End of Community Composting?
San Joaquin Valley - It's all a bit too mulch. The mission to recycle compost and cut waste is on a collision course with the equally green goal – to clean up the Valley's air.
The San Joaquin Valley Air District, under the gun to cut volatile organic compounds – a contributor to ozone – has drafted tough new regulations on composters of organic wastes like the green waste clippings. That’s the stuff you dutifully recycle in your green waste trash cans in Visalia, Tulare and Porterville – just to name some cities.
The draft rule has the potential to make composting so expensive the few private companies in the Valley that recycle our green waste might choose to go out of business.
That would leave cities and counties back to square one – back before 1990 when the state mandated local jurisdictions recycle at least 50 percent of their waste stream by the year 2000.
After years of a successful public education program, there are conflicting messages in the Valley causing public confusion over what are good green practices and what are not.
Case in point, this past weekend where The Fresno Bee pointed out that planting trees may be causing more pollution than cars.
Today, Tulare County is proud of its 52 percent diversion rate largely thanks to widespread cooperation in recycling compost and diverting what was about 30 percent of the waste stream going to our landfills.
Two local companies – Wood Industries and Tulare County Compost and Biomass – take most of the green waste from Tulare County cities and turn it into soil amendments that improve the fertility of the soil. Sounds like your basic green ethic in action?
Yes, but the state Integrated Waste Management Board wants us to do more. It says 10 million tons of compost and other organics are still going to the state's landfills and 13 million tons of woody debris as well that need to be diverted by 2020. This will require 50 to 100 new composting facilities.
Enter the Valley air board that has a green mission of its own – reduce VOCs (volatile organic compounds) starting in 2012 or face a potential penalty from the EPA. The air board says it needs to cut emissions from composting facilities to reach its emission goals.
To meet the deadline, the air district is in the process of adopting new rules on composting operations, but the critics say it is moving too quickly to examine other alternatives or reconsider its assumptions. Overall, the composters argue the district should look at lower-priced solutions to cut emissions than demanded by the air board staff – enclose all open air composting facilities.
“That would add a $10 million price tag to my own operation,” says Kent Kaulfuss of Wood Industries in Visalia.
“We just couldn't afford to operate anymore,” leaving the City of Visalia without one of its two green waste operators.
Composters and the state Integrated Waste Management Board itself point to a recent study done by the city of Modesto that suggests a far lower emission problem from green waste than the air district's analysis by a 3-to-1 factor. In turn, because the air district believes composting facilities emit three times the VOCs than the Modesto study suggests, the air board measures to curtail the expected pollution problem are far tougher.
Kaulfuss says the district, in its eagerness to find pollution to cut that will help it meet its EPA emission goal, uses each composting plant's maximum permitted volume instead of what is actually produced. In his own case, the district estimated his Visalia compost plant produced 120,000 tons of green waste – the permitted number – instead of what he regularly produces – 20,000 tons. Of course, the pollution level appears to be far larger. Between the high emission factor and the decision to quantify the maximum production numbers the air board staff suggests a far bigger problem than may be out there.
John Jones, operation manager for Tulare County Compost and Biomass, says if the rules as drafted were implemented, it would “make composting very expensive” and he expects a compromise plan to help some. Jones' company takes green waste from Visalia, Tulare and Porterville.
Organic material accounts for about 30 percent of the state's waste stream, says a 1994 Waste Management Board report.
“We're extremely concerned that the new rules will mean these compost companies could go out of business,” says county Assistant Director for the Resource Management Agency Britt Fussel. That could mean the end of “all that effort we made to educate the public – recycle and reuse – in Tulare County.”
The air board has responded to comments that its emission
factor is too high, saying it will further examine the Modesto study
and others in an April 10 document. A second series of public comment
meetings on the issue is taking place this month.
Farm industry rep Manuel Cunha says they object to the air board
staff decision that originally covered just composting – now
expanded to all “organic” waste that includes farm spreading
of nut hulls, manure, food waste and other materials. But, he has
been told recently that the district brass “will sit down
with us” to examine the scope and assumptions before moving
forward any further.
Besides composters, the new rules affect farmers as they spread walnut or almond shells or chipped orchard wood on their land, forcing them to tarp the land affected within three hours. That would likely mean the need to add large diesel-fueled machinery – more trips, more pollution – as an unintended consequence. For feed operators, they would need to tarp feed within three hours. Manure spread on land would need to tarped and incorporated into the soil within 48 hours.
“This draft rule affects canneries, dehydrators, land spreaders, feed operations and farmers who spread any organic material on their land,” says one critic.
Also at risk are small town volunteer composting programs like the one in the city of Corcoran, says one resident. Instead of a volunteer drop-off program, the additional labor costs to cover the branch clippings dropped at the site within three hours will make it unlikely this program and scores of others around the Valley will survive.
