Visalia In Line For Big Clothing Distribution Center
Visalia - The City of Visalia is the likely new home for VF Corp’s largest west coast distribution center. Plans to build the behemoth 815,000 sf building were filed with the city this past week by The Allen Group acting as both land owner and developer for a 64 acre site on Plaza Dr. across from JoAnns Fabrics. The Allen Group would sell the land to the big clothing distributor - the nation’s number one apparel company.
The company would reportedly hire 350 to work at the center expected to be in operation by summer of 2006.
City sources say the North Carolina based company is working with Governor Schwarzenegger to make an announcement about the Visalia selection.
Spokesman for VF Corp, Tim Pittman, denied there was any deal yet, although he said Visalia is being considered. “I can confirm that,” he said.
The site selectors for the company paid many visits to Visalia and were impressed by how quickly the city can get permitting done and its lower cost of doing business including competitive land prices. Builder of the new complex is Florida based Haskell Co. - the same builder that erected JoAnn Store’s big building across the street. The builder was in town last week working on details of the project including hiring an engineer to do the survey work.
While not a household name, VF Corp stands for Vanity Fair, who owns familiar lines of clothing including Wrangler and Lee jeans, Nautica, North Face, Jansport as well as most Nike and NBA, NFL and MLB clothing under contract. The company had over $6 billion in sales last year.
Visalia has been in competition with both Reno and Mexico, say city sources, with some of the site selectors suggesting they liked the low cost of Mexico. Visalia officials pointed out the city’s central location, proximity to the big California ports, quality of life and the fact the city isn’t in an earthquake zone, one of the safest places in California. Visalia got a boost when snow blocked roads in Reno in recent weeks making the case for the more temperate location. Regarding Mexico, lack of regulation and perceived uncertainty over quality of life and the country’s legal system, seemed to sway its selectors that Visalia may not be as cheap, but as a place to do business - it looks pretty good.
Plans to build a big Cal Water storage tank in the industrial park even figured into the plan to ensure there is adequate water pressure to meet the needs of sprinklers to be installed in the sprawling building.
Visalia has been working with the company for more than 6 months.
Helping to land the company is declining workman’s comp rates in the state.
The big clothing company, like most US textile makers, are going offshore for their product these days and much of it is coming back to them through the big L.A. and Long Beach ports. Visalia will become a port city 200 miles from any salt water storing the soft goods made in the Far East as soon as they arrive in the crowded L.A. port. It is a trend that central valley towns might be seeing in the future as imports in the US surge.
Ironically, while VF Corp’s decision will mean new jobs in Visalia, the company has outsourced US jobs since 2001 and just announced the closure of a big jeans plant in North Carolina with the loss of 445 jobs. The company has closed 33 “higher cost” US plants since 2001 transferring most manufacturing of product offshore. A similar thing happened to Visalia’s clothing makers in the past decade with closure of Bayly and Sierra Pacific Apparel here.
The Allen Group typically leases industrial space to users but in this case the company wanted to own their site. The Allen Group is making a deal to lease about 35,000 sf of space of their own new spec building just south of the new center to the incoming distributor, says Larry Montgomery of The Allen Group.
The property where VF Corp will build has itself recently been purchased by The Allen Group from the Hayes family. The Allen Group recently completed purchases of over 180 acres in the industrial park on both sides of Plaza just south of Riggin.
City manager Steve Salomon says the city is concerned there may not be enough big parcels in the city’s industrial park to accommodate the next big user that comes along. The city council will hear about the issue next month, says Salomon. One plan is to expand the city’s industrial park north of Riggin on both sides of Plaza.
In addition, the county may want to expand the Goshen industrial area to meet up with city’s north of Riggin Ave. with much of the land here owned by the Doe family whose name is already on the industrial park grid (Doe Ave.).
Demand for industrial space has heated up in Visalia in the past year with news this week of three big deals and the prospect for a handful of other companies about ready to announce they too have selected Visalia. Watch this paper for more news.
