Tulare - Officials hoping to hear something soon on the Tulare Motor Sports Complex will have to wait at least another 30 days, says a partner in that significant development planned for Tulare.
Some city officials had expected two big announcements in the past week. The first would have regarded the financing to get the project moving forward – by everyone's account the most important aspect of the project. The second announcement was identifying those who will eventually be the management team, including several with ties to the racing world, even NASCAR.
“Things are still moving forward on the development side and financing side,” said James Bancroft, one of the TMSC partners, adding that it will still be a few weeks before announcements are made.
However, the International Agri-Center, which had entered into escrow to sell 350 acres to Tulare Motor Sports Complex LLC, has reportedly cashed the $500,000 deposit and is “moving forward” without a sale.
As has been the case for more than three years, the future of the racetrack is either right at the starting line, or stuck in the pits.
The 685-acre project has been the center of discussion at Tulare city council meetings, public gatherings and private dinner parties for nearly four years. It has led to accusations and counter accusations, a 3-2 split on the city council and even a split among residents.
Close of escrows on the property have come and gone twice, but Bancroft said he fully expects the project to come true and that once the money is in place, everything else will fall behind.
Included in that “everything else” is a possible indoor ski complex, at least two hotels, several restaurants and maybe a retail center. Bancroft said talks are on-going with several people, including those looking at the site for the indoor ski complex.
“There are 100 parcels to be sold to third parties,” explained Bancroft. “Once we close on the land, they'll start lining up.”
Financing Coming?
Like the Tom Cruise movie “Jerry Maguire” and the famous line, “show me the money,” everyone agrees once the money is shown, the project will move forward. However, there are still many skeptics who believe that will never happen.
Tulare Vice Mayor Phil Vandegrift, a strong proponent of the project, said the city has given developer Bud Long until June 30 to take out permits for the project and to pay the city the approximately $1 million it owes it for the environmental impact report.
“June 30 is the drop dead date for when he has to pay the city back,” stressed Vandegrift.
He says all the ducks are now in a row for the project to move forward and all of the issues that have held it up until now have been resolved. “We think all the objections will go away when the money comes,” he said last week.
One key issue will be the escrow with the Agri-Center. The second escrow on that purchase was to close on Jan. 6. A week before that date, Long and TMSC asked for a 90-day extension. However, Jan. 6 came and went with no word spoken.
However, the Voice has learned that the Agri-Center took the $500,000 deposit and that was basically confirmed by Agri-Center CEO Jerry Sinift when he told the Voice, “At this point we're moving on. We have no escrow.”
The Agri-Center CEO said the land is still under Williamson Act protection and is presently being farmed. However, Vandegrift said the Agri-Center agreed to move forward with the city's appeal of the penalty that would have to be paid when the land is removed from Williamson Act, a sign he sees as a willingness on the part of the Agri-Center to still sell the land.
That appeal was upheld, a move Vandegrift said saves the Agri-Center tens of thousands of dollars.
However, Vandegrift said that those in favor of the project feel the escrow is still valid.
“Until both parties sign a cancellation, escrow does not end. What you might have now is a contested escrow,” said Vandegrift, a real estate broker.
“Everybody's waiting for the money,” he agreed.
Bancroft said he is confident the money is coming, but because of the unusual nature of how financing of the initial $120 million is being done, it will take time.
City officials said the money is part of a trust account set up to stimulate the economy. Most of the conversations city officials have had have been with company representatives in Switzerland, who initially had included the motor sports project within a global investment portfolio featuring much larger projects, Tulare City Manager Darrel Pyle told the Tulare Voice.
Bob Nance, the city's economic and redevelopment director, told his board the financing company seeks to fund projects that will aid in worldwide economic recovery. Nance said because of the high unemployment rate in the area, the racetrack project meets the requirements of being a humanitarian project.
“We are fairly confident sales (of land) will go through. We are not hearing anything that leads us to believe they are not anxious to close with us,” said Bancroft. Besides the Agri-Center, there are at least four other property owners involved in the 685 acres.
In a related development, sources told the Voice that local officials might ask the Governor to exempt the project from environmental challenges, an action taken on the proposed pro football stadium project in the Los Angeles area.
Such a move would negate the Sierra Club's challenge of the EIR, saving the project hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Massive Project
If built as envisioned, the Tulare Motorsports project will be the largest in the South Valley. Officials have said it could be a $1 billion project when finally completed.