“If the air board makes this all too expensive – people will just go back to illegal dumping – mostly on farm land,” worries Cunha.
Measures on November Ballot
Visalia - College of the Sequoias trustees Monday unanimously approved resolutions stating the intent to establish two School Facility Improvement Districts (SFIDs). The action was necessary to set the stage for placing bond measures on the November ballot in both the Greater Visalia Area and the Greater Tulare Area.
The bond measures would raise $60 million to establish COS' Tulare College Center and $27 million for improvements at its Visalia Campus.
“There are two more steps that have to occur,” said COS President Dr. Bill Scroggins. The next step will be to hold a public hearing on establishing SFIDs at the May 5 board meeting. Then, at its June 9 meeting, the board is expected to vote on placing the bond measures on the Nov. 4 ballot.
The board's discussion on the resolutions was brief and centered on concerns about the clarity of the proposed wording. The resolutions were passed without any changes.
The roll call votes followed a PowerPoint presentation by consultant Dale Scott who heads the San Francisco-based Dale Scott & Company. He explained how the April survey in each of the areas was consistent with the results of a similar survey conducted in November. Both showed a sizeable majority of likely voters support an increase in property taxes to fund the bonds.
Likely voters were asked what amount of property tax they would approve to support the college's proposed expenditures – which included improving safety, upgrading all classrooms, the theater and other buildings, funding the local costs of the John Muir Science Center, and improving the track and fields in Visalia; and building an agricultural demonstration laboratory/show pavilion, and constructing facilities such as a library, cafeteria and bookstore in Tulare.
The amounts ran from $5.50 to $9.50 per $100,000 of assessed value in the Visalia district, and from $19 to $25 per $100,000 in the Tulare district.
Scott explained that both surveys were conducted on a randomly selected group of voters who had voted in three of the last four general elections. This plan was put in place before the November survey because there was a question about whether the bond measures would be on the ballot this June or November. The April survey was conducted the same way to remain consistent, although the proposed costs had increased. Households that were questioned in November were eliminated from this month's survey.
“There was no change between November and April,” Scott told those at the meeting. “Even given a larger (cost), there's really no change in voter attitude.”
After showing which expenditures within each bond measure tested better, Scott suggested that COS “should disclose all but highlight those that test better.” Even the expenditures that tested the lowest resulted at 70 percent in favor, however.
“If you adequately describe the project, the voters in the district will believe in what you are doing,” he said. “The community is very supportive of the district.”
The survey results showed that 93 percent of those in the Visalia area have either attended or know someone who attended COS, and that over 84 percent of voters in Visalia (and over 75 percent of Tulare area voters) have either a good or excellent opinion of COS. More than 68 percent surveyed approve the bond measure in the Visalia area, and 73 approve it in the Tulare area.
Each measure will require 55 percent voter approval to pass.
“These are strong numbers,” Scott said. “It comes down to core values in the community. I believe this is a community that has made up its mind.”
He said that there are 30,000 registered voters in Tulare, about half the number of those in Visalia, “but they are fairly consistent with the voters in Visalia.”
Scott also noted that there are those who will not support a bond measure no matter what it will fund.
“The 'no' voters are 'no' voters because they are 'no' voters,” he said. The survey showed that about three in five of those who oppose bond measures in each area are against any new taxes.
The conclusion Scott reached after the two area surveys was, “Despite changes in the economy, support for the bond program remains high.”
Visalia to Consider Issue at April 21 Meeting
Route 1 would run parallel to and south of Highway 198, bringing it through the north part of Farmersville and just north of Exeter. SCE is expected to propose this power line route in the plan it presents to the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in May. At that time, responses from those affected by the proposed route will be accepted by the PUC.
Farmersville
“Proposed Route 1 will slice through the northern portion of our city in an area that has been reserved for economic development and includes a portion of the city's Redevelopment Area, thereby eliminating the productive use of at least a 100-foot strip of land through this area of the city,” states the resolution passed by the Farmersville City Council Monday night. “The proposed project Route 1 would be detrimental to the property owners developing the sites who would likely now be deterred from locating commercial and industrial development in this area designated for this needed development.”
“We see that area as our only hope to have commercial development, so we can have a tax base,” said Farmersville Councilmember Paul Boyer. “The taxes it would generate would allow us to provide all the services you would expect from a city.”
“We're trying to bring in a large grocery store and also bring in an industrial park,” said Farmersville City Manager Rene Miller, who added that the city is also working on attracting a “box store” in the area along the proposed route.
“What I would like to see is that they choose the route furthest north, the Stokes Mountain Route,” said Boyer. “It would affect less people.”
The city resolution supports that route, known as Alternate Route 3, which “would utilize much more SCE existing right-of-way and cross over grazing land which would affect only seven land owners.”