Visalia - CTX Building Supply - a division of Centex Homes - plans to lease the 113,000 sf former Stanley Bostich facility in Visalia and open a manufacturing plant in coming months. The plant would employ 125 to 150 workers, says broker for CTX, Bill Wittlatch. The company is finalizing its lease with the building owners, the Gregory and Hyde families of Visalia. The plan will be heard this week at the city site plan review process.
Wittlatch says the company has been looking for a plant site for the past 9 months and settled on Visalia as their top choice. This would be the 9th such plant nationwide for the big home builder. Centex, will make key components of their homes trusses and wall panels mainly.
The company plans to utilize all 18 acres of the site that includes over 8 acres of open land.
“There will be good paying jobs,” says Wittlatch, helping to meet the housing boom that Centex is part of in the valley. Previously these components were coming from other locations. All the components made at the firm’s plant will be used by the company. “This won’t have any effect on Gang Nails Truss” across the street, says Wittlatch.
Broker Brian Hyde is representing the building owners. G and H Enterprise who acquired the building in 2004 and did some remodeling work on it.
Bostich closed the plant some 4 years ago.
Visalia - California Dairies is buying the empty 300,000 sf food processing building left vacant by Frito Lay in Visalia last year. The milk cooperative “entered into escrow just last week,” says CEO Gary Korsmeier. “We expect to get all government approvals in place in the next 60 to 90 days.”
Just what product the company will manufacture at the sprawling 55 acre site hasn’t been decided yet, says Korsmeier. The big co-op, one of the nation’s largest, will either concentrate on making cheese or butter/powder with the later being more likely. The company has a butter powder manufacturing plant in Tipton that employs 100 and is one of the nation’s largest.
But with lots of vacant land the site could be the home of much more in the future, speculates Korsmeier, now that the cooperative’s southern California dairy members continue to relocate to central California.
The site could be a candidate for the future headquarters for California Dairies which has plants in Artesia (its headquarters as well), Tipton, Fresno, Los Banos and Turlock. The co-op has over 700 members.
A number of new California Dairies members have moved in the past few years to Kern County. But “most of that milk is going over the hill” to L.A. to be used for fluid milk sales, says Korsmeier. “This plant will take up the extra capacity we were needing in the central part of the state,” he says.
Expansion of the milk supply in our area is the main reason the cooperative needs new manufacturing capacity, says Korsmeier. “California production is up over 5% this year,” he notes. The dairy cooperative that was formed from the merger of three smaller co-ops in 1999 produces about 40% of the state’s milk supply. Brand names include Challenge dairy products and Danish Creamery.
Because of the cost to pick up and deliver milk every day from local dairy farmers, the co-op locates their plants near the dairies.
When cheese or fluid milk is not needed the cooperative can “balance” their supply by making product that lasts longer like dry powder and butter. Korsmeier says dairy product exports have been going up in the past year with the declining value of the dollar making our product more affordable overseas.
The co-op’s Tipton facility is adding capacity over the next year to take it to 10 million lbs of milk a day up 2 million in the next year. “That will handle our needs for 05/06, but we need Visalia after that,” says the CEO.
Korsmeier says the cooperative will likely look at installing a cogeneration power plant in Visalia as they are doing in Tipton this July to handle more of the company’s big power needs.
“We need a variance from the city of Visalia because of the height of our milk driers that typically run 120 feet tall.” The city allows just 80 ft tall structures now in the industrial park. “The city has been very cooperative so far,” says Korsmeier.
Korsmeier says the decision of what product to make in Visalia is a capital decision that “must be made by the membership.”
The building’s prestigious office space will provide a new home for the company’s field office that is already in Visalia.
The closing of Frito Lay last year meant the loss of 160 jobs tied to the snack food business. Now the milk industry will take up the slack. Korsmeier said Frito Lay originally wanted much more for the building. But in recent weeks - with no other sale prospect - the price got more friendly.