Planned are a one-mile D-shaped oval race track, a quarter-mile drag strip, hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, a recreational vehicle park and more.
Bancroft said the $120 million will only get the ball rolling, but then the developers would need to secure more money to build the race track and drag strip.
Key to the project, the race track and drag strip are the only two pieces that will be constructed by TMSC. The other land will be sold to others to develop and sale proceeds used to help pay for the racing venues.
Bancroft said Monday that the plan now is to build a 40,000 seat race track, down from the 55,000 seats first proposed.
That decision was based on discussions with those in the racing industry and the fact television does not like to show empty seats, he said.
The track would be designed to add up to $60,000 more seats in the future and that there would be 10,000 mobile seats that could be used at the race track or drag strip.
He also said construction on the track and drag strip would begin in the third or fourth quarter of this year.
As to when a NASCAR SprintCup race will be held in Tulare, Bancroft was stern in saying that is not even on the radar right now.
“We can make no representations about Sprint Cup,” he said, adding right now NASCAR does not have any openings in its long schedule and that it will take time for the Tulare track to “prove its capability.”
He said the track will start with regional and local races. That is, if they can “show the money.”
Tulare County - Solar power is a hot item these days and with a deadline rapidly approaching for federal stimulus dollars for green energy projects, interest in solar projects locally has grown.
Just in the past couple of months Tulare County has become the focus of several companies looking to locate solar facilities in the Ducor, Alpaugh and Allensworth areas, the Tulare County Planning Department confirms.
In Kings County, the first solar facility was approved last month by the planning commission there.
Solar energy projects are believed to be a good investment because of state mandates to increase renewable energy generation for state power users to 33 percent by 2030. Real estate agents confirmed they have shown several potential sites to companies looking to build solar projects in the region. Most are looking for farmland near substations where hooking up to the grid may be easier. With water short and crop prices depressed, farmers are willing to listen.
“We've got about seven applications for a special use permit (for solar facilities),” confirmed County Planner John Heiser. The applications range from 20 megawatt to 40 megawatt solar farms that would each take from 150 to 500 acres of land. A megawatt is 1 million watts and can power 1,000 homes for one hour.
Heiser said there is one company talking with the county about a 100 megawatt site that would require as many as 900 acres of land.
“Tulare County's good for them. You look at how many sunny days we have,” he said.
All proposals are for placing the solar farms on “marginal” farm land. “We're not recommending they locate on prime farm land,” said Heiser.
While the county has seen small solar projects – those that power a facility such as VF Corp in the Visalia Industrial park – this is the first time for large projects that would be tied to the state's power grid.
Kings Project
Two solar facilities – one 20 megawatts and the other 19 – will be located on the same 420 acres in southwestern Kings County, said Planning Director Greg Gatzka. The Kings County Planning Commission approved them in mid-March.
“We've been in talks over the last year,” said Gatzka of the interest shown in the Valley by solar companies. He said they are in discussions with two private companies now – one Korean - with one talking about a 500-megawatt plant along I-5.
Eurus Energy America, a Japanese-owned company, just got approval to build the two plants in Kings County – Sun City and Sand Drag – west of Interstate 5 and Avenal.
The two solar facilities will be placed on 420 acres that have been dry farmed.
According to the planning staff report, the solar units will take up 63 acres, with the remaining 356 acres still available for dry farming. Gatzka said he did not have an estimate as to what the facility will cost to build. However, he did say the project will require about 120 workers to build and that it will create three or four jobs to maintain it. The company plans on opening an office in Avenal, he said.
According to the staff report, the two plants would provide renewable solar energy to Avenal as well as the county. There will be a row of solar panels – each about 310 feet in length. The project also calls for 40 small structures and two substations. The life of the project is stated to be 25 years.
Heiser said the interest in Tulare County by solar power companies has surfaced just in the past “couple of months.” He said all are in a hurry.
“There's a deadline for tax credits and federal stimulus dollars,” said Heiser.
All of the interest in Tulare and Kings counties is focused where there are high voltage transmission lines – along I-5 and along Highway 43, or in the Ducor area.
Besides private companies like Eurus, power companies like Southern California Edison are also expressing interest in land in the county.
