of the city, county, and state, in addition to applicable federal laws and regulations.

What the Tribe plans to do would change the ownership status of the land. The Tribe's request to the Bureau of Indian Affairs is to have the land placed into "trust" for the Tribe, essentially giving it the same status as reservation land.

There are advantages and disadvantages to the Tribe in making this change in ownership status.

"Basically, the TREDC board weighed all of that and decided that overall, Trust status would be more advantageous to the Tribe and to the surrounding community. In moving forward with this plan the Tribal Council is acting upon the recommendation of the TREDC board which, of course, is made up of both Tribal and other community members."

Hub Status

The point of the Tribe's purchase of land at the airport and development of the industrial park was to create jobs. An immediate advantage to businesses located in the industrial park once it is placed in trust is that it will have automatic designation from the federal Small Business Administration as a "HUB Zone."

A HUB Zone is a designation by the federal Small Business Administration that an area is a "Historically Underutilized Business Zone." The program resulted from provisions contained in the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997.

The law provides that Indian reservations–land held in "trust" for Indian tribes, which will be the status of the airport industrial park once the Tribe's application is approved–automatically become a HUB Zone, according to Sam Cohen, staff counsel for the Tule River Tribal Council.

Nash said there are other areas of the county that already qualify for HUB Zone status but few of these are appropriate s for industrial development. The Tribe's industrial park already offers many fine amenities; doing business in a HUB Zone will give businesses locating there an additional edge–priority when bidding on federal government contracts or subcontracts.

"We all know that government contracts can be an important source of bringing revenue and jobs to an area," Nash said. "But it is so difficult and expensive to do business in California that the priority given to a business in a HUB Zone can make a big difference, allowing a small to medium size business here to get big contracts that otherwise would have gone to a lower bidder somewhere else."

Nash said the federal government recognizes the need to help boost economies in struggling areas like Tulare County. The HUB Zone is a good tool but hasn't been of much real value here because most of the land in HUB Zones is in city center areas that are neither sized nor located right for industrial use.

The Tribe's Gaming

The Tribe recognizes that its successful gaming operation, which has brought many benefits to Tribal members and the surrounding community, is not enough and began efforts to diversify even before the casino was established, Peyron said.

Seeking trust status for the airport industrial park has been considered for some time, but is not intended to lead toward establishment of a casino at that location, Cohen noted.

"At public meetings some people have suggested that the Tribe build the casino at the airport," Cohen said. "There are many reasons that would not be a good idea. The land has been developed as an industrial park and provides many opportunities to bring good-paying jobs to the region to benefit the Tribe and the larger community. We think Trust status, particularly because of the HUB Zone designation it would confer, will best position that location for long-term industrial use of great benefit to all of Tulare County.

The Process

The Tribe has submitted its application to have the land put into trust to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and has met with Longley to discuss the matter, Cohen said.

"The Tribal Council believes an amicable relationship can be developed to ensure that the City of Porterville is not negatively impacted by the change in ownership status and that the industrial park continues to receive needed services," he noted.

As the application moves through the approval process, the Tribe and TREDC will continue to research advantages to businesses located at the industrial park and launch a marketing program designed to bring more businesses–and importantly, more jobs–to the area, he said.

"Although the trust status would, indeed, take the land off the local property tax roles," Nash said, "we believe that the jobs created will more than offset that loss to local government by employing more people who will live in and spend money in local communities.

City Concerns

The draft response to the BIA summed up the city's current concerns about the proposed change in status for the airport property, Longley said.

Specifically, the BIA had asked the city to provide information on property taxes generated by the Tribe's airport land, assessments, services provided by the city, and zoning.

In addition to providing that information–which included the fact that the industrial park currently generates more than $27,000 per year in property tax, of which the city gets about $3198–the draft letter to the BIA outlined 12 specific questions that the city has regarding the change in status for the land.

Although the draft letter concluded with a statement that the City of Porterville "remains highly supportive of the Tule River Tribe, their Tribal Council and the Tule River Economic Development Corporation," Longley noted there are "planning and legal issues" that need clarification, from the city's perspective.

Because of that, he said, he expected that the council would ask the BIA for additional time to comment on the proposal.

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