Adventist
Health Eying Taking Over County Sites
It appears Tulare County is in serious negotiations with Adventist Health in the Central Valley to take over the two health clinics destined for closure, even though officials have said they are willing to negotiate with any interested providers.
So far, Tulare District Hospital and Family Healthcare Network have also told the county they are interested in the clinics. TDH says it is exploring the possibility of taking over operation of both clinics, while Harry Foster of FHCN says he is only interested in the Lindsay clinic.
Ray Bullick, director of health services for the county, said last week that the Adventist Health Hospital in Hanford and Tulare District are the only two providers that have so far expressed an interest in taking over both of the clinics. Others have said they might consider one, but not both, but Bullick said the county would like to turn both clinics over to the same provider
“I'm extremely hopeful we'll have an organization come behind us and maintain those services,” he said.
Last week, the county announced it was proposing to close the Hillman Health Care Center in Tulare and the Lindsay Health Center at the end of February as a cost-cutting measure. Hillman serves approximately 12,000 patients and Lindsay 3,000, annually, said John Davis, Health and Human Services Agency director.
In addition to closing the two clinics which serve predominately under-insured and uninsured patients, the county is laying off 225 people and leaving another 250 vacant positions unfilled. Also, the county is closing its adult mental health clinics in Tulare and north Visalia.
In 2007, the county
closed health clinics in Porterville and Dinuba.
Remaining open will be the health clinics in Visalia and
Farmersville, the pediatrics clinic in Tulare and the adult
mental health clinics in Porterville and south Visalia.
On Tuesday, the board of supervisors set up the public hearing
for Jan. 13 to discuss the closure of the clinics. Davis
said he hopes to have a transition plan in place by then.
Both Davis and Bullick
said it is important the county find someone to take over
the clinics to serve the people who count on them for their
health care.
“We need a transition that takes care of our patients
and doesn't drop service,” said Davis.
Based on documentation before the board of supervisors, it looks as if the county is leaning towards selecting Adventist Health as the provider to take over the clinics. There are several references to Adventist Health taking over operations of the clinics, although no official decision has been reached.
On the closed session agenda for the supervisors Tuesday were two items regarding the sale or lease of the Tulare and Lindsay health center sites, each listing only an official with Adventist Health as the party included in the negotiations.
Foster says its does not appear the county is negotiating in “good faith.” He said county officials are not telling other providers that they are already in serious talks with Adventist Health.
“It appears it (the county) is going with Adventist Health,” charged Foster, adding that Adventist Health, based on its rates at the Dinuba site, charges more than $100 higher per patient visit than FHCN charges.
“I'm concerned about the decision making of the county and the lack of due diligence of what this is going to cost the taxpayer,” he said.
Adventist Health, which was already operating a clinic in Dinuba when the county closed its clinic in 2007, reopened that county clinic within 10 days. In Porterville, Family Healthcare Network absorbed the patients. Foster said FHCN could absorb the Lindsay patients now.
“We hope to maintain these important services in Lindsay and Tulare as part of our mission to meet the health care needs of our region. If so, the arrangement would be similar to what happened in 2007, when we leased space in Dinuba,” said Kendall Fults, R.N., senior vice president of clinical operations for the Adventist Health network in the Valley.
The hospital said if
an arrangement can be worked out and the Tulare County Board
of Supervisors approves the plan, the nonprofit health care
organization would lease county clinic space in Tulare and
in Lindsay beginning this spring, providing a seamless transition
for patients at those clinics if the county discontinues
service. The Board of Supervisors is expected to consider
the plan at its Jan. 13 meeting.
The county owns the Hillman clinic building – it is
the old county hospital – but leases its clinic space
in Lindsay from the Lindsay Hospital District. While that
hospital closed more than a decade ago, the district remains
and still owns the property.
When Tulare County closed its clinic in Dinuba on June 19, 2007, Adventist Health leased the clinic space and began operating the site on July 2 with minimal interruption in service. Clinic leaders since have expanded hours and services at the Dinuba clinic, and the number of visits has increased more than 40 percent, comparing the second halves of 2007 and 2008.
“That went very, very smoothly,” said Davis of the Dinuba transition. He said Adventist Health is now looking to add radiology (x-ray) services to patients in Dinuba.
“With our network of 16 clinics, numerous specialty services and two family medicine residency programs, we are well-equipped to care for Tulare and Lindsay patients.” Fults said. “Our vision is to be a regional health care network that is recognized as the best place to receive care, the best place to practice medicine and the best place to work; and our physicians, leaders and staff are committed to making that happen.”
Tulare District Hospital opened two rural health clinics last year, both across the street from the hospital.
Shawn Bolouki, Tulare District CEO, said the hospital is considering taking over both clinics, but it has not made a commitment.
“We are considering it contingent upon time to do our due diligence,” said Bolouki, adding it is important the district have time to study the financial feasibility of taking over the clinics.
“The issue is what is going to happen with the people of the county. This is about people's health,” he said.
A key issue is the licensing of the clinics and the reimbursements. TDH has been waiting more than three months to get its two rural health clinics it opened last year licensed by the state
Gracelia Soto-Perez, CEO of Tulare Community Health Clinic, said at this time her operation is not looking at taking over the two clinics. She said with the state budget situation, reimbursement could be an issue in the future. She also cited the age and condition of the Hillman facility as an issue. That site is 15,000 square feet, while the Lindsay site is 5,000 square feet.
Also, said Soto-Perez, the Tulare Community Health Clinic has the capacity to absorb many of the county's patients. The Tulare clinic is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
Cuts Hit Department
Davis, admitting it had not been an easy week last week, said the layoffs could include doctors, nurses and support staff, as well as staff at the HHSA headquarters in Visalia.