In Tulare County, the prime spot is near Alpaugh where large transmission lines cross over the county. Heiser said for the smaller facilities – 20 megawatts – it is necessary to be at least a mile within the lines or they lose too much power during transmission.
New Territory
Permitting large solar facilities is new to both Tulare and Kings counties.
Tulare County Resource Management Agency Director Jake Raper there is a written policy update on the issue and zoning ordinance changes are being drafted. Heiser said the first application in Tulare County could go before county planners in the next 30 to 60 days.
Raper said the county is working with both the Tulare County Farm Bureau and the ag commissioner's office on the policy which could have a huge impact on farm land, compatibility issues, Williamson Act and water issues.
A recent county staff report noted that solar projects are not clear under the Uniform Rules or under existing agricultural zoning as to whether they can be considered a compatible use.
In Kings County it was determined that “electrical facilities” are a compatible use and the land can remain under Williamson Act protection. The Williamson Act is designed to protect farm land by taxing it at a lower rate as long as it remains in farming.
Heiser said rules allow for land to remain under Williamson Act if more than 50 percent of the land is still being farmed. He said some of the applications in the county do call for less than 50 percent of the land to be utilized for solar, but some do not.
Kings County, as well as Tulare County, required the projects to go through the Conditional Use permit process that requires hearings, but no one opposed the plans in Kings County and according to the staff report, there were no significant environmental issues identified.
Applications also have to be filed with the California Public Utilities Commission which has to approve the contracts between the power generators and the utility companies. Heiser said the Tulare County projects will undergo an environmental impact study and there will be public hearings.
Another key issue is what financial return there is to the county. Heiser said right now there is no way for the county to collect taxes or fees on the electricity generated or sold by the plants. Gatzka said that Kings County could find no way to tax the plants. And, if the land stays under Williamson Act protection, there is not even a property tax increase.
Heiser said Tulare County is studying that along with several other issues related to what is the county's newest industry. “There are a lot of unknowns. We're trying to find answers,” he said. He added, however, “It's keeping us busy and challenging, but it's exciting times.”
The largest project being talked about by some in the media – a 5,000-megawatt solar power plant covering approximately 30,000 acres in the Westlands Water District is just that – talk. Gatzke said that they estimate that 25,000 acres of that Westlands project would be in his county, yet they have had no contacts with anyone about the proposal.
Water Deliveries Still Below Average
Tulare County - The pivotal April 1 snowpack measurement brought some relief to growers and domestic water users, but leaves questions as to why there will be such little water delivered this year in light of an above-average snowpack.
Surveyors last week found a statewide snowpack that is 106 percent of normal for the date, far better than the 81 percent it was last year. Electronic sensors show northern Sierra snow water equivalents at 126 percent of normal for the date, central Sierra at 92 percent, and southern Sierra at 105 percent.
However, even with the good news, the state Department of Water Resources increased its planned water deliveries only from 15 to 20 percent.
The feds have reported they will deliver at least 25 percent of normal, slightly better than last year.
Tulare Irrigation District Manager Paul Hendrix said while it appears Eastside growers in the Valley will be in pretty good shape this spring and summer, it is still difficult to understand why the state and feds are delivering so little water in light of the snowpack.
“In years like this, on the Westside, they should be humming along with 100 percent of their water. This should be a no problem year,” he said.
However, Hendrix pointed to what has become obvious, restrictions on pumping due to fish and environmental concerns are impacting water deliveries.
On the Eastside, though, not only will farmers get 100 percent of their Class I water – historic average and about 800,000 acre feet, the feds have announced Eastside users will get 10 percent of Class II water, water above what is the average.
Friant had already announced it would make 5 percent of Class II water available and on Friday doubled that. Hendrix said the possibility exists they could get even more.
That first allocation will be available until April 15, the second until April 30. For Tulare TID, that is about 7,000 acre feet of water each time.
Hendrix said some of that water will meet irrigation demand, and what is left will be used for recharge basins. Either way, the extra water will help alleviate the pressure on the underground water supply.
“It will be interesting to see if the year is a rebound,” said Hendrix of the groundwater supply, explaining the extra water not only reduces the need to pump water from the underground, but having water flowing down streams and canals acts as a recharge mechanism.
Also last week, U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger ruled that the reductions at the Delta pumps planned to begin this week will move forward. In the ruling, Wanger rejected a request by water users to temporarily allow the pumps to operate at existing levels.