Exeter
“We decided we are opposed to Alternative 1 and that we support Alternative 2 or Alternative 3,” said Exeter Mayor Ted Macaulay. “We're primarily concerned about the farmers that will be affected by the lines. The PUC is not interested that we don't want to look at the poles, but we hope the PUC will look at the farmers whose livelihoods will be affected.”
“It's in an area that we may expand into at some point in the future,” said Exeter Councilmember Leon Ooley. “The people who live in those areas do their trading in town. They're like citizens. They belong to the same clubs.”
Unlike Farmersville, Exeter has drafted no resolution on the matter.
“We probably will have a resolution but we will start with a letter,” Macauley said, adding that he has had conversations with officials in other cities to learn what they plan to do. “We won't try to reinvent the wheel, but we will target it to how it affects Exeter,” he said.
Visalia
“We had responded to this back in late 2006 when the route was proposed on the north side of 198,” said Visalia Assistant City Manager Michael Olmos. “The thing that was of concern then was that the city has 100 acres on the north side of 198 that the power lines would have gone through. Now that they moved it to the south, that issue is avoided.”
The remaining concern, according to Olmos, is the visual impact of the poles which would be 120 to 160-feet high, more than twice what the current poles are now (65 feet).
“The 198 corridor is the gateway to Sequoia National Park,” he said. “It's a scenic route at this point. The question that was raised in 2006 was that the scenic corridor would be adversely affected by the power line.”
In 2006, the Visalia City Council authorized the city manager to send a letter to Bill DeLain of SCE to describe the city's concerns and suggest that Route 2, further north, be selected. At its April 21 meeting, the council will hear again from DeLain before discussing the issue.
“We're going to lay out a number of issues on Monday as a review of the issues that we had in 2006,” Olmos said. “We will ask council if any of these conditions still exist.”
Opposition Group Forms
Early this week, Exeter resident George McEwen was selected to chair an eight-member steering committee formed to lead the fight against the Alternative 1 route.
At this week's Board of Supervisors session, Supervisor Allen Ishida said the group will conduct a full-scale campaign against the SCE plan, including a fundraising campaign, and formulate a course of action to be taken once the matter goes to the California Public Utilities Commission. The group, which still has not chosen a name, already has created signs and posters and is seeking additional support.
David Cairns, who owns property in Lemon Cove on the Alternative 1 route, said Dr. Lon House, a consultant who deals with PUC issues, will be helping the group in its efforts. Cairns said House was retained last year when the Alternative 1 route issue was opposed. Cairns and others have said they are been somewhat surprised by Edison's announcement earlier this month that Highway 198 route was the first choice.
Alternative 1 opponents have expressed frustration in Edison's apparent reluctance to provide details on exactly whose properties would be impacted and where the towers would be located.
(Miles Shuper contributed to this article.)
Exeter Bakery Could Employ 150 Workers
Exeter - Family-held Svenhard’s Swedish Bakery has owned a 220,000-square-foot building in Exeter since the early 1990s but has never done any serious baking there – essentially a backup for its busy Oakland production plant. The company bakes and distributes a variety of sweet pastries – gooey stuff like bear claws, cheese horns and raisin snails – sending them all over the nation. Its biggest customer is Wal-Mart.
“In Exeter, about 10 years ago the company put in a few pieces of used equipment but today it's just scrap metal,” says Svenhard's Operations Manager Norm Andrews.
In recent months, Andrews has been trekking from Oakland to Exeter on a mission to reopen – if that's the right word – the Exeter facility into a full-fledged bakery.
“We're talking to the city and all the permit agencies and to consultants to help us,” says Andrews, noting that so far the feasibility of turning the Exeter facility into a modernized production line looks good.
“We don't have a schedule yet but we believe we could open in 2009 with one line of 50 people,” says Andrews.”We would be at 150 in full production.”
Andrews has 36 years in the baking industry – most of them with IBC – the makers of Hostess Bread and Twinkies. He says he has opened other plants but feels special about Exeter. “This is my baby,” he advises.
Andrews says opening a bakery at the existing site is far easier than opening a plant on a new site from scratch, particularly in California. “Since the plant has permits in place already as a bakery, we have less paperwork to go through,” he remarks.
Already they are in discussions with the city of Exeter to put in a pre-treatment plant on site to meet the town's wastewater discharge requirements.
“Dough makes a big mess just like when you bake at home – only lots bigger,” laughs Andrews. They are also in discussion with the Valley Air Board over oven emission rules.
Andrews says Svenhard's is in the process of getting bids from engineering firms for the design elements of the plant. He declined to say how much they will be investing – thought to be in the tens of millions.