Visalia - Visalia’s consultant charged with coming up with design and location criteria for the new Civic Center is looking into the idea of moving the proposed site for the complex closer to Downtown instead of siting it nearer to Ben Maddox. “We’re looking at the possibility of the Civic Center closer to the new Transit Center along the Oak Street alignment,” says Bruce Race who was in town this week to hold the first meeting of the city appointed task force charged with recommending a plan to the city.
City manager Steve Salomon says the location option came up because of deed restrictions demanded by Union Pacific railroad on land the city purchased last November that doesn’t allow housing or hotels on any of the acreage because of fear of litigation over noise.
Somewhere, sometime the railroad lost a court case based on noise. While the railroad track winds through most of Visalia passing businesses, hotels and plenty of houses - the railroad’s attorneys were adamant that the stipulation be kept in.
Until recently, the Civic Center site has been shown on conceptual maps in the Burke and Goshen Ave. area. “This thing is evolving,” cautions Salomon. “Because we’re looking at a more urban multi-story complex there is the thought we could do the Civic Center on less land than we thought,” says Salomon.
The current discussion is on Oak Street perhaps on both sides of Burke, he says. The city is working on the idea of extending the street grid system in the old railroad yard area, landscape the creeks and perhaps adding a large recharge basin with extensive walking trails leading back to Downtown.
Laying out the potential elements - types of uses that might be found in the East Visalia plan are important in order to come up with what the project will cost and what demand there is in the near term for land.
There may be near term demand for blocks of land for housing, particularly in this hot housing market. The city has had a long term goal to stimulate more housing and mixed use development in the Downtown.
Farm Bureau president, Craig Knudson, said they were approached by several developers for the 20-plus acres they own north of the Civic Center site but cautioned that it was too early to carry out any serious discussion. “We’ll probably move and the stockyard will probably move at the same time” although maybe not to the same location, says Knudson. The city has worked with the Farm Bureau on buying 1.25 acres of land that the Farm Bureau owns south of Goshen Ave. next to Jennings Ditch.
The consensus is that the expanded Civic Center and all of East Visalia that is part of the plan will have housing mixed in and the consultant is working on a theory that the city’s earlier purchase of the 11 acre Van Ness property at Burke and Goshen could be used for housing while the remaining 20 acres purchased last year from the railroad could not.
The consultant has also discussed the potential of putting housing on the current Farm Bureau site north of Goshen where the stockyard is today.
Salomon says the idea that the railroad is restricting the use of the property because of any toxicity on the site is wrong noting that while some of the railroad land was contaminated the city decided not to buy that land. “The only problem we have on this land is old foundations and rubble that need to be cleaned up” as opposed to any toxic contamination.
The city plan to build an office district mixed with housing along with several large public buildings becomes a planning jigsaw puzzle when you add in the deed restrictions.
The city wants a new public safety building as well as a civic complex but would like to allow plenty of room for potential partners to build nearby. On the other hand, the city wants to draw in the private sector as well and possibly build a new retail and restaurant district.
The new Civic Center complex may include a new county building and even some school district offices in the future. Because the Chamber of Commerce is locating nearby at Oak and Santa Fe (breaking ground June 1) and the Chamber will now be handling the Visitor Bureau, there is a tourist component to plans for the area as well. A likely Sequoia shuttle service will be launched next year bringing tourists to this area. A possible visitor center nearby would add to the visitor traffic.
“The city task force will make a location recommendation,” says Salomon with Race suggesting the task force recommendations could be ready as soon as later this summer.
Lemoore - Buoyed but not surprised that LNAS was not on the BRAC hit list released last week, officials are awaiting a second announcement that could come as soon as this week regarding the future of the Joint Strike Fighter squadron. “If they move ahead with plans to deploy the joint striker it will definitely be in Lemoore,” predicts Kings County Supervisor Tony Oliveira. Bidding for the plane is Whidbey Island in Washington as well.
Locals have been advised to watch for an announcement soon after the base realignment and closure (BRAC) list from the Department of Defense was to be made public which happened last Friday.
Given the emphasis the Defense Department has put on threats in East Asia in the future “the decision to keep LNAS and even grow it makes a lot of sense,” says John Lehn president of the Kings County Economic Development Corporation.