Bullick said people need to realize it is not just health clinics being impacted, but mental health and child welfare services as well.
“The realignment
hits all areas. The whole organization is downsizing,”
said Davis.
Health services make up less than half of the budget of
HHSA which also oversees welfare. Davis said more than half
of the department's employee's work in the welfare department.
Even with the welfare reform of 1996, the number of people and cost of managing welfare have gone up. Davis said that in 2006, the state reversed the goal to find people work and moved more to putting “people through an exercise of activities.” That requires more tracking and with the current economic conditions, more people are seeking assistance.
“Welfare dwarfs everything else,” said Davis.
Included in the layoffs will be four physicians in Tulare, including one pediatrician, numerous physician assistants, nurses and support staff. The Lindsay clinic was staff only by physician assistants working with doctors.
Adventist Health
Adventist Health in the Central Valley has been operating hospital-based rural health clinics since 1993, when it opened its first site in Hanford. The faith-based organization now offers an extensive network, caring for patients in 14 communities in a 2,500-square-mile region of Tulare, Kings and Fresno counties. It also hosts two family medicine residency programs: one in Hanford that is linked to Loma Linda University and another in Selma that is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco-Fresno. The network saw over 300,000 visits in 2008.
Because the clinics are owned by Adventist Health/Central Valley General Hospital in Hanford, they must meet the same high care standards as a hospital. Each clinic undergoes a rigorous inspection by officials with the California Department of Health Services at opening, and regular Joint Commission accreditation surveys thereafter. In addition, all clinic physicians are members of the hospital's Consolidated Medical Staff, which requires an extensive background check before admission, and ongoing review.
The network welcomes all patients, including those with Medi-Cal, Medicare, private insurance and no insurance and offers a discount program for uninsured patients. It provides a wide range of primary and specialty services, including pediatrics, neurology, orthopedics, pulmonology and obstetrics/gynecology.
The Adventist Health network in the Valley also includes Adventist Health/Hanford Community Medical Center and Selma Community Hospital, as well as about a dozen additional service sites in the region. Adventist Health also is building a new 142-bed hospital that is expected to open in spring 2010 in Hanford. For more information about the Valley network, visit www.AdventistHealthCV.com.
By Rick Elkins
Visalia - When the city of Visalia opens its new fire complex at 6291 W. Ferguson St., not only will it allow for better fire coverage in the western edge of the city, but better training for all firefighters.
Work is nearing completion on the $8.6 million, 5-acre complex that is expected to be put into service by the first of March.
Not only will the site be the new home of the city fire department's fifth company, but it will include a state-of-the-art training facility that will be utilized not only by the Visalia fire departments, but by departments up and down the Valley.
“This will be a great benefit to the community," said VFD Chief Mark Nelson. "As fire chief, you're pretty proud to have this in your department," he added, crediting former fire chief George Sandoval with doing most of the work in getting the facility to reality. "I appreciate all that George did, and the firefighters and chiefs who worked on the design," said Nelson who has been with the city less than a year.
The complex includes a separate classroom that can double as a community meeting place as well.
When completed, the engines and crews from the station now located at the Visalia Municipal Airport will transfer over to the new station. Nelson said Station 3 will remain and still include the airport rescue and firefighting unit, but no longer will personnel be stationed there. They will be at the new station, which Nelson said is only a couple of minutes away.
He added the new location is much better suited to serve the fast-growing northwest portion of the city as well as the expanding industrial park. The company will be advanced life support paramedics, providing quicker response to medical emergencies in the area.
"Overall, moving everyone here will improve our efficiency by 30 percent," said the chief.
Also, the city will station its hazmat unit at the new station. "Everyone will have hazardous materials status," said Nelson of the staff of Station 5.
The classroom, which is along Ferguson, will be equipped with the latest in audio/visual technology. It will serve as a training room for firefighters, and possibly other city departments, and it will be made available to other groups for meetings as well. The city's fire department is made up of 64 firefighters and six overhead personnel. It responds to more than 12,000 calls a year.
Training Tower
What Nelson is most proud of is the training tower that will allow firefighters to train for almost any situation – from a kitchen fire to a warehouse fire.
Nelson said that typically training towers are six stories, but since Visalia has few six story buildings, "we took a different approach. Our fires are not six stories," he said, adding they are house fires, apartment fires and large single or two-story building fires.
The building is set up so the configuration can be changed, "so it won't be all the same fire attack," said Nelson. Even the outside is being set up to simulate what firefighters might encounter as they arrive on a scene.
"We even simulate streets so trucks will have to maneuver curbs and all," said Nelson, including overhead power lines and street lights. There is even an area where firefighters can train on how to put out a dumpster fire, one of the more common fires.
So sophisticated is the complex that even the dumpster fire simulation is done by computer to give firefighters as many scenarios as possible.
"It does rescue,
confined space recovery, even repelling down a rope,"
explained Nelson of the structure that has many rooms –
both upstairs and downstairs.
"We can simulate a strip mall fire, house fire, a lot
of different scenarios, even a building collapse," said
the chief, looking at a room where you might think the construction
crew was half asleep in building it – the doors and
windows are crooked to simulate a collapse.
"We can do a lot
of different things in here," said Nelson of the funny-looking
room.
The chief said that 90 percent of the training – and
firefighters do a lot of training year round – will
now be done at the new facility and he is making it available
to neighboring fire departments to use it as well, for joint
training exercises.
"If you're a firefighter,
you're going to train a minimum of 20 hours a month,"
he said.
The beautiful thing about the facility, the chief pointed
out, is that it is not cutting into the city's general fund.