Andrews says Svenahrd's was one of the companies that recently commented to a federal agency overseeing the potential abandonment of the rail line that goes by its Exeter plant on Industrial Way.
“We told the federal government that we need that rail line not just to receive our ingredients in bulk, but to send our line of finished goods out.” He says the rail line is the most cost-effective way to receive flour now priced at $36 per hundred weight. That compares to $8 per hundred weight 10 years ago.
As for the finished bear claws, they send them frozen on rail in order to keep their two-week shelf-life.
Andrews says he recently began to understand about the high rate of unemployment in Tulare County and looks forward to offering good year-round jobs for locals. He says for a while the Exeter plant will run in tandem with the Oakland facility as staff here is trained in bakery operations. Svenhard's plans to tap available training funds through the state – something Tulare's Haagen-Dazs is doing this year.
But the Svenhard's manager would not talk about what will happen once Exeter reaches full production – whether the Oakland facility will close. The place employs 400 workers and has a contract with the union there.
Clearly, there are big cost savings for the company in implementing the Exeter plan. Wage rates in Alameda County are 2 to3 times higher than the going rates in Tulare County.
The Exeter plant will be well automated, unlike the Oakland operation, making it likely Svenhard's could run the same amount of product in Exeter with a smaller workforce employed at lower cost than the Bay Area operation.
Therein lays the argument local economic development officials are making to both L.A. and Bay Area firms to consider relocating their plants to our mid-state location – in Monopoly parlance – the Mediterranean and Baltic part of the game board.
Andrews says family owner Ronny Svenhard, who lives in Exeter, will be on hand once the remodeling of the facility – formerly owned by Candlewick Yarn – gets underway. That work could begin this summer in order to make the 2009 start-up date, unless some unexpected hurdle presents itself.
The upshot could be the town of Exeter, known best for the finest eating oranges in the nation and its brightly painted town murals. It could now be saluted at America's breakfast table as families pile into those scrumptious apple horns and cinnamon rolls.
Clearly, they will say Exeter with a smile (and some frosting) on their face.
Sign of the Times
$100,000 Homes Return to the Market
As of April 10, there were 1,845 active listings in the Tulare County MLS – down from 2,206 in August 2007.
The real eye opener is the price levels of the inventory that today includes 49 homes under $100,000 – a price throwback to the mid-1990s.
“We've gone down about 30 percent in values since mid-2005,” says Visalia broker Ed Evans. “But it seems we are not going down as fast today,” he says. Evans expects a 5 percent price decline this year at most.
The largest category in the MLS listings is homes between $100,000 and $199,000 – 735 active listings. The good news is that once “the REOs and short sales that are flooding the market right now are worked through, we should have a balanced market.”
Economy Not Helping
While the debate continues whether we are in a recession, those in Tulare County say while they are definitely seeing a slowdown to the economy, they are not seeing a recession.
Jim Holly, president and CEO of Bank of the Sierra, said this is the worst, if not the worst economy he has seen since the 1990s. However, he sees the economy, at least locally, near the bottom and that maybe things will start to rebound by early 2009.
“At the root of all of this is the building boom led by subprime lending market that was out of control,” said Holly, who has been guiding Bank of the Sierra since the late 1970s. He said that building boom created a real estate run-up like “we'd never seen in the Valley,” and in turn a glut of homes for sale.
He says the oversupply of housing will continue until
the run of foreclosures ends.
“I think the worst will be March-April this year,” said
Holly. Next up will be the next round of balloon payments due in
October and November, but then the market will begin to stabilize.
“The best solution is drawing mortgage rates down. I think that's the best solution,” he said.
Already, said Derek Land, owner of Century 21 Real Estate in Porterville, mortgage rates are as low as they have been in a long while.
“We're seeing it pick up,” said Land about real estate sales in Porterville. He said the better weather is helping, but more importantly it is the lower interest rates and the lower prices for homes.
“There are a lot of positive signs out there,” said Land.
Land told of a feature his office has that automatically by email notifies a potential buyer of a home going on the market.
“We've set up a system that if a house is listed and it fits a certain criteria, an email would be sent to buyers. I've had them call me within 10 minutes of the house being listed,” he said. While the peak of eight calls a day has slowed, Land said he is still getting interest from buyers.
However, Land says buyers are leery of lowering prices and some are backing off an offer after they see prices fall. He said it is the most difficult time to close a sale he has seen in a while.
Karin Ford of the Tulare County Economic Development Corporation said their office is still getting a lot of calls from companies looking to expand or purchase land in the county.
“For us, it seems pretty normal. We still have companies looking,” she said.
However, she said those in real estate have indicated sales of commercial property has slowed a bit.
Return of $100,000 Homes
Numbers released from the Tulare County Association of Realtors monthly report lays out the picture. For March 2006 – a little over two years ago – the MLS recorded just two homes on the active listing under $100,000 .That compares to 45 active listings in the March 2008 report.