Lehn, Oliveira and others have been working hard to ensure that the Navy base remains well protected in the future open space as the asset even more valuable to the Navy now which finds many of its west coast base sites saddled with urban uses and conflict. Kings County has sought to protect the 10,000 acres of farm land around the Naval base and has been working to expand the base’s military operations area as a training location for pilots in California without having to fly to the desert to train. “That could save government $30 million annually,’ expects Lehn.
Expansion of the training zone may be one more reason why the Navy picked Lemoore for the home of the newest technology - the stealth strike fighter expected to be deployed before or by 2012. The next generation of carrier based jets - the F-35 that have classified technology but can take off vertically and land in a short distance - could mean thousands of civilian and military jobs here. Estimates range as high as 10,000 base jobs both in the military and by civilian support staff and $1 billion economic activity.
They would replace the F/A-18s already stationed at LNAS. Lockheed Martin is building the jet and the plane’s engines and other components are being tested today.
Unlike the last round of base closures, California was spared from major closures with the exception being Point Magu in Ventura County, a Naval Support base in Corona, and a naval Surface Warfare center in Riverside. The biggest winner was China Lake in Kern County that will gain around 2500 jobs.
California lost around 83,000 jobs and 26 bases closed in recent rounds of BRAC but the job loss in the latest round was just 2000 total.
Visalia - Four years ago Beth and Bill Lovett offered their 23 acre farm - five miles east of Visalia as a gift to a Quaker non profit organization to use as a retreat and conference center for the Pacific Friends Outreach Society. The Lovetts have been selling Christmas trees at their Quaker Oaks Farm for some 20 years. They began the permitting process with the county and other agencies back in 2002 to site the conference center. Because of the scope of the project and complications - they still haven’t formally filed for the permit to begin construction with the county all these years. But that will change in the next few months as the group files a request for a special use permit with Tulare County Planning Department, says Lovett.
The original purpose of the center to accommodate the Pacific Yearly Meeting of some 500 Quakers that meets over a one to two week period each year. To accommodate the meeting, the project envisions the layout of an extensive conference center including accommodations for 600 people, meeting spaces, dining hall, sleeping rooms and dorms, child care and classroom space, a swimming pool, central meeting hall and library. The facility would be permitted to handle 200 cars.
Although the intent is to accommodate this yearly meeting the proponents of the project have said they need to build permanent facilities at the site and utilize them as much as 150 days a year by allowing other groups to gather to help pay what has been estimated at $7 million in construction costs.
Although Quakers can’t arguably be charged with being inconsiderate or noisy neighbors, several residents of the rural farm area near the Kaweah Oaks Preserve say the scale of the project is just too big despite the group’s noble intentions and promises to respect the peace and quiet families nearby enjoy.
“How would you feel about a facility the size of the Radisson next door?” says neighbor Bruce Geiger. “I’d say this is a great project in the wrong place.”
Coming at the plan from another point of view is farmer Brian Blain who farms a large walnut orchard a few hundred feet away from the project site. “All these people will make it hard to farm, to spray when necessary and the worry about dust impacts from the orchard, says Blain who also sits on the Tulare County Farm Bureau’s Land Use Committee. Farm Bureau has been active in opposing other non-ag projects in ag zones because their location makes farming difficult as urban uses come into an ag zoned area.
There are other concerns because the road to the project area is small and the only way in and out for some of the neighbors to the north.
Lovett is well aware of the concerns and admits the conference center will have an impact on the area. In recent weeks the Quaker group who has some expert advice from planners and architects are suggesting the project will be downsized.
“We’re scaling back our plans” Lovett told the Voice this week.
Lovett noted that the special use permit process requires the applicant show the ultimate build-out but that now the Quakers were looking at a smaller, phased project that would require new approvals in a few years to get larger anyway.
That would allow the group to build a track record of being a good neighbor, he believes.