Measure T, the city's sales tax measure, is paying for the
construction and no new equipment or personnel are required
– "So thanks to the voting public," he said.
Dinuba Industrial Site
By Miles Shuper
Negotiations are being finalized for the purchase of the former Sequoia Forest Sawmill property near Dinuba, labeled as one of the prime industrial sites in Tulare County.
Chuck Littlefield, chief administrative officer for Richard Best Transfer Inc., expects the deal to be complete within about three months, if not sooner.
Best Transfer, a railcar unloading and transfer service specializing in agricultural commodities, currently operates at the 110-acre location, northwest of Dinuba at Road 72 and Avenue 424. The site also is used by a firm operating a green waste and wood-grinding facility.
The former sawmill site currently is owned by R-Y Timber, Inc., a Boise, Idaho company and includes a rail spur, on-site wells, fire-fighting capacity ponds and pumping facilities. Those features, along with access to highways, make the site one of the most attractive industrial sites in the Valley, county officials say.
The city of Dinuba and County Redevelopment Agency have agreed to a joint redevelopment project to extend city water and sewer systems to the site. More than a year ago, the 110-acre site along with an adjacent 21-acre parcel, which includes a co-generation plant, were rezoned to a heavy industrial zone. For many years, the property was zoned AE-20 exclusive agriculture despite its industrial usage. Best Transfer does not use energy from the co-generation facility but gets it from PG&E. Littlefield said the company is not involved with the projected redevelopment projects.
Littlefield could not disclose terms of the pending sale but said it is “several million dollars.”
He said Best Transfer plans to expand its operation, especially the capacity to handle up to 110-railcar trains. Currently, the site has a 25-railcar spot. Although it does not have its own trucking line, the company subleases trucking operations from the site.
Littlefield said, “We look to develop the property to its full potential. We have a lot of office space to lease out to other companies and want to attract additional businesses that would find a need to rail-truck multi-modal usages along with the warehousing to go with it. So the potential to bring in new jobs to Dinuba is there by attracting other companies to the site, well beyond Richard Best Transfer.”
Best Transfer has four trans-loading facilities along rail lines at Ivory, Hollis, Conner and Milllux on the San Joaquin Valley Railroad line and transfers more than 4,000 railcars of various agricultural commodities annually. The rail route provides access to Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Union Pacific. Customers include some of the nation's leading commodity shippers and suppliers such as JD Heiskell, ADM, ConAgra, Western Milling, US Commodities and Quality Grain.
Littlefield, a former general manager of SJVR, said the acquisition and expansion of the Dinuba site is another next major step in business expansion. Last July, Best Transfer expanded to the Hollis station which has a potential of handling from 3,600 to 4,000 carloads annually.
While dairy feeds and supplements are the major commodities, the company also deals with lumber, decorative barks and other items.
By Rick Elkins
Alpaugh - Several residents of Alpaugh have filed suit to block a proposed rate hike for domestic water service in that small western Tulare County community.
The residents are being assisted by several Central Valley organizations, including Self-Help Enterprises Community Water Center, California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc., and Central California Legal Services, Inc.
They have all joined forces to stop the Alpaugh Joint Powers Authority from increasing the water rates from $45 a month to $65 a month, said Susana De Anda, co-director of Community Water Center headquartered in Visalia.
“The board increased the rates four months ago from $45 to $65 a month for water only, and it's not drinkable water,” said De Anda. The water in Alpaugh has been unsafe for consumption for several years now because it has too high of levels of arsenic and nitrates. Residents will much purchase bottled water for drinking and cooking.
Pat Smith, lifelong Alpaugh resident, said at least half of the 350 residents of the small community west of Tulare, has protested the rate hike. They contend the water district did not follow the rules required by Proposition 218 to raise rates.
Smith said the district charged $45 a month, plus residents in the community pay a $120 a year assessment levied by the district. The rate hike proposed to raise the monthly charge to $65, but the district has only imposed half of the increase. Smith said district officials are waiting to see if half of the rate will cover its expenses. If not, that rate will be increased another $10, she said.
“I cannot afford this rate increase. I don't use a third – flat allotment of 25,000 gallons power household – of what I am charged for. We have to pay same amount of what person who uses 25,000 gallons pays,” said Smith.
The district sent out a notice as required by Prop. 218. That law requires residents to be notified of an increase and if less than half of the effective parties do not protest, then the rate can be approved. Smith said many residents didn't understand the law and didn't protest.
District officials would not comment.
“Alpaugh residents are outraged that their efforts and concerns have gone unrecognized by the AJPA Board. Since the implementation of the unconstitutional water rate increase by the AJPA Board in August, Alpaugh residents have been diligently working to develop a fair and transparent rate structure,” said De Anda in a prepared release. Last week, a number of Alpaugh residents delivered petitions to the board seeking to block the rate increase, an increase De Anda says has no basis. She said the effort last week, which it appeared to fall on deaf ears, was the last before they filed a lawsuit to block the increase.
“Finally, after the AJPA Board utterly refused to have a legitimate discussion regarding a fair and just water rate structure, residents were forced to file a Petition for a Writ of Mandate with the Superior Court of the State of California in the County of Tulare to preserve their legal rights,” stated the Community Water Center release.
It added, “The AJPA
Board continues to refuse to make a good faith consideration
of the proposed water rate structures. Instead, they continue
to threaten the Alpaugh residents with even higher water rates.
Residents circulated a petition to show community support
for adoption of a fair rate. There is still hope that the
issues can be resolved through good faith negotiations rather
than prolonged litigation."
De Anda says the community is frustrated.