Also dramatic is the number of homes between $100,000 to $200,000 for March 2006 vs. March 2008. In March 2006 – before the housing crisis sent homes prices spiraling down – there were just 143 active listings in this range. In March 2008, this low-end category has ballooned to 774 listings – a measure of the shared pain – or gain, if you are a buyer.
The March 2006 and 2008 reports show about the same number of homes in the $200,000-to-$300,000 range, but a big decline in the number of active listings above $300,000 –403 in 2008 vs. 678 in March 2006.
By way of comparison, the March 2006 MLS total residential listings had just 1,393 homes on the market compared to 1,845 in March 2008.
The pattern is clear – more homes for sale and a dramatic swing to lower values that now includes a selection of back-to-the–future prices – below $100,000.
Tulare County - San Joaquin Valley Railroad is moving its dispatch center to Vermont and its customer service facility to Oregon, officials said this week.
Randy Perry, SJVR general manger, said five workers from the Exeter offices have been offered jobs at the new locations. Dispatching will be done in Saint Albans, VT, beginning May 1 and the customer services will move to Roseburg, OR, by the end of summer, Perry said. He expects a smooth transition with customers being given toll free numbers, adding that it is likely little differences will be noticed in day-to-day operation.
Perry said the moves are aimed at better serving the company's 130 Central Valley customers. He said customers have been notified of the changes and that the moves are part of the company's plan to better facilitate operations and services.
The SJVR move of the dispatch and customer service center out-of-state appears to be adding steam to customers' contentions that the rail firm is providing inconsistence and inadequate service. Short of saying they are being rail-roaded, they say an already bad situation will only get worse.
Vickie Wood, traffic manager of San Joaquin Refining, a Bakersfield refinery which ships roughly 2,200 carloads annually on SJVR, sees the outsourcing of dispatch and customer service as an even greater hardship for many small customers in the Valley.
Valley rail customers will be in what she termed a “melting pot” dispatch system where the individual needs would be lost. That already is a problem, some say, with a shortage of SJVR crews limited to 12-hour shifts and unable to meet customer needs.
San Joaquin Refining, she said, has been using SJVR since 1992, and she classified the service as “terrible,” explaining that with only one 12-hour crew, the rail company often cannot finish a job, having to wait until the next day, creating a hardship for those sending and receiving shipments.
Wood said a number of other Kern County companies, part of the customer coalition, suffered when SJVR reduced its crews to one from two.
Wood says the coalition members are keeping a close watch on the SJVR attempt to abandon two rail segments totaling 39 miles in Tulare County because, if successful, the short line rail company could try to abandon other rail lines. SJVC is the largest short line rail firm owned by RailAmerica, which was purchased by Fortress Investment Group.
Tulare County officials, led by the Tulare County Economic Development Corporation and the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG), has filed an official protest with the federal Surface Transportation Commission to SJVR's petition to abandon a 30.59-mile and a 9-mile line between Exeter and Jovista, near the Kern County line.
What's New
With the new hospital nearing completion in Downtown Visalia, it may not come as a surprise that Walgreens is reportedly looking for a location to build a store.
Visalia is getting one as is Lemoore. Now comes word that Hanford will get a new Fresh & Easy market as the English supermarket chain blankets the state with their pint-size grocery outlets. According to Hanford planner John Stowe, the company wants to build a store at the northwest corner of Fargo and 10th.
Giving Up. Developers of a planned shopping center at the southwest corner of 12th and Hwy. 198 have withdrawn their application for a permit from the City of Hanford after both Winco and Kohl's passed on the location.
Big companies continue to look at the Visalia Industrial Park including one that would employ 400 and build a 1.6-million-sq.-ft. warehouse. The activity has encouraged property owner Russ Doe to ask for annexation of his 160 acres at the northwest corner of Plaza and Riggin. Doe had talked with the city before but disliked the rules in place at the time. But now that the path to annexation has been ploughed by MSJ Partners across the street – currently annexed into the City of Visalia and a potential location for this big prospect. Now Doe, through his agent, Pearson Realty, is working with city staff to bring the land into the city limits too.
Delaware North – the concessionaire for both Sequoia NP and Yosemite – has relocated its Visalia office at the chamber building to Fresno in recent weeks in a cost-cutting move.
Low Pay. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports Tulare County near the bottom of the nation's 329 largest counties in average weekly wages. That average was $585 in the third quarter of '07, compared to $840 in Ventura County, $1,585 in Santa Clara, $905 in Sacramento, $702 in Riverside, $643 in Fresno, $720 in Kern and $925 in L.A. County. Nationwide, Cameron County Texas was the lowest at $518.