Less water will move through the pumps, as a result, in order to protect spring run salmon as required under the federal management plans. Wanger is now considering an injunction on the management plans for the salmon and smelt, which would provide a longer-term solution for farmers and water users than the temporary order denied last week.
Snowpack
Last week's and this week's storms added 29 inches of snow to the mountains of Tulare County.
Farewell Gap, at 9,500 feet above Visalia, had 112.6 inches of snow as of Monday, exactly 20 inches more than what was there on March 30.
Quaking Aspen, at 7,000 feet above Porterville, the snowpack Monday was 81.8 inches, 15 inches more than what was there a week ago.
The snowpack at Farewell Gap is 116 percent of the April 1 average and at Quaking Aspen it is 177 percent of average.
The watersheds of Friant,
Kaweah and Success are all well above average. Friant, on
the San Joaquin River, is reported to be at 122 percent
of normal, while the Kaweah River Basin is at 138 percent
and the Tulare River Basin at 181 percent.
Recent dry and warm weather took its toll on the local snowpack,
with Farewell Gap down from a high of 131 inches and Quaking
Aspen from 96 inches.
Also, March proved to be drier than average, with Visalia getting less than sixth-tenths of an inch of rainfall for the entire month. Rainfall for January and February were both above average. Since January 1, Visalia has received nearly 6 inches of rain, while the mountains have fared much better. The snowpack at Farewell Gap on Jan. 11 was just 33 inches.
Snowpack water content normally is at its peak the first of April, although DWR makes a final manual survey the first of May, and electronic readings report conditions daily. DWR may be able to increase the State Water Project allocation to above 20 percent as hydrologists refine runoff projections from and conditions continue to develop.
Lake Oroville, the State Water Project's principal reservoir, is recovering slowly after three consecutive dry years. Its storage is at only 47 percent of capacity, 60 percent of normal for the date. In addition, fishery agency restrictions on Delta pumping continue to reduce the amount of water that can be delivered to contractors and customers in the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast and Southern California. The final State Water Project allocation, to be set later this spring, will partially depend on how the pumping restrictions to protect fish including Delta smelt, salmon and longfin smelt are applied.
In 2009, the State Water Project delivered 40 percent of customer requests. The average deliveries over the past 10 years is 68 percent of the amount requested by the 29 public agencies with long-term contracts to buy SWP water. The 29 contractors deliver water to more than 25 million Californians and 750,000 acres of irrigated farmland.
By Miles Shuper
Tulare County - Conducting auctions of tax delinquent properties online is faster, cheaper and generally yields higher sales prices, says Tulare County Collector Rita Woodard.
Shifting to an online system could save in excess of $20,000, she said. Renting an auction site, such as the Visalia Convention Center and paying for security needed on site due to cash or certified check requirements, in addition to have staff on-site, are eliminated in online auctions, she explained.
Two weeks ago, 26 of 57 tax-delinquent properties were recently sold in the county's first-ever online tax sale. The auctioned properties brought in $478,877. The remaining properties, including about 20 small parcels in Alpaugh, under one ownership will be reoffered online May 20 through May 24, Woodard said.
The minimum bids for properties being re-offered will be lowed by 20 percent from the original minimum, Woodard reported.
During last year's property auction, 19 parcels were sold bringing in just less than $500,000.
Auctioning tax-delinquent properties is new for Tulare County but has been done by many other counties, especially larger ones, Woodard said. She expects the trend for online auctions to continue and increase in popularity as potential buyers become more aware of the system. Online auctions take less time, travel and, once the word gets out, seem to attract more bidders from out of the local area, Woodard said.
Although this year's auction attracted more than last year's sale, Woodard hopes to increase awareness of those who may have missed or failed to meet bidding deadline requirements. A $5,000 deposit is required for bidding and only cash or certified checks are accepted. Deposits can be applied to a sale and, if not used, are refunded.
Woodard said deposit deadlines remain at three days prior to the sale. Although the county's first online auction attracted several regular auction bidders, there apparently were some who missed the registration and deposit requirements, Woodard said. There were 63 bidders in the initial online auction, several more than last year. Four homes were sold in this year's auction in addition to a cabin in Posey, above California Hot Springs. A house in Lindsay sold for $90,000 and a home on North Court Street in Visalia sold for $65,000, according to county records. The property had a $4,500 tax default.