“They asked why they (the board) increased it so much and the board could not give an answer,” said De Anda. She said her organization and others looked at the budget of the water district and could find no justification for the rate increase. They have suggested a new rate structure, once based on usage, but so far the board has not accepted their proposal.
“The organizations assisted the water district to create a budget and from the budget to make a better decision on how much to raise the water rate. That's following the law.”
She said they came up with a tiered rate with a base rate set depending on historic use, more for some parcels and less for others. Then, the users would pay so much - 25 cents per 1,000 gallons - above the base rate.
“The point here
is the community still wants to recommend a fair and just
rate,” said De Anda.
Visalia - The Visalia/Tulare/Porterville metro area has had an unwelcome reputation as a car theft hot spot – number six on a nationwide list as recently as 2007 – reflecting 2006 numbers. Still, that's better than number three earlier in this decade.
This week, the Visalia City Council heard a report from a local task force set up last April to stem the hot car tide. Working as a unit, sharing information and coordinating responses appears to be a successful formula for a persistent problem in the Central Valley that typically leads the nation as a car theft capital of the U.S.
Heading up the task force is CHP Sgt. Chuck Mosley whose team includes eight investigators representing the county, the DA's office, CHP and most police departments in the county.
“Since April 1, we have recovered 218 stolen vehicles with a value of more than $1.3 million,” says Mosley. “While we don't have all the numbers for the nine-month period in 2009 just yet, we believe we have cut car thefts in the county with our efforts by at least 3 percent.”
In terms of complaints and arrests the task force has filed more than 170 reports to the DA's office that should result in that many bad guys taken off the streets.
“When we stop a car thief in Tulare, it helps Visalia because they don't carry out their deed in the next town over,” says Visalia Police Department Lt. Steve Puder. “That's why we need to band together on this.”
Visalia Police Department statistics show for the 12 months of 2006 there were 1,281 vehicles stolen. For 2007, the department made a real dent in that number down to 761 – about an average of 63 a month. For 2008, with numbers in through November, the rate has dropped to about 58 per month.
“Our motor vehicle theft numbers are down while every community's property crimes have gone up in 2008 likely related to the economy,” says Lt. Puder. Indeed, most crime in Visalia has been up in 2008 although December has yet to be reported.
Mosley says while drug users fit the profile of common car thieves, there are young guys who are primarily out to make a fast buck as well. “We have some 17-year-olds doing this for gang initiation and some 19-year-olds that can steal a car in 11 seconds. I would call them professionals.”
He told the council that
the most popular vehicles taken in the Visalia area are the
mid-1990s Toyotas and Hondas and late-model GM pickups and
SUVs.
What's New
Kings County still hopes to land a deal with the state to build a re-entry facility, says CAO Larry Spikes. Spikes blames failure to find the right location for the project on the short term decision horizon in the last round. Public came out to all meetings opposed to any location. State has a meeting in January to go over plans and Kings County will send a representative. “We need time to educate the public about the benefits,” says Spikes.
Septic tanks in California may need regular inspections and require a fee for testing under Assembly Bill 885, already a law that would go into effect as soon as next year. Inspection could cost $325 and could result in retrofit orders, according to preliminary state rules that may be adopted by the water quality control board. There are 1.5 million septic tanks in the state, a rather small number that makes it harder for rural residents to influence the final decision. A workshop on the issue is set for 7 p.m. January 22 at Fresno Unified School District board chambers at 2309 Tulare St. in Fresno.
Some ethanol plants are mothballed (like Goshen)
due to low profit margins. But now the cost squeeze has hit
a Bakersfield oil refinery. Big West Refinery
on Rosedale Highway, owned by Flying J, has filed for bankruptcy
protection on Dec. 22 and the plant has been shut down for
a 10-day period. Oil prices have fallen from $140 a barrel
last July to under $40 last month. Ironically, ethanol makers
want oil prices to rise as they have been during the past
week. That helps increase the price of biofuel blended with
gasoline.
Interest growing in relocating the Tulare community playhouse,
Encore Theatre, to the 13,000-square-foot former movie theater
building in downtown Tulare if a price for the real estate
can be agreed on.
Despite the economic downturn, tourism, at least through summer, held up nicely, reports a federal agency. The Office of Travel and Tourism says total arrivals in the U.S. year-to-date was up 9% through the third quarter of 2008, compared to the same period a year earlier. Western Europe was the top residency of the travelers, up over 21% in May, reinforcing what merchants in Three Rivers reported this year. Western European visitors to US were up 16.6% in the third quarter, July, August and September. Tourists helped boost traffic on the Visalia Sequoia Shuttle buses as well this summer. Visitors from Mexico were down in the third quarter by 17.4%, reflecting a downturn in both economies.
Kings County Supervisor Tony Oliveira says rural counties like Tulare and Kings with great needs for social service will suffer in 2009, but our ag base should help us survive. The bubble in housing was accompanied by a bubble in the price of oil that fueled price speculation in all commodities, hurting farmers among others. Now oil prices have retreated along with other commodities, bolstering the economy. Oliveira says historically low interest rates will help and the area has an abundance of labor. At least some banks are lending. “One thing the world has learned is that the U.S. economy is still the economic driver,” he says. “If we get sick they catch diarrhea.” Water remains the top question mark for our future.
Message from Iowa. Mayor of a small town in central Iowa, Charles Allen of Newton, Iowa described a long struggle and now success of a new race track in his town. Newton was famous for once making Maytag washers. Allen made a presentation to the Tulare council in late December. The town's former Maytag factory now makes wind turbines. Race track spotlights alternative fuel with its Ethanol 200 race. The race track that broke ground in 2005 – called Iowa Speedway – is thriving despite the slowdown in race schedules. The town has a Loves Truck Stop and RV Park that stays busy. Mayor of Newton was brought to Tulare to boost chances for local race project by the Tulare Industrial Site Foundation. Tulare council approved the Tulare race track on a 3-to-2 vote.