“We’ll start off with tents. Other people will stay in Visalia hotels or bring their RVs,” for now for the yearly meeting and plans to build only a few permanent buildings, he says. He says that the new permit request will suggest that only once a year will the retreat see the 500 people level and during the remainder of the year up to 300 or less will be accommodated, typically on weekends.
Lovett, who believes in the educational project says once the place operates for awhile neighbors and the community will see it’s a good thing. “The Boy Scouts have come to our place to camp under the oaks” and go hiking in the next door Kaweah Oaks Preserve. He says plans in the works to make handicapped accessible trails linking with Kaweah Oaks Preserve that has the support of the land trust who owns it. “Education officials have told us they want 3rd grade kids to visit the retreat as a place they can learn about science and nature.”
Lovett says the Quakers have a long tradition of building innovative projects that at first may raise concern in the community. Quakers started SCICON before the county education department took it over. Quakers started Self Help Housing before it became a valley institution providing housing for poor farmworkers.
The center is dedicated to highlight green “sustainable” building methods including straw bale construction and power from solar panels. Organic produce will be grown and recycled wastewater and gray water will be put to good use.
“Over the years I’ve grown to understand and care about the valley and its people,” Lovett says. “This is a unique agricultural area where there are also a lot of environmental problems that need to be addressed. I think we can show people some solutions to these issues.”
But Brian Blain says the project will likely have a magnet effect for other urban development that is making it more difficult to farm in Tulare County. Nearby ranchetts have halted the tradition of large parcel farming. “Visalia is heading out this way - there’s no denying it,” says Lovett.
Opponents of Lovett plan are protesting a plan nearby to build a special event center at Mineral King and Rd. 168 to replace a retail store and site an entertainment center with the sale of alcohol. The project is located on a 27 acre parcel that is zoned for agriculture. It is being proposed by Walther Enterprises. Opponents fear the road to the project - the same road that will lead to the Quaker project site - will be clogged with traffic at times. The applicant sees a future in weddings and parties at the site.
Tulare County - Friant Water Users Authority past president Kole Upton - a Chowchilla farmer - says recent comments by Judge Lawrence Karlton at this May’s hearing has given him new optimism over prospects in the 17 year old litigation.
“I believe the worm has turned,” says Upton noting Karlton’s willingness to proceed with a trial over the issue rather than simply rule in favor of the plaintiffs - the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in this closely watched case as they have requested.
Upton says the judge also told the NRDC attorneys “you haven’t proven your case yet” - a comment Upton says may be significant. Upton says at the May hearing the judge also told the NRDC that “I hope I haven’t given you false hope.” Karlton, who has historically sided with environmental groups side in the past also agreed to bring in a second judge to help in one part of the case - a judge Upton says “is more neutral” on those issues.
The news suggests once again this federal judge appears to change course quickly sometimes surprising attorneys who have been involved in the case for years.
The trial in the remedies phase of the case is set for February 2006, is expected to be wound up in as little as two months adding the question of how much water would be needed to restore the salmon runs that Karlton says were clearly there before the construction of Friant Dam. Friant will argue a massive release of water would be needed to be released from Friant Dam and even then would not ensure a salmon run without costly channel improvements. Friant suggests the impact on the farm economy in the central valley would be devastating.
Upton says NRDC doesn’t seem ready for a trial but Friant has their expert witnesses already in line. Ironically, it was Friant that argued in April that the short time span to prepare for the case that had drug on at a snails pace would make it hard to condense all the depositions and discovery period in the trial.
Friant wants the plaintiffs to release what they think will be needed in the way of water releases. NRDC has maintained the water releases would not devastate the farm economy suggesting “all Californian’s deserve a healthy, living river.”
The suit filed back in 1988 is one of the state’s longest running water disputes. The case entered this new phase back in August when Karlton decided the US government diverted water from the river that killed off the salmon run in violation of a state statute that requires maintenance of fisheries “in good condition” below the dams.
Friant won’t be able to re-try that issue in this court case but will likely suggest river restoration ad water quantities are problematic because of cost and the impact on the central valley economy that depends on Friant water for both drinking water and 1 million acres of small farm production. About half the water goes to Tulare County water districts and communities.