Revenues in excess of what is owned in defaulted taxes (at least five years in arrears) are returned to the property owner or those who have filed claim to it. Claims must be filed within one year.
“I'm curious to see how the re-offering will do on the internet. This is where a lot of action happens in a live auction. The bidders get excited and sometimes there is a lot of action on these parcels because they start off at really bargain prices.”
She also expects to keep a close eye on the 20 properties in the middle of Alpaugh which didn't sell the first time around. The vacant lots carried minimum bids ranging from $2,000 to about $5,000 with about half of them carrying a $2,400 minimum. The listed owner is the Loretta Bentz family trust.
By Miles Shuper
Tulare County - Visalia has had many success stories in landing large retailers over the years - an example being Macy's last year - but when the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) holds it Central Valley Alliance program in Visalia this month, it could open the doors to many more successes.
“It's putting us on the map,” said Ricardo Noguera, city of Visalia Housing and Economic Development director, adding the meeting is not only important for Visalia, but “the entire Highway 99 corridor.”
And, it's not just Visalia that will benefit, said Noguera and Wayne Millies, director of commercial sales and leasing for The Whitlatch Group in Visalia and the person mostly responsible for bringing the gathering to Visalia on Thursday, April 22. They both feel the entire region will benefit.
ICSC is a global trade association of the shopping center industry. It has 60,000 members in the U.S., Canada and more than 80 other countries. The Central Valley Alliance includes shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, lenders, retailers and other professionals from throughout the South Valley and Central Coast.
The event will gather about 150 members from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Visalia Convention Center. It will be the first such gathering in the South Valley, Millies pointed out.
“We're excited.
It's a big event,” said Millies, who is also involved
in trying to bring a Trader Joe's to Visalia. He hopes a
representative of that market chain will attend.
The Alliance Program is designed to provide a forum for
public and private sectors to network, share ideas, discuss
industry issues and explore retail development opportunities.
Noguera says it brings not only retailers to the region, but brokers as well. “I think this Alliance thing is important to the whole Valley,” he said, explaining that some developers are not knowledgeable to “our demographics.”
“Disposable income in Berkeley is similar on a percentage basis to us,” he stressed, saying that the April 22 meeting allows the area to educate the decision makers on the values of the region.
Co-sponsoring the event are the cities of Porterville and Visalia and some of the panelists are a virtual who's who of the retail development industry, including Don and Chris Orosco of The Orosco Group that has developed many shopping centers in the area, including Packwood Creek. Also to participate is David Paynter, another major developer of retail property, Ed Kashian, who developed Riverwalk Shopping Center in Porterville, Steve Peck of the Mangano Company and Fred Meno of the Woodmont Company that manages Preferred Outlets of Tulare.
Visalia Mayor Bob Link will welcome attendees and the luncheon speaker will be Rex Hime of California Business Properties association. The keynote address will be by Dr. William Rice, professor at the Craig School of Business at Fresno State University.
Noguera said Millies deserves all the credit for bring the developers to Visalia. “He's the brain trust on this,” said Noguera.
SECOND FRONT PAGE
What's New
Fifty-eight percent of Visalia's residents have returned their U.S. Census forms that are due by April 15, the Census Bureau reports. Statewide, 58 percent have returned the forms. Other cities' return rates are: Farmersville, 56%; Porterville, 58%; Dinuba, 60%; Exeter, 61%; Woodlake, 57%, Lindsay 55%; Lemoore, 54% and Corcoran, 54%. Last year, 75 percent of the mailed forms were returned in Visalia.
General Growth Properties, Inc. has filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court documentation to exit bankruptcy protection. General Growth Properties owns Visalia Mall along with numerous other shopping centers across the nation.
Steve Renton has assumed the role of executive director of the COS Foundation. Renton will retain his duties in public information and marketing for the college.
The city of Farmersville has signed an exclusive negotiating agreement with Randy Driscall to develop its planned shopping center along Highway 198. The city hopes to land a large anchor store, such as a Walmart at the 40-acre site.
Exhibitors for the 2011 World Ag Expo will find it easier to rent space this year. On April 1, the first day the WAE begins selling exhibitor space, it launched its new website that allows exhibitors to sign up on-line.
