Farmersville- The first 48 modular apartments at Gateway Village in Farmersville are currently under construction by Pacific West Communities, Inc., an Idaho-based real estate and financing firm specializing in the development and ownership of affordable workforce housing throughout the western United States.
“This is an affordable housing project being built with tax credit financing,” said Farmersville City Council Member Paul Boyer, explaining that the tax credits investors receive in this kind of program are usually more than the amount of their initial investment.
The 48 units, scheduled to open in August or September – along with an additional 16 that will be built when more money is available – will be rented by people who make less than 50 percent of the county median income, Boyer said. He added that renters during the apartments' first 50 years are required to help maintain the property.
“It's not what some people look at as low-income housing,” he said. “There are very strict guidelines and rules for the people who live in the place.”
“They rent them based on income and they have to comply with state regulations,” said Farmersville City Manager Rene Miller.
In addition to developing the properties, Pacific West Communities will also manage them. The company developed and currently manages the Park Creek apartments that opened on Walnut Avenue in Farmersville in 2004.
“Their management is very good,” Miller said. “(The Park Creek) apartments look as good as they did when we opened them. They still look brand new.”
Pacific West Communities initially approached Farmersville
because the city has affordable properties and a need for low-income
housing, according to Miller. The company is apparently looking to
build a strong, long-term relationship with the city.
“They donated $100,000 to Farmersville Sports Park,” Miller
said. “They also purchased the senior citizen apartments on
Farmersville Blvd. and are in the process of fixing them up. They
will also manage them.”
Gateway Village is being built using modular construction, with the apartments manufactured in three-dimensional sections (or modules). The sections were manufactured by Guerdon Enterprises LLC of Boise, ID.
“They are putting them together as a puzzle,” Miller said. “It's like plugging in a mobile home.”
A commercial development, which may include offices, will be built directly in front of Gateway Village, along Visalia Road. Boyer said that a car wash there is also a possibility, although it would require a conditional use permit.
By Steve Pastis
Visalia - The board of the Kaweah Delta Hospital Foundation voted unanimously at its last meeting to support the acquisition of Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci Surgical System at an estimated cost of $2 million. The robotic system combines 3D visualization with dexterity, precision and control, allowing it to perform minimally invasive surgical procedures.
“It's a sophisticated piece of technology,” said Lindsay K. Mann, CEO of the Kaweah Delta Health Care District. “The surgeon sits at a console and manipulates with sophisticated 'joysticks.' There is less need to be invasive.”
The da Vinci Surgical System enables surgeons to
perform complex procedures and makes new procedures possible.
It is also expected to improve clinical outcomes by reducing trauma,
blood loss, post-operative pain, infection and hospital stays.
A surgeon operates the surgical system while seated at a console
viewing a 3-D image of the surgical field. The surgeon's fingers
grasp the master controls below the display and the system translates
the hand, wrist and finger movements into precise, real-time movements
of surgical instruments inside the patient. The Patient-side Cart
provides the robotic arms that execute the surgeon's commands.
Mann expects the system to be used for urological, cardiac, OBGYN and general surgical procedures, as well as for radical prostatectomy (the removal of the prostate).
“We expect that doctors will be utilizing da Vinci to treat their patients by the third or fourth quarter of 2009,” said Valerie Castles, development manager of the Kaweah Delta Health Care District. “Numerous things need to fall into place before we can bring da Vinci technology to Kaweah Delta. The construction of the North Expansion is scheduled to be completed in late fall of this year. That will be followed by a few months of moving into the facility, including relocating all the elements that make up our regional heart center.
“We anticipate that the cardiovascular services, including operating and procedure rooms, and cath labs will be ready in June 2009,” she continued. “When the heart center has been relocated, we'll be able to do the necessary remodeling in the main facility to install da Vinci.”
“We have to get the space and we'll also have
to acquire the funds,” Mann said, adding, “We simply
have so many projects.”
Visalia - Just recently, Tulare County Economic Development Corporation had a company inquire about large office space available in the county. After last week's Visalia City Council meeting, the EDC can tell such companies that office space is coming.
The Mangano Company has already begun to market its Plaza Business Park, a 29.4-acre business, commercial and office park in west Visalia.
“There has been a lot of interest relative to the limited marketing we've done,” said Stephen Peck, vice president for The Mangano Company. “We're not expecting a surge, but we certainly expect to fill up the space we've planned in the first phase fairly soon.”