The judge in the case has suggested this issue is headed for a higher court no matter what is decided next year and was quoted as saying that “I am just a way station on the way to the Supreme Court.”
Upton says Friant while working with its legislators to pass favorable legislation to solve the problem in Sacramento is also fighting NRDC backed legislation relating to this issue.
NRDC general counsel Jaree Huffman recently testified to an Assembly committee that “smarter operation of the Friant system can accomplish river restoration and meet the needs of Friant districts.” But Assemblywoman Nichol Parra asked where the water would come from?
“We’ve got local Republicans and Democrats and labor on our side,” says Upton suggesting it will be hard for the NRDC backed legislation in Sacramento to get through.
The California Dairy Technology Center at the UC veterinary facility in Tulare is nearing completion of its first phase - construction of a new Consumer Pavilion. The new $1.4 million facility will be completed next month ready for use in July, expects director of the Tulare center, Dr. Jim Cullor. The amphitheater type building will be available for classes for the three partners in the center including Tulare High School, COS and UC along with others. The partnership is planning on building a state-of-the-art instructional dairy as part of its next phase and is seeking money to get started. The new pavilion will offer consumer education on food safety, energy production, research in health and food values of dairy products and other issues.
Goshen meat packing plant Western Pacific Meatpacking got the green light from Tulare County Judge Paul Vortmann to finalize changes in their EIR to build their proposed slaughterhouse. Owner Rod Balcao says the judge's order will be final in 60 days. In the meantime, the company is revising their EIR to meet the objections of an appellate court that has delayed the project now for years. "It's been 3 years of wasted time," says Balcao "and lots of money spent." The appellate court sent it back down to Judge Vortmann to make its changes in the EIR report that must also be approved by Tulare County. Balcao says he will be filing a new water use plan with the county. The slaughterhouse is expected to employ 200 people. "This should finalize this thing," says Balcao, ready to move on to the engineering and building plan stage soon, he says.
Kaweah Delta hospital is installing a third cath lab in the hospital by the end of July says administrator Lindsay Mann. "We run the existing cath lab day and night to keep up with demand," he says. The new lab will make it more convenient for patients who need heart treatment locally.
A pilot's association lawsuit with the City of Tulare over the siting of Knight Transportation's big terminal is scheduled for a June 13 court hearing at Tulare County Superior Court. The city hopes to get the suit thrown out. The terminal is already built although the trucking company has yet to install refueling tanks above or below ground until CalTrans decides if the tanks must be below ground since they are close to an airport. In other Tulare airport news, the FAA says they want to study Tulare's request to sell off about 20 acres of airport property as surplus. The FAA will hold up a plan to site an RV company on a portion of it that would bring in big sales tax to the city.
Rep. Devin Nunes took his seat this week on the House Way and Means Committee. He was selected to serve on the committee in January, but took a leave of absence. Nunes fills the void left by Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH), who was confirmed by the Senate as the United States Trade Representative. "The Ways and Means Committee has the broadest jurisdiction of any in the House affecting issues important to the Central Valley. It is a great honor for me and a tremendous opportunity for my constituents to have a voice on this committee," Nunes said. Ways and Means' jurisdiction covers issues regarding taxes, trade, health, and Social Security, among others. Because of its broad jurisdiction, most bills passed by other committees must also be reviewed by Ways and Means. Local officials say Nunes is likely to be on the key committee for years - moving up in ranking or time goes by and could chair it someday.
Visalia city council turned down Sunset Waste's request to extend their contract to 2020. The waste hauler sought the extra period in part to relocate their east Visalia plant to the industrial park and make it a waste transfer station. But the city turned them down. It isn't clear if they will still relocate to the industrial park from their current site at Cain and Goshen. Plans for a new home subdivision just to the east of that site means neighbor complaints will likely flow in the future. Sunset would offer their current site to the city for $1.5 million.