The Tulare County Sheriff's Posse is turning 70 and the group will be honored on Friday, April 23, during the Volunteer Appreciation BBQ from 11 a.m. -2 p.m. at Mooney Grove.
Permits for 25 new homes were pulled in Visalia last month, down from 43 permits taken out in February. Total valuation for the month was just $9.4 million, the lowest so far this year. There were 46 permits issued for commercial alterations with a total value of $2.2 million.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act that was enacted through the budget reconciliation process that Congress used to get the health care bill done, should benefit COS, reports President Dr. Bill Scroggins. He said COS will benefit because a higher percentage of COS students qualify for financial aid and because COS is an Hispanic Serving Institution it qualifies for potentially millions of dollars in grants targeted just for such colleges and the college district could directly receive significant federal funds for job training, reported Scroggins.
Penske Truck Rentals has temporarily left Visalia, but plans on returning. A person with the company said they lost their local agent and site, but that a new agent has been found and they will be back in Visalia as soon as they can secure a new site.
The Bureau of Reclamation will hold a public session to negotiate new repayment contracts with existing long-term water service contractors in the Friant Division of the Central Valley Project, including Lewis Creek Irrigation District, Lindsay-Strathmore ID, City of Lindsay, Exeter ID, Ivanhoe ID, Lindmore ID, Lower Tule ID, Porterville ID, Stone Corral ID, Terra Bella ID, Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District, Tea Pot Dome ID and Tulare ID.
An initiative to make marijuana for personal use in California has qualified for the November. Organizers of the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 had submitted nearly 700,000 signatures to state authorities in January, far exceeding the 433,971 required to place the question on this year's election ballot. The ballot initiative would make it legal for adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and allow cities and counties to impose a tax on the sale of marijuana.
Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) reported that $56,667 is going to the Kings County Housing Authority to support tenants of the Housing Choice Voucher program as they find employment and become self-sufficient. The money is a portion of $729,393 released to the region.
Caltrans said ridership of the San Joaquin intercity passenger rail service reached an all-time ridership record for the four-month period from November 1, 2009 through February 28, 2010. More than 310,000 riders boarded trains, a 6.6 percent increase from the same period in 2008-09.
The DA's office is warning homeowners of a potential scam involving foreclosure help. A group called Neighbors helping Neighbors is allegedly offering to buy houses and then rent them back to the original owner with a claim of selling the house back later. According to the DA's office, the group claims it is endorsed by the Stanislaus County DA's Office, but it is not indorsed by law enforcement agency.
The San Joaquin River is now flowing to the Pacific Ocean, marking a key milestone in a restoration effort aimed at bringing back Chinook salmon. The restoration project should achieve another milestone this summer when a continuous flow of water is expected from Friant Dam to the ocean during August, September and November. Interim flows from Friant Dam began in October as part of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program. The experimental flows will end Dec. 1 and resume in 2011. Salmon will be reintroduced by Dec. 31, 2012.
Visalia - City officials are touting the city's first covered playground that is now open at Plaza Park on near the city airport.
The Visalia Parks and Recreation Department has been replacing playgrounds in many of its parks. Plaza Park is the ninth to be completed in the past 18 months.
“Next will be Willow Glenn Park (at Akers and Hurley) and Constitution Park (at Crenshaw and Tulare),” said Jim Bean, the city's parks and urban forestry manager who has been overseeing the park restorations.
And, the growth and improvements to the city's park system does not stop with just new playgrounds. Monday night the city council approved contracts for the construction of two a park – Lion's Neighborhood Park on West Ferguson Avenue - and significant improvements to Mill Creek Garden Park at Lover's Lane and Mill Creek Parkway.
“That's exciting,” said Bean of the new parks. “We're definitely moving forward.”
In the nine parks renovated so far, each got new and safer playground equipment. In some instances, the new equipment replaced some playgrounds that were at least 25 years old.
Bean said the new equipment has to meet standards and on top of the state certification, the city seeks a third party to certify that the equipment is safe.
“These are really nice playgrounds,” he said.
The cost of all the new playgrounds is approximately $800,000, with most of the money coming from State Park Bond Act monies, community development block grants and some plastic recycling monies. The last two parks will be done with parks and recreation capital improvement funds.
Replacing a playground takes about two weeks, according to Bean. Playgrounds done, along with Plaza, are Whitendale Park, Fairview Park, Houk Park, Jefferson Park, Village Park, Summers Park, Pinkham Park and Blain Park.