The first phase of the park is anchored around Visalia's new 35,484-square-foot Fresno Pacific University satellite campus, now under construction north of Highway 198 and east of Highway 99. In addition to Fresno Pacific, escrow has already begun on the service station site and interest has been shown in other components of the first phase:
A 50,000-square-foot, 100-room hotel.
Retail and restaurant buildings and pads.
Office buildings and sites for offices ranging from
10,000 to 100,000 square feet.
Paul Saldana, CEO and president of the EDC, told council members
during the public hearing that his office is seeing a growing
trend of a need for office space, including renewed interest by
call centers to locate in the area. Having space readily available
will be a plus, he said.
“They (companies) seem to be inclined to having a building already approved or built. It certainly puts us in a better position,” said Saldana.
“Call centers will probably not be the No. 1 tenant,” said Peck, but the park would be perfect as a regional headquarters for a company. “We're expecting to get interest from larger agricultural companies that do business up and down Highway 99 – something like Sunkist,” he added.
“A business that has a lot of locations to service would be a good one out there. We're also expecting there might be uses associated to the (nearby) industrial park,” he added.
Peck said once the entire 29 acres are built out, there will be more than 250,000 square feet of office space. The first phase includes 42,000 s.f. for offices that right now will be spread out over three separate buildings, one on the east side of Plaza Dr., then two others on the west side. “We can move around density and building size, as long as we are over the minimum of 10,000 square feet (per building),” said Peck.
When completed, the park will employ approximately
1,200 employees, with 1,000 of those professionals, he said. The
remainder would be retail and support staff.
Saldana said that generally, professional jobs are better paid
and have more benefits than manufacturing jobs.
“These are jobs that would kick-start the local economy,” he told the council. And, both he and Peck pointed out there are more jobs per-square-foot than are normally found in a factory or distribution center.
“One of things that is attractive is on 40 acres we can get 1,000 of those jobs. We get a pretty good concentration of jobs,” said Peck, adding that is not always the case with warehousing and distribution.
Shortage of Office Space
“We seem to be getting our share of the retail jobs, what we tend to have is a shortage of professional office inventory. These would provide career jobs – at least medium pay and higher, with benefits,” noted Peck, adding many will be professional people with at least some college education, “or something equivalent to that.”
During hearings before the planning commission and council, concerns were aired by some that the large office project would hurt downtown and other office complexes, but Peck and others said the city already has a shortage of such space. He said after a few current office projects are complete, there will be only a couple of years of office space available in town. “We're pretty confident as the community runs out of space, this will be a ready inventory.”
Saldana said the location is ideal. “That whole 99 and 198 corridor is perfect. One of the criteria of companies is access to a freeway,” he said, adding, “It is another product we get to go out and market.”
Along segments of Interstate 5, the California Highway Patrol escorted traffic through the dark dirty clouds similar to what they do during winter Tule fog events. On Highway 99, several accidents resulted.
“My husband drove with his headlights on during the day, driving from the western part of the Valley back to Fresno,” says Sarah Woolf, spokesperson for the Westlands Water District.
Woolf says the weather in western Fresno County last week made it seem “like we were back in Kansas ready for a tornado” to reach down and whisk it all away.
The truth was that San Joaquin's farmland was being whisked away by the ton.
Three bone-dry months, coupled with periods of breezy then blustery winds, created dust storms fueled by thousands of acres of fallow farm land – empty sections of land not being irrigated this year because of lack of water or fear there would not be enough water.
In Westlands, about a third of the 600,000-acre district is not being irrigated and many of those 200,000 acres are just empty, confirms Woolf. Nothing is holding down the soil.
In the Tulare lakebed, the JG Boswell Company has decided not to plant 12,000 acres this season to alfalfa because of water cutbacks – not being pumped from the Delta this year. A combination of water shortages and court rulings to save fish has reduced water pumping south of the Delta along the California Aqueduct.
The cut in alfalfa comes even though this forage crop is in big demand as a dairy ration and is fetching as much as $280 per ton – almost double what it could be bought for last year. Alfalfa is a thirsty crop and due to the near-drought conditions in the Valley this year, we are likely to see declining hay supplies.
In Westlands, farmers are taking what water then have this year for their growing acres of permanent crops like almond trees that can't go without water. Woolf says the reallocation of water has increased the acreage of fallow cropland far above levels the district was planning to retire due to selenium or salt problems. Farm land owners get allocated a certain amount of water based on how much land they own. But this year, they are putting their supply on their permanent crops even as field crop acres have dwindled.