Buckman Mitchell will be moving to its new 35,000-s.f. location on Santa Fe Ave June 1, allowing the reconfiguration of its existing 22,000-s.f. Main St. building in Downtown Visalia. Developer Harvey May says they plan to divide the space up between office and retail uses and have a letter of intent from a 6,000-s.f. office user currently. He says work on the building will begin in June and new tenants will be in as soon as late summer.
The City of Farmersville received good news from the California Department of Parks and Recreation regarding the $600,000 grant for its planned Sports Park. “They changed the grant to make it an acquisitions grant, as opposed to an acquisitions and development grant,” said Farmersville City Council Member Paul Boyer, adding that the city did not have enough money to both purchase and develop the park before the grant deadline, which is in about two years. “We didn't think we could meet the deadline,” he said. The city had been worried that it would lose any money spent developing the park if it didn't complete the work on time. The proposed park will be on a 20-acre rectangular property next to the Veterans Memorial, and feature baseball, softball and soccer fields.
Mike Waters, an assistant principal at Golden West High School, was named principal for El Diamante High School. He will follow El Diamante's first and only principal, Drew Sorenson, who is moving into the district office as one of the upper grade area administrators. Waters began his teaching at La Jolla Middle School. He served as a learning director at El Diamante before being named assistant principal. Sorenson becomes the fourth area administrator in the district. He basically replaces Assistant Superintendent Carlyn Lambert, who is retiring this year. Area administrators work directly and support the school sites. “We actually save the district money because area administrators are paid less than assistant superintendents,” said Supt. Stan Carrizosa.
Economic Development Administration officials announced the City of Visalia will be awarded a $394,000 EDA Performance Award. This award represents 10 percent of the $3.94 million dollar EDA grant that was awarded to the city to partially fund construction of the West Acequia Parking Structure. The EDA Performance Award is given in recognition of outstanding performance in generating private investment, creating jobs, timely project completion, organizational leadership, innovation, regional collaboration and economic strategy to compete in the global marketplace, said the city.
Full court press expected this summer to combat marijuana growing in both national parks land and Sequoia National Forest. Expect the government to bring in high-tech surveillance devices including a predator drone aircraft and gps monitors so the authorities can “watch” the bad guys, say informed sources. Look for a major military-style busts as summer progresses.
Tom Haglund, a deputy city manager for Hanford, will take over as top city administrator of Gilroy starting May 5. His career move was made official on April 7, when the Gilroy City Council voted unanimously to hire him.
The City of Visalia's LOOP Program was recognized with an Outstanding Program Award by the California Parks & Recreation Society (CPRS). The award is presented to one agency within CPRS District VII which has developed a unique and innovative program that has benefited the community and improved the quality of life locally. The LOOP bus program was developed to provide Visalia area youth with a free and easy way to access community recreation centers within the community.
Visalia Chamber of Commerce
Visalia - The board of directors of the Visalia Chamber of Commerce accepted the resignation of its CEO and President Mike Cully who has taken a position of CEO of the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce.
“We wish Mike all the best in his new position and we understand that after four years in Visalia, he needs to look for new opportunities in the chamber industry,” stated Nancy Lockwood, board chairman, in an April 8 press release.
Cully will be returning to where he grew up. The chamber, meanwhile, will be deciding how to find his successor.
“We are going to put together a committee,” said Lockwood, adding that the committee would be a blend of current board members, past board members and community leaders in areas such as business, government and education. The process may take some time.
“My intent is that we not rush this project,” she said. “The emphasis will be on recruiting rather than interviewing. In my opinion, we're not just going to look at someone who is local. We're not just looking at someone who is in the chamber industry.”
She offered no timetable to hire a new chamber president. “We could be looking at an interim, but we're not looking at that at the moment,” she said.
“I would urge them to take their time,” agreed Cully, who was asked what traits his successor should have. “My vision of what they would be looking for is not a PR person, but someone centered, reserved, more of a vice president who wants to be a president.”
Cully was selected to head the chamber for very different
reasons.
“They took a real chance when they hired me,” he said,
adding that he believes he was hired for his public relations skills
and his apparent ability to raise the energy level of the chamber.
He said he was not into the “nuts and bolts” of the
organization, choosing to leave that to his assistant. “I
was always the front guy shaking hands,” he said.
Cully served as president of the chamber for four years, almost to the day. He said that chamber presidents in California stay at their jobs for an average of between two and three years.
“It's a tough job,” said Lockwood, explaining that a chamber of commerce president has to be a public relations person and a public speaker, understand politics, know how to run a budget and know how to write.
“It's a very visible, exposed position,” she added. “Everybody in this town who is in business tends to care about this chamber. I am amazed by how many people care what goes on at this chamber. We've been flooded with e-mails from people offering help and ready to step up.”