If it's 2005 - it must be tax time in Tulare County. Tulare County is weighing a sales tax increase to pay for roads around the county depending on a community survey. The proposal would require a two thirds vote in support - an uphill fight. Porterville has put a half cent sales tax increase on the ballot for November. The City of Tulare is also testing the waters on a sales tax increase to help pay the higher cost of fighting crime. Visalia, of course, has already passed such a measure. Dinuba is now in the talking stage on some similar measure, says city manager Ed Todd. With Sacramento returning less funding to the locals, city officials are looking for a way to pay for public safety and roads.
Former Visalia police officer Bryan Pinto has won his case against the City of Visalia fired after allegations of sex with a minor and now a judge in a tentative ruling at press time order awarded him attorney fees of $4000. It's not clear if Pinto will get his job back.
Visalia - Former city council member Jim Harbottle - an attorney hired by the city as a mediator between mobile home park owners and residents has succeeded in hammering out a new five year agreement "model lease" program approved by city council this week. The agreement between owners and residents in Visalia mobile home parks provides Asome stability@, says Harbottle.
"There was something for both sides," says Harbottle, including a 15% increase in price the first year of the new five year lease for owners, but a 3.5% annual increase after that depending on the cost of living.
There are 10 mobile home parks in the city. In the late 90s there was call for rent control by some residents - an idea revisited by the city, but at that time the city became more involved in negotiation with owners to allow seniors to stay in their homes without fear of big increases in rent year to year.
The city acts as a mediator in lease disputes under the agreement with binding arbitration agreed to by both parties.
The model five year lease was implemented in 1997 and was modified in 2001. Now many of the leases were expiring requiring a new effort to forge an agreement. "Some people were hearing about 35% increase in rent," Harbottle said.
The lease agreement allows a property owner if he sells his park to bring rent to market level which the old lease did not.
Now the annual increase for the residents is tied to the increase in Social Security payment with a 7% per year maximum ceiling. That Social Security increment a month to 3.5% in the next year.
Park resident Jim Burr says the agreement is significant. "This will level the playing field between park owners and the residents," says Burr who has been involved in the city-sponsored effort since 1996.
Burr says in a nod to raising property values here we needed to keep owners happy and thus the 15% one year increase. The owners decision to agree to city-sponsored mediation is a big plus for residents. "It was a good compromise."
Visalia - In the march to relocate from older, smaller stores around Tulare and Kings counties, Walmart remains stymied in Visalia for now and appears to be back pursuing expansion of their one existing store in Visalia on Noble Ave.
Adjacent property owners say representatives of Walmart have contacted them.
Property owner Johnnie George with just under 2 acres of vacant land next to Walmart, says he is negotiating with the big retailer who has already made him an offer in recent weeks.
Pastor Jim Tadlock of New Life Church already had a deal with Walmart to relocate their church to a new site - a deal that appears to have fallen through when a piece of property where the church would relocate to on Caldwell was sold to someone else. But Tadlock says the church is "still ready to go" to find a new location if the big retailer comes to terms with George next door. The purchase would give Walmart nearly an additional 4 acres to the east of the store allowing it to expand to their supersize format of 200,000 sf as they are doing elsewhere.
In recent weeks the company has announced a relocation of their Tulare store to Cartmill and 99 on the west side of the highway. The company is expecting litigation over its plans there as it has faced all over the state. At issue is the company's move big time into the grocery business with its non-union workforce bringing out the ire of unions, grocers and local interests.
Walmart also won a court case in Hanford on a new location but must now wait to see if there will be an appeal. Attorney for the opponents, Richard Harriman, has said he will file an appeal. The company is unlikely to build until the appeal is heard.
The legal tie up of store expansion at many locations has set back the time line of the nation's number one retailer's expansion plans in the state to site 40 superstores. The company is under construction on a superstore in Dinuba and in June the company's expansion plan in Porterville as part of a shopping center will be subject of a public hearing as the EIR on the project there is nearly done now.
The company also announced a project in Lemoore.