This year, Woolf says farmers fear their allocation for the district will be less than promised to date because of pending legal decisions and the lack of snowmelt this spring. To save their new tree crop this summer – more farmland is being left fallow.
Westlands grower Mark Borba thinks it's going to
get worse. “It's like a snowball rolling down the hill.”
He expects even more acreage to go dry next year. This year, Borba
cut land planted to cotton from 28,000 acres to just 11,000 acres
of pima.
Of course, the fallow land and cropping changes are reducing demand
for farm laborers this year creating a dust bowl atmosphere in
towns like Huron and Mendota.
The dry spring clearly is exacerbating the situation, says Cindy Bean, meteorologist with the Hanford NWS office. In recent days, the NWS has issued wind warnings when sustained wind speeds of 25 mph were recorded or gusts to 35 mph. “If these fronts coming through were wet, it would have been far different.” Instead, she says the systems that have come in have been dry, at least until the past few days.
The unusual conditions in the Valley continued over the Memorial Day weekend as cool unsettled weather patterns were experienced. The strong high pressure system that has brought early hot weather was eclipsed by a strong low pressure bringing sprinkles and even tornados to parts of California.
The dry windy weather has brought with it an increase in concerns over the spread of valley fever – a particular problem in parts of the Valley including Kern County and the Westside. The spread of the disease is worsened by an increase in dust storms that can carry the spores.
This is seen especially around construction sites where dust blows. Experts fear the conversion of farm land to now empty subdivision sites in the Valley may have played a hand in the increase in valley fever as dirt is stirred up. Now, with the home building industry in the doldrums, that amount of empty land earmarked for new homes but no longer being farmed, could add to the inventory of fallow, dry land.
Just this past week, the California Air Resources Board released a study that showed the incidence of premature death from blowing dust – PM 2.5 particles continues upward of 3,000 deaths annually – 7% more than earlier believed. The soot they are talking about comes from trucks, cars, off road equipment, electric power generation, residential wood burning and ag burning, among other sources. While PM 2.5 is down by 30% in the Valley, the Air District is planning tighter restrictions.
But the degree to which the soot is carried by the large PM 10 dust particles from farm land blowing away may be making things worse.
The fear is that a combination of factors similar to what happened in the famous 1930s Dust Bowl era could happen in what is today the nation's salad and fruit bowl – the San Joaquin Valley.
After all, the Dust Bowl was caused by a combination of severe dust storms blowing across acreage not being held down by plants during an extended drought period – in turn forcing thousands of people off the land – packing their bags for the Golden State.
Visalia - Visalia Unified and the city
of Visalia are both trying to come up with budgets for next year
at a time that fiscal uncertainty is probably an understatement.
A $17 billion state budget deficit and an economy that is slowing
local revenues are facing both the city and the school district,
as well as COS. The city is more at the mercy of local revenue
sources such as sales taxes and fees, while the two school districts
are more at the mercy of the state government.
The city will present its budget in June, as will the school district and COS.
VUSD
“It's better bad news,” is how VUSD Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Robert Groeber described Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised budget released earlier this month.
That revised budget calls for Visalia schools to get no cost of living adjustment (COLA), while the governor had proposed a 2.4 percent cut in January. For the district, that means it won't have the $4 million to cover the expected increase in expenses, which is still better than the $10 million difference it was facing in January.
“A zero COLA means the state expects we're going to survive with no increase in revenue,” said Groeber. However, categorical funding, such as money for transportation, food services and special programs, is destined to be cut 6.5 percent.
Because of a healthy reserve, which Groeber put at approximately $12.5 million, the district does not anticipate any layoffs or major cuts in programs.
“We're buying time so to speak,” said Groeber of the district's plans to cover cuts with its reserve until the state cleans up its fiscal mess.
However, expenses keep going up, especially fuel and food costs, and the automatic step increases for teachers. And, the district is in negotiations with teachers and classified staff, which is another unknown.
City
City Manager Steve Salomon says the city is preparing a very lean budget based on what is already known, and the many unknowns.
He cities three areas of concern:
Fuel costs. The city will budget $2.4 million for fuel next year, up from $800,000 this year.
Local economy. The downturn in the housing industry is greatly reducing the amount of development fees the city collects and it looks as if sales tax revenue will be at best, flat.