Lockwood offered another reason that chamber presidents tend to have brief tenures. “Like with any upper management position, you don't necessarily want to stay there and become too entrenched,” she said. “You want to move on with your career.”
The next president of the Visalia Chamber of Commerce will have to face the organization's continuing financial problems resulting from the purchase of its $1 million dollar building.
“We've been very open and honest about the financial situation we're in,” she said. “The chamber was in an old building and the staff worked in horrible conditions. We went along with a city request that we move to this particular location as part of the city's desire to improve that part of downtown. With that came in-lieu parking fees we weren't really prepared for. And the fundraising was not as successful as we hoped it would be.”
Lockwood said that the purchase of the building was already in the works when Cully started at the chamber. “The fundraising was underway,” she said. “The process had begun.”
“It's not insurmountable,” she said about the chamber's financial status. “We brought in a consultant with chamber experience out of Atlanta. He conducted over 50 interviews with business and community leaders to help us better understand what we should be doing – what our priorities should be.”
The consultants, from the Fremont Development Group,
are also determining the feasibility of launching a capital campaign.
The results of the study are “under lock and key,” according
to Lockwood, to be announced next month.
The transition has been a challenge for Cully. “It's been
a whirlwind,” he said. “It hasn't really sunk in. The
support that the community has given me is unbelievable. I'll forever
be grateful for that.”
Cully looked back on his years at the Visalia Chamber
of Commerce. “I wanted to be transparent about everything
I did because I wanted to walk out of here with an excellent reputation,”
he said. “I wanted to do the absolute best I could do.”
He pointed to the chamber's improved image and increasingly successful
programs. “Everything we did has been better, better, better,”
he said.
Cully was a finalist for a chamber position in Reno last year. “I pulled myself out of that because I didn't feel I was done here,” he said. “And Reno would have been a great opportunity as well.”
The San Diego position seems like a good fit for Cully. “They're looking for the same things that Visalia was looking for four years ago,” he said. “I didn't profess to be a great manager or finance wizard. I told them what I was.”
Cully starts his new job on May 12 as president and CEO of the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce, which includes cities and towns like El Cajon, La Mesa, Rancho San Diego and Alpine. His new position is a short drive from where he grew up… and from the beach.
“Lifestyle is a big deal for me,” he said. “I was born there and I went to San Diego State. I love to surf and be on a rowing crew.
“First thing I'm going to do is get my board,” he said. “I'm going to get some waves in.”
Three Rivers - Warmer temps this past week have juiced the Kaweah River flow toward 1000 cubic feet per second that signals the spring runoff and white water rafting on the Kaweah has begun.
After a drier year in 2007, rafters are looking forward to a longer run – perhaps into July, says Kaweah White Water Adventure owner Frank Root who has been offering raft rides for 13 year in Three Rivers.
Root's company is joined by four others that offer tame-to-wild white water rides on the river depending on the year.
“We've already begun to offer rides seven days a week,” says Root, while others like tour operator Adventure Connection say they stick to the weekends. “We will begin to offer service April 19,” says a company spokesman.
“We've seen lots of repeat customers,” says Root, noting the reputation the Kaweah has had is for “continuous drops” throughout much of the 10-mile stretch of the river making for continuous fun instead of long calm pools.
Those who want a calmer ride, can get that, says Root,
on the lower parts of the river. Riders must wear a helmet and a
wet suit that can be rented.
The run-off on the river should pick up in early May and run hard
through the second week of June, expects Root, increasing river
flows to 2,500 and 3,000 cfs that will get your motor running. “The
drops will make you gulp,” promises one rafter's Web site.
To go on a trip you must make a reservation. For Kaweah White Water Adventures call 800 229- 8658. For Adventure Connection call 800 556-6060.
Conditions Could Limit Growth in NAS Lemoore Flight Path
Lemoore - Lemoore's City Planning Commission approved the city's controversial general plan update Monday night, but left the door open for Navy officials to curtail or block the residential growth into the flight path of the base.
Jeff Briltz, city manager of Lemoore, said the planners voted 6-0, with one abstention, to approve the plan with several conditions.
Creating the controversy was a part of the plan that would allow housing growth on the western edge of the city, under what Navy officials say is the flight path to one of the runways at the FA/18 Super Hornet Jet base.
At issue is the general plan update that maps growth for the city until 2030. In that plan, the city has designated an area northwest of Highways 198 and 41 as residential. That area is already home to the West Hills College campus and, according to Briltz, already zoned for residential development.
Monday's hearing was a continuance of an earlier hearing where no decision was reached. The matter now goes to the city council for a public hearing and possible adoption on May 6.
Briltz said the planners decided there would be no development at all west of 21st Avenue and no residential development west of Highway 41, south of the existing city limits, until the Navy completes a study on the compatibility of growth and the base.