Tulare County - The Tulare County Workforce Investment Board may be a county agency who works with the Board of Supervisors, but until a few days ago the sitting Supervisor at the WIB did not have a vote on their board. That changed now with Supervisor Phil Cox taking his first vote in a meeting this month. Cox wants the agency to help out more in solving the nursing shortage in Tulare County.
"Kaweah Delta and COS can do only so much" to help solve the problem with the WIB being the third leg of a stool to support efforts to increase the training of nurses here.
"I envision the WIB both using some monies they have and applying for grant funds" to help double the number of nurses trained at COS every year, says Cox. He says the WIB uses just 85% of their funding each year using the remainder to build reserves.
Cox says he believes it would be proper for the WIB to use some of those reserves to boost nursing here. Altogether a task force is looking to raise $2.5 million budget for the year to do the job "lots faster than we are doing it today," says Cox.
COS and the hospital have announced a plan to double the number of nurses that go through the training program.
Kaweah Delta hospital administrator say the plan right now is to go from just 90 COS nursing grads in 2004 to 130 in 2005/06 and 180 in 2008. "We need to raise about $2.5 million over the next four years." Hospitals participating in this fundraising effort include Tulare, Porterville, Hanford and Corcoran. Also supporting the effort is the Foundation for Medical Care.
But Cox says additional funds are needed to attract teachers in the nursing program who can earn more doing nursing than teaching. He also envisions the construction of classroom space and lab for the nursing program.
Cox says the WIB will be working on an $800,000 grant through the state to train nurses and hopes to help increase the number of new nurses trained through COS to 300 a year. "Most of them will stay in the area," predicts Cox. He says not just Kaweah Delta but Tulare and Sierra View have the same problem finding nurses.
By Miles Shuper
Woodlake - Plans are under way to annex nearly 45 acres into the City of Woodlake, as part of a proposed residential development of 217 lots on nearly 83 acres.
If approved, the development would be the biggest in more than 30 years, if not more, city officials said this week.
Rodeo Estates is proposed for the northeast sector of Woodlake, east and north of Castle Rock School.
The area includes about 40 acres already in the city limits and about 43 proposed for annexation. The property is owned by the Bereford Corp., a San Francisco-based firm with substantial farming and ranching operations in the Woodlake area.
The annexation proposal is scheduled to go before the Woodlake Planning Commission in July, and, if approved, the annexation could be complete by the end of summer, city officials said.
Rodeo Estates will include a mix of up-scale medium and entry level home sites, according to City Manager Bill Lewis. "The project appears to provide a good mix of residential lots providing potential new home buyers with a choice," he said.
Mayor Chuck Ray agrees, saying Woodlake needs more variety of available new housing. "It's a good deal," he said, adding that with schools nearby and Woodlake's picturesque setting, the development and others, should make the city even more attractive. He also noted those new workers in the area, such as those working for the new U.S. Tower plant, will have better opportunity to find housing in Woodlake.
Another residential development, Olive Vista, less than a mile away, on East Naranjo near Holly Street, already is under way. Three homes on the 21-lot project are under construction. The Van Dellen family owns the development.
Woodlake is not alone in the surge of new residential construction a trend throughout the Southern San Joaquin Valley, especially in smaller communities. Lower housing costs are attracting a number of home buyers to the more rural and less crowded areas. Lindsay, Exeter, Dinuba and Farmersville are seeing more building than in recent years.
According to the recent edition of the California Construction Review single-family residential permits are up 6.1percent in the Valley, but down in all of the state's five major regions in 2004. California ranks third behind Florida and Texas in new housing production this year.
For the first three months of this year, 662 single-family unit permits were issued, more than 120 over the 540 issued for the same period in 2004. Multiple unit permits dropped from 163 to 111 in the same period.
The proposed annexation of the 45 acres which includes the Rodeo Estates, comes at the same time the City of Woodlake is in the process of buying about 11 acres for an industrial park site on the southwest sector of the city. It is owned by the Shawl family and currently leased for cattle grazing. It is near the Dryvit company plant which produces industrial stucco and paint products.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
May 18, 2005