State. “We don't know what it's going to do. The governor has made three proposals and all have changed,” said Salomon.
“Because of these three things we are going to present a budget that is very conservative,” he said, adding they have already put a freeze on many expenditures, “so we're prepared for what might happen.”
He said the city will take another look at its budget in January, when hopefully the fiscal picture will be a little clearer.
COS
“The state budget crisis makes news almost every day. This year's 'crisis' is just another episode in the decades-long roller coaster ride that is our state budget,” wrote COS President Dr. Bill Scroggins.
He stated in his report to the board last week that the governor's revision would cover approximately $75 million of the $92 million current-year shortfall. “This translates to a savings of about $700,000 to COS. (The mid-year cut for us was up to $744,000 before this bailout),” he said.
For the next school year, 2008-09, COS would get an augmentation of $138.7 million, reflecting a downward adjustment in estimated property tax revenues for 2008-09. Also for 2008-09, the proposal includes an increase of $35.5 million for enrollment growth, bringing the total growth funding in the budget year to $95.5 million (1.67 percent)—up from only 1% in the January budget.
Second Front Page
What's New
Long slow process to approve Yokohl Valley Plan, says a county planner, Bill Hayter who is reviewing aspects of the EIR related to the new town planned in the valley east of Exeter. Currently, Hayter's staff is awaiting a study of the biological and architectural resources to be finalized in August. After that “it will be 12 to 18 months before the draft EIR is ready for public review,” says Hayter, and many months after that before a final EIR is done. At that rate, it could be two to three years before the big project goes before the Board of Supervisors.
Tulare County Schools did not fare too well in the 2006-07 Accountability Progress Report released last week. Most schools in the county did not meet the statewide performance target of 800, although many did meet their target growth in the scores that measure academic performance. In Visalia, schools that stood out include: Linwood Elementary (score of 840), Oak Grove Elementary (864) and Royal Oaks (825). In the Tulare City Elementary District, schools that stood out include Cypress (801) and Garden (826). Three Rivers Elementary scored 800 and Columbine 840. In Kings County, Neutra Elementary scored 866, Akers Elementary 830, Lemoore Middle College High 822, Joseph M. Simas Elementary 813, Kings Hardwick Elementary 800 and Pioneer Elementary 841.
The Visalia Police Department is teaming up with other Tulare County law enforcement and mental health officials to give officers more advanced training in dealing with the mentally ill. The first training session was held last week. VPD plans to train 20 officers and form a crisis-response team to deal with emergency situations involving the mentally ill. The goal is to have a trained officer respond in the field when a mentally ill person is in a crisis situation, and ultimately reduce the number of repeat contacts police have with individuals suffering from mental illness.
The City of Farmersville has received an updated schedule for its Visalia Road improvements from Seal Rite, the company handling the project. According to the schedule, paving will be done June 5-6 and 9-11. South side demo bridge work will be done Aug. 4-8, and work on the north side is set for Sept. 29 to Oct. 3. Bridge construction is scheduled for Aug. 11-29 on the south side, and Oct. 6-24 on the north side. The project should be finished on Nov. 25.
Prospect Mortgage is buying CTX Mortgage currently owned by home builder Centex. The deal is set to consummate in June. That will mean a change in name for one of Visalia's busiest mortgage companies, says broker Greg Sherman who works for the firm. Prospect is owned by Sterling Capital Group.
California is expected to have adequate
electricity supplies to meet demand this summer, even
with hotter-than-average temperatures, the California Energy Commission
announced last week. California experienced the driest March-April
combined since record-keeping began in 1921. Though the snow pack
and forecast runoff are currently well below average, hydroelectric
capacity will still be available to meet peak power needs.
Discover Magazine Now Available
Tulare County - The Spring-Summer edition of the Valley Voice and Tulare Voice's Discover magazine is now available. The twice a year publication, which is the official Visitor Guide of the Visalia Convention and Visitor's Bureau, details the many things to do, sites to see and amenities available in Tulare and Kings County.
Look for Discover at many of the same locations – more than 200 in Tulare and Kings counties – that you find the Valley Voice and Tulare Voice.
The Fall-Winter edition of Discover will be published in October.