Kings County welcomed two new members to the board of supervisors this week. Richard Valle, District 2, and Richard Fagundes, District 5, took their seats Tuesday replacing veterans Jon Rachford of Corcoran and Alene Taylor.
Groppetti Automotive will relocate its Visalia GM/Pontiac/Olds dealership from Mineral King to the corner of Ben Maddox and East Main in mid-February. Company owner Don Groppetti says the site is the former location of his Toyota dealership that has now relocated to a new showroom on south Ben Maddox, next to his Honda and Nissan dealerships. No word on plans for Groppetti's Mineral King building.
Visalia Rescue Mission has leased a 20,000-square-foot warehouse owned by Whitco Foods on Race near Santa Fe. The nonprofit will use the facility for office and storage of clothing and other donated goods.
Islamic Cultural Center has signed a lease for half the building on Lovers Lane near Tulare Avenue next to Mineral King Produce, according to realtor Doug Burr.
Wave of store closings is feared following New Year's according to analysts. Consumers spent 20% less on women's clothing, electronics and jewelry in November and December according to Spending Pulse.
Visalia City Council wants city staff to come up with a plan before the city moves forward on an economic study of mobile home parks and a possible rent control ordinance. The staff was instructed to work with two consultants – Dr. Kenneth Baar and John Neet – to come up with a single scope of work. The concern was that one consultant favors the renters, while the other favors the park owners, and the council wants an objective study done before taking any action.
A total of 4,400 birds (65 species) were counted last month during the annual Christmas Bird Count.
Beginning Jan. 1, every 2009 model year and newer car sold in California is required to carry a label that clearly ranks the vehicle's environmental impact. The label will show the simple ranking system that provides consumers practical information that can help them choose the most environmentally friendly vehicle that still meets their transportation needs.
Visalia City Council OK'd the advertising for bids for the second phase of Riverway Sports Park. The work will include the development of four lighted youth baseball fields, concession stand and restrooms, additional parking for 252 vehicles and lighting for two existing soccer fields and the BMX track. The cost estimate is $6 million.
The first snow survey of the season found on average snow water content is 76 percent of normal for the date, statewide. This time last year, snow water content was 60 percent of normal statewide. The northern Sierra snow water equivalents were at 54 percent of normal for this date, central Sierra at 76 percent and southern Sierra at 99 percent. Storage in California's major reservoirs is low. Lake Oroville, the principal storage reservoir for the State Water Project (SWP), is at 28 percent of capacity, and 44 percent of average storage for this time of year. As of Monday, there was 34.3 inches of snow at Farewell Gap above Visalia and 31.3 inches at Quaking Aspen above Porterville.
The California Resources Agency is now called the California Natural Resources Agency. The name change, which took effect on Jan. 1, is to better reflect the agency's primary mission of safeguarding and stewardship of California's precious natural resources. Visalian Mike Chrisman heads up the state agency.
Lee Enterprises, which publishes the Hanford Sentinel and three area weekly newspapers, has been notified by the New York Stock Exchange that it has fallen below the NYSE's continued listing standard relating to average share price, similar to what happened to Gottschalks. The standard requires a minimum average closing price of $1 per share over a consecutive 30-trading-day period. Lee's stock closed below $1 Dec. 1 and has traded as low as 30 cents per share Dec. 16 and two other days. The stock closed Monday at 43 cents per share.
Randall Lee Rahal, a New Jersey processed tomato products broker tied to SK Foods in Lemoore, pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering and antitrust charges in the processed tomato products industry, media reports stated. Rahal agreed to cooperate in the government's ongoing investigation of the industry and to forfeit more than $600,000. He is the owner and president of Intramark USA, Inc., a New Jersey-based wholesaler of food ingredients, including processed tomato products. The government alleges that he served as a sales broker for SK Foods L.P., a grower and processor of tomato products and other food products with operations in Monterey, Williams, Ripon and Lemoore. More recently, another food company has filed a class-action suit against SK Foods and Rahal, alleging racketeering activities.
The state has awarded Kings County $45,000 for landscaping and a welcome sign at the 10th Avenue entrance into Hanford. The project includes planting new trees and turf.
International Paper Company in Visalia has been awarded $360,000 to train workers and upgrade skills. The money comes from the state Labor and Workforce Development Agency Employment Training Panel. Other local companies receiving funds are: Diamond Perforated Metals Inc., $65,520; Gilstrap Cleaning and Restoration Services Inc., $29,920; and Cencal CNC, Inc., $72,800.
Efforts by the Kings River Conservation District to form the Valley Power Authority to provide electricity are on hold because the organization can't assure member cities from the Central Valley that they can save them at least 5% on their power bill. Very low natural gas prices as well as the financial freeze up have made financing on the big project up in the air. The project's Parlier power plant is expected to be approved by the California Energy Commission this spring. The authority's financial partner – the electricity provider – is scheduled to be Citigroup, considered earlier to be a strong player in the deal. Of course, Citigroup needed a huge financial bailout by taxpayers to stay afloat itself last month.
Tulare County got $404,641 in Job Training money from the state last month.
Porterville just saw El Pollo Loco restaurant open in the Riverwalk Shopping Center at Jaye Street and Highway 190, and in the next few months will see two more. City Manager John Lollis says Carl's Junior and Panda Express are both to open soon in the new center.