The AICUZ (Air Installation Compatibility Uses Zone) would study the impacts of operations at the base on areas outside of the base. Briltz said the study won't be completed until November.
“They are putting everything out there on notice the study can affect everything,” said Briltz.
However, the council is not bound by the planning
commission's recommendations.
“If they're landing on the right runway, then they go over
some of those houses at noise decibels estimated at 65 to 74, with
65 being a tolerable limit,” pointed out NAS Lemoore spokesman
Dennis McGrath last month. To demonstrate its point, the Navy had
two Hornets do a low flyover before the last meeting of the planners.
Noise levels are measured in decibels (dB), the higher the decibel
level, the louder the noise. Sounds louder than 80 decibels are
considered potentially hazardous, according to the American Speech
Language Hearing Association web site.
Encroachment on the base has been controversial in Lemoore for decades.
Attempts in the past to annex the base, or approve development in the area of the base, have been met by opposition from the Navy. Officials with the Navy know that people who live in an area negatively impacted by the base will complain, even if the base was there first.
Visalia - Visalia Planning Commissioners sent a strong message to the city council when they unanimously approved the Plaza Business Park Monday night.
“I think this project is going to be a great gateway into the community,” commented planning chairman Vincent Salinas before casting his yes vote. “Ten to 20 years from now, we'll be happy we made this decision.”
The 30-acre proposal along Plaza Drive north of Highway 99 that includes business offices, some commercial uses such as fast-food and sit-down restaurants and a hotel, has been debated for more than six months. To be developed over four phases, when completed it will include about 350,000 square feet of construction and cost between $75 million and $100 million, said Stephen Peck, vice president with Mangano Company.
“What we're shooting for and we think what you'll see is something that is not rivaled between Sacramento and Los Angeles,” Peck told the planners.
Changes to the proposed project pleased commissioners. Those changes included widening Plaza Drive to six lanes between Airport Drive and Hurley, reducing the number of fast-food restaurants from three to two, and building just one four-story hotel, instead of two. The developer also agreed that office buildings would be no smaller than 10,000 square feet.
“For the past six months, we've been meeting with the public. We think this has been pretty thoroughly vetted within the community,” said Peck, who was pleased with the commission's vote.
Now, it is on to the city council where at least
two council members have expressed concerns with the project.
Councilman Greg Collins said at a joint meeting of the council
and planners last month he was concerned with the project's impact
on downtown Visalia. Mayor Jesus Gamboa was concerned with highway
commercial included in the project. The council is expected to
hear the matter on May 19.
“We'll keep the public engaged,” said Peck of where
they go from here. He said any significant changes made by the
council would likely have to go back to the planning commissioners.
Several people spoke in favor of the project and
the commission received several letters from people also expressing
support. The Visalia Chamber of Commerce endorsed the project,
as did the Property and Business Improvement District.
Commissioner Larry Segrue said it had been a long process and
he thanked everyone for their patience. “I think this is
going to be an asset for downtown,” he said, adding, “Let's
get it done.”
The project includes a new campus for Fresno Pacific University. That has already gotten city approval and work began this week.
Improvements to the Plaza Drive got a big boost this month when the state awarded Visalia a $686,000 grant to start work to widen the roadway between Highway 198 and Goshen Avenue. City Public Works Director Andy Benelli said the grant will help pay for design of the project which is expected to see construction by 2010 and completion by late 2011 or early 2012.
Benelli explained that the project is actually three in one. Caltrans will be doing a major upgrade to the interchange, the city improvements from Airport Drive to Goshen Avenue and the county improvements to Road 80 eventually all the way into Dinuba.
Hanford - Pending approval by the Ford Motor Company, Valley Ford-Lincoln-Mercury will be sold to Jon Keller, owner of Keller Motors.
“I'm 99 percent certain it's going to go through,” said Gary Ryan, owner of Valley Ford. He said it will take Ford about 60 days to announce its decision. He did not know if General Motors, which is what Keller sells, needs to approve the transaction as well.
Keller has the Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac and Cadillac dealership in Hanford. There are also Toyota and Chrysler dealerships in the Kings County city.
Ryan, who will retire from the auto business, but not his other businesses, says there will be little in the way of changes. Most of the employees of Valley Ford, including his youngest son, Sean, will stay with the dealership.
“They intend to keep everybody. We have a
lot of long-term employees,” he said.
Ryan has been either part or full owner of Valley Ford since 1981,
when it was still Kings Row Ford. He bought it outright and changed
the name to Valley Ford in 1989.
He said despite the economic downturn nationwide, the auto business is still good. “I think it's coming back, it seems like it's improving,” he said, adding that as long as farmers continue to do well, so will the car and truck business in Hanford.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
April 16, 2008