Tulare County Dairies Must Address Global Warming
Tulare County - A letter from state Attorney
General Jerry Brown just before the first of the year is prompting
the county to consider how the Tulare County dairies will mitigate
global warming. A task force headed by UC extension chief Jim
Sullins has been meeting with county staff to come up with a plan
that could reopen the EIR approval process here. The issue is
methane and how to decrease emissions - a subject the state Air
Board and local air district are struggling with as well.
Brown's December 26, 2007 letter to the county Resource Management
Agency pointed out that one new dairy – in this case the
Buena Vista dairy - could produce enough greenhouse gas to be
an equivalent to several thousand new cars. Brown asked the county
to take a “leadership role” on the issue as the state's
largest dairy county.
Methane is said to account for 5.7% of all greenhouse
gas emissions in California, says Brown.
County planner Theresa Szymanis told The Voice some sort of presentation
to the board of supervisors might be scheduled later this month
over a number of new regulations facing the county's ag sector.
Observers believe all this will add emphasis to the need to reduce cow methane fumes through various strategies that include technological means like methane digesters that can produce power or gas used as a natural gas substitute.
Democrats Gain in County Voter Numbers
Tulare County - The number of Tulare County residents registered to vote in Tuesday's primary election is 137,969, an increase of nearly 4,000 over the Feb. 3 primary.
Democrats gained nearly 3,000, while the Republican
Party gained slightly more than 1,000 registered voters. Those
declining to state a party grew by approximately 580 people to
20,451, the third largest group in the county.
The deadline to register has passed for the June 3 primary.
By Rick Elkins
Visalia - It's not just springtime that has downtown landscaping looking better. It is the effort of a group of volunteers who have undertaken the task of renovating the planters that dot the downtown area.
“The idea is to bring as much color, vibrancy
and appeal to the downtown area as possible,” said Brian
Kempf, director of the Urban Tree Foundation in Visalia. “Studies
show aesthetics in shopping areas have a positive influence.”
“It's extremely important. That's what makes downtown
Visalia more beautiful,” said Tom Gaebe, treasurer of
PBID and partner in Bollmer, Daniel, Gaebe and Grove, CPAs located
in Willow Plaza on Main Street.
On May 10, Kempf was joined by several volunteers to renovate the eight planters at the intersection of Court and Locust with the goal to improve the landscaping from Garden to Floral along both Main and Center streets. Gaebe said several landscaping companies pitched in and some nurseries donated items to the effort.
“Now we're going to roll down the street. After we do public spaces, we'll try to encourage business owners to look at their facades,” Kempf said. “Caltrans has responsibility for Court and Locust at Main so it will pay for that,” said Gaebe.
Adding to the task is the out-of-date irrigation
system in the planters. Kempf said it all has to be replaced
and that adds time to the project. It is not as simple as taking
plants and shrubs out, then replanting.
“It's a 1950s-60s landscape. It's time to start from ground
zero with new irrigation and fresh vegetation,” he said.
The benches in some areas will be removed and replaced with
something more suitable. Perennials that will bloom every year
are being planted.
Coordinating the project are Downtown Visalians,
Property Based Improvement District and the City of Visalia.
Gaebe said it was PBID that planted all the trees on Main Street.
He said their next big project is going to be the lighting downtown.
“We've been working on it the last 2-3 years, analyzing
cost and looking into funding,” he said. He hopes to see
the project done within two years.
District 1 Candidates Address Issues
Tulare County - Guy Christian, 61, an investigator with the Tulare County District Attorney's office and Allen Ishida, 60, a citrus rancher and incumbent Supervisor, are seeking election as District 1 Supervisor in the June 3 election.
Christian and his wife, Patricia, have four children, Tim, Tammy, Debbie (deceased) and Robby, and 11 surviving grandchildren.
Ishida and wife, Wanda, have three children, Brad,
Ken and Barbara.
Below are their responses to questions submitted to them by
The Voice.
Guy Christian
What are the three most important issues in District 1?
Reconnecting to our Community: It is important to communicate with the city leaders as well as the citizens in District 1 to build a consensus on development, security issues, economic growth and stability, and to make sure that they know that their voices count. Opening new doors, creating new partnerships and new styles of communication will find the solutions to today's and tomorrow's problems. The County and Cities must reconnect as partners thus strengthening District 1 and the county as a whole.
Just ask any business professional, have your business practices and methods changed over the past 30 years. The answer is a resounding “Yes.” County government too should have changed, often times we are still working under outdated policies and procedures that do not reflect the reality of today. The Board of Supervisors must lead the way in this vital change.