Golf Rounds Decline
With the Economy
The number of golfers hitting the links at the Valley Oaks Golf Course in Visalia has declined since July, although the number of rounds played from June 30, 2007 to July 1, 2008 was actually up by 4,000, reported officials who manage the course for the city of Visalia.
Matt Sharp with CourseCo, the company managing
the city-owned course, said the city's course has seen a decline
which is about what other courses are seeing with the downtown
in the economy. “Visalia is one of the best of our 15
courses – 13 in California – in terms of rounds
played and revenue growth,” Sharp told the Visalia City
Council.
Since July, however, the course has seen a decline in rounds
played. “Obviously it's the economy, but secondly, the
opening of Ridge Creek in Dinuba has had an impact locally,”
said Sharp. Ridge Creek Golf Course opened in July. Sharp
said most courses they operate have seen a decline since the
economic troubles hit hard in late summer, but some have managed
to stay even.
“We don't know how long we'll see this decline,” he added, but said they plan some programs and promotions to attract more golfers to the local course. He said play could reduce to levels seen in 2004-05. In that fiscal year, only 68,264 rounds were played, compared to 77,120 last fiscal year.
State Giving More Study
to Green Waste Regulations
Tulare County Compost is one of two Valley composting
companies that have volunteered to work with the San Joaquin
Valley Air Pollution Control District trying to come up with
new rules regarding the composting of green waste.
Rick McVaigh, deputy air pollution control officer with the
Valley Air District, told the Visalia City Council Monday
that new regulations adopted to go into place this year are
being put on hold to allow for more study.
The timeline now is to have new regulations by the end of 2010, but in the meantime, the district will use the on-site research projects to test best management practices.
“The goal is to not make composting prohibitive,” said McVaigh. He said that green composting releases 4 to 9 tons of organic compounds a day which contribute to smog. The Valley Air District is under a federal mandate to develop an ozone plan that will reduce smog levels.
However, limiting green waste composting puts a pinch on cities and counties that are required to reduce the amount of waste going to county landfills. The city of Visalia diverts 22 percent of its waste, but is under a mandate to divert 50 percent.
John Jones of Tulare County Compost said he
has been pleasantly surprised by the air district's willingness
to rethink its rule and its cooperation in seeking alternatives.
“Engineered controls are really expensive – $10-12
million – and those costs would have to be passed on
to cities and their customers,” he said.
Busy Year Ahead for Porterville
By Rick Elkins
Porterville - John
Lollis, who will take over as Porterville's city manager
Jan. 14, will lead that city in 2009, a year that promises
to be busy and one where the downtown of that southeastern
county city will begin to change forever.
Lollis, who has been Porterville's deputy city manager since
July of 2007, follows John Longley who is retiring. Longley
served as city manager since 2002.
Lollis inherits a city on the move with many challenges and opportunities ahead.
“It will be very challenging times,” said Lollis late in December. He has been working closely with Longley for more than a year. The city council selected him as the next city manager several months ago with the idea the time he would work with Longley would make for a smooth transition.
“I see great potential for the community,” he added.
Like every other governmental entity, the economy will pose a challenge, but Lollis said the city is in a good position financially.
“The city has been fiscally conservative in the past and we should be OK and should be able to weather the storm,” said Lollis. He added the city did not quite get into the housing or retail building boom as occurred in other cities, so the slowdown is not as great.
Still, the city is not looking to add any new staff. “We call it a chill, not a (hiring) freeze,” said Lollis. He said that is also the reason that not a lot of new projects were added to the city's list of priorities.
However, he sees the current fiscal crisis statewide having a lasting effect. “I believe there'll be fundamental changes in local government,” he said.
2009 Agenda
At the top of the city's 2009 agenda is finalizing the sale of property to the state of California for a new Superior Courthouse. That project will have a domino effect downtown, leading to a revitalization of the area along Olive Avenue from Plano Street to Main Street.
Lollis said the state is going through the
EIR process now on the project and hopefully it will enter
escrow on the property in April. However, the state has
only so far allocated funding for the land purchase, but
not the construction.
Once that project gets in motion, it will trigger others,
including the relocation of the Porterville Fairgrounds
out to near the Porterville Airport where the Tule River
Indian Tribe has hopes of building a resort/casino.
The courthouse project is also catalyst for the city to change the look of its downtown, especially the central intersection of Olive Avenue and Main Street.
There, the key is the demolition of the old Porterville Hotel, a 1920s-era structure that has seen its better days. The building was condemned last year and Lollis says plans are to tear it down in the summer of 2009. The city is also working on a master plan to develop the area along Olive Avenue, called the Courthouse Commons master plan that will include what the city hopes to do with the old hotel property.
Many Projects
Lollis said one major goal the city has for 2009 is the development of a softball complex next to the new Santa Fe School on Orange Avenue.
“That's one that will rise to the top.
There is a lot of energy for that,” said Lollis of
the Heritage Softball Project that will be part of the Heritage
Center that has been developed at that location.
To make that happen, the city is looking for a grant writer.
Lollis said the city will have to apply for the Prop. 84
park money that is available.
Another project that is in the infancy stage is the development of a new city library. The city manager said a citizen's library advisory committee has been formed to begin work on that project.
A few other projects include a new public safety building – combination of police and fire – to be built at Jaye Street near Gibbons Avenue on the southern end of the city's industrial area. There is also a plan to connect Jaye Street to Gibbons and Scranton, using Measure R funds. Also, Scranton will eventually be connected to Indiana.
Another project is the Indiana Street Low Water Crossing. Lollis explained that will be a low-level bridge that might actually be under water when the flow down the Tule River is strong enough, but the project will enable the city to qualify for bridge replacement money in the future for a permanent crossing.
“Instead of building a $15 million bridge,
you spend $3 million for the low water crossing,”
he said.