Yokohl Valley Project: While the Yokohl Valley project is in its beginning stages, it will be a template for future development not only in District 1, but throughout the county as well. Tulare County has some of the richest agricultural land in the world. It should be obvious that we need to protect it for future generations of farmers and consumers. We also have marginal land, land which is not the best and can only support limited agricultural endeavors.
The Yokohl Valley project will be locating on precisely that type of land. There is no doubt the county's population will continue to increase, it is estimated nearly one million people will live in our county by 2050. The project is designed for a population of 50,000, about 10% of our population increase over the next 40 years. Growth will ultimately be directed into a variety of areas including cities and hamlets within the county over the next 40 years. How we manage this growth is what will define our future.
Regardless, no project can begin without addressing the issues of water, air quality, energy and infrastructure. In the Yokohl Valley, another issue must be addressed, our General Plan requires us to protect our Cultural Resources. Within the Valley itself and the surrounding area are archeological sites and rock art from previous inhabitants of our land. Development of the Valley should include a plan that can preserve and at the same time educate us about those who settled this land before us.
San Joaquin Cross Valley Loop Transmission Project: Recently, Southern California Edison has suggested a route for new power lines, which would cross south of Highway 198 through Lemon Cove, Exeter and Farmersville. This route would change the face of our communities and inhibit growth and future development. Edison has chosen this route citing the least environmental impacts and it is the cheapest for them to build. Unfortunately it is also the route, which affects our communities in ways, which are not always easily detected. The truth is none of us want to live under the “power lines,” whether it's a question of they just don't do anything for our view or a question concerning the possible health effects of EMF's.
Edison does have other choices, two alternate routes are available. Either route would affect less people and would also utilize more of Edison's existing right of ways. While the cost is more for these routes the cost is spread out over the life of the towers and lines during their lifetime.
The cost of running the lines along the Highway 198 corridor is much different. The negative effect on growth will change the “lay of the land.” The current trend and direction of development in both Exeter and Farmersville will be forever changed. While Edison can put a price tag on today's cost of the alternate routes, we cannot calculate the cost to our communities in new residents, new business or future resources and revenues if the route they have chosen is approved.
What are the three most important issues in Tulare County?
Public Safety: As larger cities throughout the Valley combat today's gangs with stronger tactics, there is a collateral affect. While we read and hear about the success of Fresno and areas of Southern California in the battle to push gangs out, our law enforcement faces new challenges as gang members move into our communities. Our local cities and smaller communities will be on the receiving end as gangs relocate and begin to conduct their terrorism.
The County and cities must work together to solve this problem. Law enforcement, civic leaders, clergy, judicial representatives and the public must work together if we are to win this war in our neighborhoods. It cannot be done alone. In order to take back our neighborhoods, we must use every resource at our disposal…. and our biggest resource is each other.
As a member of the Board of Supervisors, I will not just support the fight against gangs with a vote. I intend to play an active role in providing law enforcement and our district attorney with the support needed to get violent gang members off the street, but provide our district attorney the tools to keep them locked up.
Business development: The development of new business in our community is of vital importance. The first step is determining what types of business will fit our community. Then we must analyze our resources. Our natural resources include the land, water and infrastructure necessary to support business. Our human resources include the available labor force where a variety of skills and education is available. Recreational resources include a variety of activities from movie theaters in town to our own national parks.
New business brings new neighbors, new revenue for local business and opportunities for employment within our communities. Our Board must be the leader in forging new relationships within our county. A relationship where our cities and county can work together to attract and maintain new business. A relationship where new business finds a community that is ready and willing to solve problems and has a commitment to effective support.
The Environment: Water is of vital concern to our county. The development of recharge basins within the county should be expedited. Areas, which provide high permeability for ground water recharge, should be identified and a plan with water districts placed into action for recharge of the underground aquifers.
Conservation alone will not solve our overdraft of the underground water supply. Educational programs for individuals, business and agriculture should be supported in an ongoing commitment to water quality and maintaining our water supply.
In addition, we need to be active in supporting and working in partnership with State, Federal and other counties to expand water storage capacity throughout the state.
Air quality is also a major concern in our valley. While there has been success in some area other areas have not improved. State and Federal agencies have been firm in their stand that we must take measures to improve our air quality. At the same time while pressing us to improve our air quality they have taken little action to develop a plan to reduce particulates, which arise, from State Highway 99 or Interstate 5. It's time to address this issue with our state and federal agencies.
Allen Ishida
Three most important issues facing Tulare County
1-Water is the most important issue facing the future of Tulare County. The San Joaquin River Settlement reduces surface water supplies to Tulare County by approximately 20% until the year 2020. After 2020, if the salmon run restoration is not successful, our water supply from the San Joaquin River will be further reduced. Future population growth and reduced surface water supply will make the building of the Temperance Flat dam a necessity for the economical survival of Tulare County.
Building a new dam will not completely solve our water supply issue. We will also need to plan for additional underground recharge and storage. The County plans to identify areas with the required soil type for water recharge and restrict the development of those lands into urban uses.
The other major water issue is the ability to provide safe drinking water to all of our residents. Many of our unincorporated communities and some cities will not be able to provide safe water without expensive treatment facilities or additional surface water supplies. The Tulare County Water Commission is researching the source of the ground water contamination to find a sustainable solution.
2-Public Safety is the number one priority and responsibility of the Board of Supervisors. The Board took action last year and the Sheriff's Department has reduced its employee turnover rate and has been able to add 14 deputy sheriffs to deal with gang suppression. Tulare County formed the Tulare County Gang Taskforce (Step Up) with the cooperation of all the county's law enforcement agencies, parents, editors, business leaders, churches, non-profit organizations and concerned residents to actively address gang suppression, intervention and prevention.
The Tulare County Fire Department took over fire responsibilities for Cal Fire on July 1, 2007. The department has been able to re-staff three fire stations and purchase four new fire engines. The transfer of responsibility was virtually seamless and saved the county money.
3-The General Plan update will determine the future population growth opportunities. The county General Plan update will give our unincorporated communities an opportunity to grow. The update will not direct growth to the incorporated cities nor to the unincorporated communities but will allow our residents (the market) a choice of where they want to live. The current Board of Supervisors prefers our rural life style and will work to prevent Tulare County form becoming a metropolitan county.
The Three Most Important Issues Facing District 1
1-Water is the most important long-term issue in District 1. The loss of 20% of our surface water from the San Joaquin River Settlement will directly impact many of our communities and farmers.
The City of Lindsay, Tonyville and Strathmore
are 100% dependent on surface water from the San Joaquin River.
Many of our citrus growers in District 1 are totally dependent
on surface water. The underground water of most of the unincorporated
communities in District 1 has unsafe nitrate levels, higher
than state water quality standards.
The Board re-established the Tulare County Water Commission
to find solutions for our ground water quality problems and
to find a sustainable solution to provide safe drinking water
to our residents.
The Board, during the last three years, has been lobbying the federal government to mitigate the loss of water from the San Joaquin River Settlement and for the construction of the Temperance Flat Dam. We have also been lobbying the state for grant funding to study and implement water projects for disadvantaged communities.
2-The proposed new electric transmission line from Lemon Cove south of Highway 198 through the City of Farmersville and near Exeter is a major issue in District 1. The proposed route will affect more than 150 landowners and disrupt many farming operations. The most devastating effect on District 1 will be in the City of Farmersville. The route will go through the center of Farmersville planned commercial and industrial expansion.
A citizens' steering committee steering committee has been formed to oppose the proposed Southern California Edison Route 1 and re-route the transmission line to Route 3 (Stokes Mountain).
3-The abandonment of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad from south of Ducor to Fresno will limit future industrial growth in District 1. The loss of the rail service would force Lindsay Foods, Inc. to relocate and close their Lindsay facility.
The high cost of fuel and the passage of the California State Assembly Bill 32 will make rail service an attractive way to move goods. We may again see citrus and other fruits shipped by rail.
Any reduction of truck traffic to move goods will improve our air quality.
Tristeza Virus Spreads at UC Citrus Station
Exeter - University of California Lindcove Center Director Beth Grafton-Cardwell says a May 2008 survey of trees at the 125-acre research station east of Exeter found 83 orange trees infected with Citrus Tristeza virus (CTV) – up from 52 infected trees this time last year.
“It's clear the problem is getting worse,”
she says.
“This is very, very serious. It affects every research
block on the station. If we don't do something now, we're done,
Grafton-Cardwell told Sunkist.
She has apparently convinced the Tulare County Pest Control District that has not – until now –participated in the multi-year effort to fight the virus. But now it has tentatively agreed to up its assessment to $5 per tree to help fight the spread – a matter to be settled at a June 6 pest control meeting.