The city is also in the process of setting up its own animal
control department with plans to eventually take over operation
of the city of Lindsay's animal control facility.
Porterville also wants to establish a LOOP bus similar to the ones operating in Visalia and Dinuba. Lollis said the city has offered to donate one of its transit buses to the county which would operate the LOOP bus. He said they would like the bus to serve Terra Bella, Poplar, Woodville and Strathmore, giving children a safe ride to the community center, library, sports complex and Murry Park Pool, all in Porterville.
Accomplishments
A major hurdle for the city was the lifting
of the cease-and-desist order placed on the city's wastewater
treatment plant. An effluent pipeline and the purchase of
200 acres for ponding helped the city to have that federal
order lifted.
The city continued to develop the area of Highway 190 and
Jaye Street where the Riverwalk Shopping Center continues
to grow.
Besides Lowe's, the center is already home
to several small restaurants and plans are to construct
a small visitor center at the location this year.
Smaller Cities Look Ahead to 2009
By Steve Pastis and Miles Shuper
The economic downturn has impacted the cities of Dinuba, Exeter, Farmersville, Lindsay and Woodlake. All are being more cautious in 2009 as they proceed on existing projects – and as each awaits a settlement on the state budget.
Dinuba
Dinuba, one of the Central Valley's fastest growing cities in recent years, experienced a slowdown in housing and retail sales as economic conditions soured in 2008.
Dinuba City Manager Ed Todd said that although he doesn't expect things to return to conditions of two years ago, new national leadership aimed at creating jobs by upgrading and adding to the nation's infrastructure and other economic stimulus actions will help cities like Dinuba.
Next week, Todd will present his 2009 plan
to the city council, a plan he says will include adding
no new jobs and providing for an across-the-board, mandatory
half-day furlough once a month for all the city's 330 employees.
“Like the rest of the country, I see us starting to
rebuild and to dig ourselves out of the hole,” he
said, explaining that building permits seem to be on a slight
upswing and that several new business should be opening
or announcing plans to start construction in 2009, creating
a number of new jobs.
“I think we have seen the worst in the housing market and with a new national leadership expecting to create jobs nationwide, I'm cautiously optimistic,” Todd said.
Exeter
“The main thing that concerns Exeter
– as well as all cities in California – is what's
going to happen in Sacramento,” said City Council
Member Ted Macaulay. “The state is in severe economic
turmoil, trying to make up lost revenue.”
That “turmoil” will have an impact on the city's
2009 plans.
“I suppose we won't be doing much building of anything,” Macaulay said. “We'll just be holding on the purse strings.” He added that city department heads do a good job of managing money.
The city of Exeter will be focusing attention on Southern California Edison's Route 1, its proposed power line that would run between the city and Highway 198. “It will definitely be something we're keenly aware of in Exeter,” said Macaulay. “It would hinder our ability to annex property to our north.”
He said that the city opposes SCE's proposed Route 1, but “cannot speak to what we would do if they came in with Route 1. I know what our position is but I don't know what actions we would take.”
While the city council grapples with the budget and with SCE's plan, there will be a special celebration in the city this year as Exeter Union High School marks its centennial.
Farmersville
The city of Farmersville has set its goals for 2009 – and beyond.
“Construction-wise, we hope to have our community center finished,” said Farmersville City Manager Rene Miller, who added that the building will also serve as a Boys and Girls Club and a library. “We're hoping it will be done before the schoolyear is over. We're paying for it through redevelopment agency grants and through USDA.”
The new fire station planned for the corner
of Front Street and Farmersville Blvd. “could conceivably
be done by the end of the calendar year,” Miller said.
The 100-year-old Methodist church should also be moved this
year from the new community center site to the 4.5-acre
property that will include the fire station and an eventual
police station.
Design work has started on plans to widen North Farmersville
Blvd. to four lanes and install new curbs, gutters and sidewalks
between Walnut and Noble. “It could be 2010 before
it would start,” Miller said. She added that plans
may include a roundabout instead of a traffic light at Farmersville
and Noble.
City officials hope to develop the northern part of the city with a large industrial park on the west side of Farmersville Blvd. and ten 5-acre parcels on the east side. The developments would be just south of Highway 198. The city is also looking to develop a shopping center on Farmersville Blvd. that is visible and accessible from the highway.
“We're not asking for a shopping center that is elaborate,” said Miller, who described the proposed center as a grocery store, and stores offering soft goods and supplies. The center would serve the needs of the 44,000 people who live east of Visalia in towns such as Three Rivers, Exeter and Woodlake. “We need those shoppers to make the center viable,” she said. “We (in Farmersville) don't have the demographics. It has to be regional.”
There is a major challenge to Farmersville's hope of having a shopping center in the only location that city studies show is viable, however. “It's where they're planning to put in the Edison power lines,” said Miller. “The pole is exactly in the middle of the shopping center.”
The proposed power line route is not considered a problem for industrial developments, according to Miller. She said that there are industrial centers with power poles. If a power pole is placed on the proposed commercial property, “then we won't have a shopping center,” Miller said, adding that there would not be a supermarket in Farmersville if Edison's plan is approved.
The city has also been making long-range plans.
“We approved a capital investment plan for the next several years,” said City Council Member Paul Boyer about an action taken at the council's final 2008 meeting. “It's a list of capital programs that we feel are important for the city. The list ranges from road, sewer and storm drain improvements to a sports complex with baseball, softball and soccer fields, and a swimming pool.
“When it makes sense, we'll do some preliminary planning and designing so we're ready when the government looks for projects,” he said. “But Farmersville doesn't have the money to have projects sitting on the shelf.”
Lindsay
The city of Lindsay expects to complete McDermont
Field House by the end of the month, according to Mayor
Ed Murray. Construction is also starting on the wellness
center, and the pool is “just about finished,”
he said.
“We're doing it with our (city) crews,” said
Murray. “It's taking longer but we're saving a tremendous
amount of money.
“We approved the downtown project – four of five blocks with new sidewalks, curbs and gutters, and the wind machine tower,” he said. Construction is scheduled to begin this month and Murray expects the work to be completed within six months.
The downtown facelift includes adding bulb-outs, extending the sidewalks by about two feet and adding 12 palm trees at the corner of Samoa and Elmwood. It also includes bringing a vintage wind machine tower to the center of a downtown roundabout – Lindsay's own “Eiffel Tower.”
“Hopefully, we'll see storefront changes,” said Murray. “A lot of the businesses there are looking to make their fronts more attractive and draw people from outside the city.”
“The downtown improvements will give a more unified feel to the community and encourage people to go downtown,” agreed City Council Member Pamela Kimball.
The city of Lindsay is looking at ways to connect downtown with McDermont Field House and the rest of the community, said Kimball. “We need transit for the city,” she said, adding that the city is considering trolleys, people-movers and trains. “Measure R dollars tied into this are available now.”
The economic downturn has impacted another project in Lindsay. Plans to build a new high school “are definitely threatened by the state budget,” said Kimball.
Woodlake
Woodlake Mayor Raul Gonzales, Jr. said a lot of city plans depend on what happens in Sacramento, especially in determining upcoming budget planning. Advancement on the city's sewer treatment plant expansion will be impacted by available state funds. The mayor says Woodlake seems to be holding its own with the financial uncertainly effecting all city governments, however.
“We expect 'a status quo year' for 2009,” said City Administrator Bill Lewis.
“Not much more will be going on here
in Woodlake other than the water tank and new sewer plant,”
he said. “We will be doing a rubberized chip seal
project funded with a loan from Measure R. We have been
approved for $750,000 to be repaid with future Measure R
funds. We probably won't fill vacant positions until the
state budget is finalized.”
The 500,000-gallon domestic water tank to be installed at
Castle Rock will replace an existing tank. A second tank
was already added. Project funding will come from an USDA
loan and water rates will climb from the current $20 per
month to $28 over a four-year period. The project should
go to bid late this month or early February and the project
is expected to be finished by the end of the year.
Bids are expected this summer for the first phase of the major expansion of the city's sewer treatment plant near the airport – a $15 million project.
City employment is expected to remain at 31, according to Lewis. He expects the city to work with the school district and Woodlake Pride to enhance and possibly expand the Woodlake Botanical Gardens. The city expects an application for Proposition 84 funding to be submitted later this year.
Gonzales said the re-opening of the restaurant at the city-owned airport has generated new air traffic to Woodlake. The Runway Café opened in late 2008 after months of being closed for repairs and upgrading, and a change of operators. Weekend fly-ins continue to increase, as well as sales of aviation fuel, he said, adding he expects the airport use to increase throughout the year with competitive fuel prices and availability continuing. The city continues to deal with getting nighttime airport restrictions lifted.
The moving of SCE power lines to meet runway clearance requirements has been a major obstacle in re-establishing nighttime operations. The city and SCE are working on plans to move the existing poles and expand power lines which will be needed for the water treatment plant expansion.
COS Hanford College Center on Schedule
By Steve Pastis
The College of the Sequoias Hanford College Center is on time and on budget, according to Brent Calvin, COS Hanford campus dean.
When it opens in August 2010, the COS College Center will be the final component of Hanford's Joint Educational Center, located on 180 acres between Centennial and 13th avenues in Hanford. The educational center is a joint project involving COS, the Hanford Joint Union High School District and the city of Hanford.
The COS Hanford College Center will cost an estimated $22 million – completely funded by Measure C which was approved by Hanford area voters in November 2006.
Two buildings are under construction, the Public Safety/Education building, which will house the police and fire academies, and the Academic Center. There will be a courtyard between the two buildings.
The Public Safety/Education building will be an approximately 44,000-square-foot single-story facility with classrooms and laboratories for the police and fire academies, several technologically advanced classrooms, a distance education lab, a science lab, a library, health center and a very large multi-purpose room. The facility will also include faculty and administrative spaces.
The police and fire programs currently offered at COS' Visalia campus will be moved to Hanford in fall 2010. The COS public safety academies in Hanford are expected to “draw from far and wide,” according to Calvin, who looks at them to “anchor” the new campus.
COS is currently holding classes in eight large classrooms and a computer room in a renovated racquetball club facility at 13th and Highway 198 in Hanford. Enrollment is up more than 50 percent over last year at this time, according to Calvin.
“We offer more classes whenever the economy slows,” he said. “And the construction of the new center has people keyed into Hanford rather than coming to Visalia.”
This spring, classes such as electronics and construction technology, will be offered by COS in the new Hanford Vocational Education building which completed construction last fall. The facility was mainly funded by a national grant that was matched by the city of Hanford.
Construction on the new Sierra Pacific High School at the Joint Educational Center will begin later this month. Groundbreaking on the new high school is scheduled for Jan. 22.
“Sierra Pacific High School will be a full comprehensive high school,” stated Roger Hartman, principal. “While exact enrollment numbers are not yet known, Sierra Pacific anticipates to open in August of 2009 with 180-230 ninth grade students. Each year, Sierra Pacific will add a new grade level until, in 2012-13, it will be a fully developed 9-12 school.”
The city of Hanford opened its new softball
complex with five fields at the educational center site
in March.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
January 8, 2009