“We need to do more than pull the infected trees,” say Grafton-Cardwell, pushing the pest control district to pay for spraying around the field station to kill off the aphids that carry the virus.
“This affects the entire citrus industry,” she notes, because besides the extensive research being carried out at Lindcove, the station is where the industry looks for release of new budwood for plantings of new varieties like the popular Tango seedless mandarins. That budwood has to be certified disease-free.
“We can't keep up with industry demand” if they have to grow all the budwood inside its greenhouse that screens off the outside from insects.
The only way to fight the virus that ruins the fruit and weakens and can kill the trees is to remove the tree. Until recently, Tulare County Pest Control did not want to participate in a Central Valley-wide effort that fights the spread by continual surveys and tree removal to keep the virus at a relatively low level. Now it appears the virus is gaining a foothold in the citrus groves around this research station, causing worries the place might have to be shut down and the research relocated elsewhere.
Beth Grafton-Cardwell says she is optimistic nevertheless. “We need to get on top of it now.”
Dueling Propositions Pit Ag Against Cities
By Rick Elkins
Visalia - The only two state propositions on next week's ballot are pitting farming interests against governmental and city interests in a battle over eminent domain.
Proposition 98, supported by the California Farm Bureau Federation, restricts the use of eminent domain by local governments, while Proposition 99, supported by the California League of Cities, attempts to maintain the current eminent domain law.
Eminent domain is government's authority to take property for public use. The law was broadened by a 2005 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the right of governments to take property from a private owner and give it to another private owner for commercial development. Prior to that, eminent domain was limited to the taking of private land for public uses, such as freeways, fire stations or parks.
Prop. 98 bars state and local governments from condemning or damaging private property for private uses. When government does take land, Prop. 98 would require just compensation and require an award of attorney's fees and costs if a property owner obtains a judgment for more than the amount offered by the government.
Prop. 99 bars state and local governments from using eminent domain to acquire an owner-occupied residence for private, commercial use. It creates exceptions for public work or improvement, public health and safety protection, and crime prevention. It maintains that “just compensation” is the fair market value of the property.
Tricia Stever, executive director of the Tulare County Farm Bureau, said the local organization “supports the measure (Prop. 98) in concept,” but it has not taken an official position. She said some county farm bureaus are supporting the measure and some have taken a neutral position.
The Visalia City Council and many local governmental bodies have gone on record against Prop. 98 and support Prop. 99. The Visalia Council voted to support Prop. 99 without any discussion.
Carol Cairns, assistant city manager, said there
are two reasons the city favors Prop. 99 over Prop. 98.
“One is 99 allows municipalities to maintain a more flexible
approach to eminent domain. The other key element is rent control
– 98 does away with it and 99 allows more flexibility,”
she said.
Stever said the state Farm Bureau has long been an advocate of property rights and Prop. 98 is an offshoot of that position. “They saw an opportunity to take a chance with Prop. 98,” she said.
Opponents claim that Prop. 98 could block future water development projects such as dams and reservoirs in California, however, Farm Bureau Federation President Doug Mosebar strongly objected to that claim, pointing out the Farm Bureau supports the development of more water storage.
Confusing the debate is the provision in Prop.
98 that eliminates rent control in the state.
In the ballot pamphlet, the Prop. 98 proponents point out that
more than 100 cities in the state have laws limiting the rent
landlords can charge or increase every year. Most of those laws
are over mobile home park rents. Prop. 98 generally prohibits
government from limiting what property owners may charge, however
the law will only apply to those who enter into a rental agreement
after Prop. 98 becomes effective.
Prop. 99 has no rent control provision, but it is written that if both measures pass, if Prop. 99 gets more yes votes than Prop. 98, then Prop. 99 becomes law and the rent control measure would be defeated. The winning proposition will become effective immediately.
No cities in Tulare County have rent control laws, but Cairns said Prop. 99 would give the city the option of imposing rent control at some time in the future. Visalia City Manager Steve Salomon added, “We don't (have rent control), but it has been proposed before.”
Prop. 99 is supported by the League of Cities,
AARP, the League of Women Voters, the Coalition to Protect California
Renters and the League of California Homeowners, among others.
Prop. 98 is supported by the Farm Bureau, the Howard Jarvis
Taxpayers Association and the California Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce, among others.
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 29, 2008