Some of the playgrounds will have equipment for 2-5 year olds, some will be for 5-12 and others, such as Plaza Park, will have equipment for both.
Both playgrounds at Plaza are covered by attractive canvas covers, each about 40 by 80 feet in size.
The playgrounds will have slides, decks and other equipment for kids to play on. Some have teacups, spring toys, tot swings or even adult swings.
A handicapped access park should be done at Recreation Park in the next few months. That will include a wheelchair swing and a big ship, said Bean.
By Miles Shuper
Visalia - Develop a better pot for growing healthier trees in a shorter time and someone likely will beat a path to your door.
With about four years of testing finished and several more months of additional research and testing still on-going, Visalian Brian Kempf and his investors appear to be on the brink of a tree-growing container break through. It has the potential to grow into a very lucrative invention. A U.S. patent has been obtained and an international patent application is pending. Mass production could begin within a year, says Kempf.
Instead of having solid walls, “Pioneer Pots” have a plastic mesh design allowing tree roots to grow in a less confirming environment resulting in reduced root damage, faster growth and fewer culls.
Kempf said tree roots generally develop in circular fashion resulting in a ball-shaped mass as the roots circle the walls of the slick walled containers creating a girdled mass which requires pruning.
The plastic mess-like pots allow tree roots to grow through the holes in the mess resulting in “air pruning” which occurs when the tips of the roots hit the air which kills unwanted sprouts of the root system.
Kempf said young trees can stay in their growing pots longer, thus reducing labor-intensive pruning in addition to promoting less root system stress and yielding healthier trees.
More than 40,000 pots have been produced. Field testing and intensive research have shown impressive results.
Kemp, who holds a degree in regional planning, and two local veteran nursery industry investors are optimistic their pots will have a significant impact on the industry.
Kempf is the founder of the Urban Tree Foundation which is dedicated to promoting and preserving the urban forests through education, planting and tree care. He is regarded by city and county officials and community groups as the "go to guy” on tree care and preservation. He has been involved in the effort to restore Valley Oaks at Mooney Grove Park and various activities related to the Make-A-Difference Day planting project in Visalia's downtown area. In addition, the Urban Tree Foundations is involved in tree planting projects, grant funding and organizing volunteer tree planting events in area cities.
The tree growing pots are a separate venture for Kempf who has been working on the project for several years.
Having pots with holes in the sidewalls is nothing new in the industry, Kempf explained, adding that “air pruning” generally is an accepted practice in the industry struggle to solve tree root maladies which cost millions of dollars in losses.
A major advantage of the new containers is that trees can remain in one container longer, a cost factor as well as labor-saving advantage in addition to the reducing hand-pruning of nursery trees.
Better root systems for both agricultural and landscaping trees of numerous varieties in addition to less culls and overall healthier root systems have been consistently positive.
Results of a new university research study underway in Florida using scientific protocols will be added to results of numerous field tests in the U.S. and Canada, Kempf said.
He said a number of trees planted in and around Visalia have been part of the testing.
The potential for the new pots is impressive with inquires already being made by several land nurseries and agricultural tree growing firms, kempf said.
It is not unusual for a large commercial nursery to have several million containers in stock.
Tulare County - Home sale prices decreased in the region during February and a new wave of home foreclosures is beginning to hit the market.
The median price of a home sold in Visalia during February was $142,000, off 8.4 percent from a year ago when homes were selling for $155,000. The median price in January was $144,000.
Home prices have been falling the past three months after stabilizing the previous few months. Home prices are way off the peak of more than $225,000 median price.
According to DataQuick, 291 homes were sold in Tulare County during February at a median price of $132,500, off just $3,500 from the median price of $136,000 a year ago. In Tulare, home prices actually rose from a year ago – from $126,000 to a median of $143,000.
On the plus side, the number of homes sold in Tulare County was up 12 percent.
However, says real estate agent Brad Matzke, another flood of foreclosures could further lower prices and stall what had been a slight rebound to the local housing market.
“There's a ton of stuff starting to come on the market,” said Matzke of the new wave of foreclosures that many had expected. “You're going to see a lot of properties on the market,” he predicted.
Several in the real estate and banking industry had predicted another wave of foreclosures would come.
The number of foreclosure proceedings began to go up in February. Tulare County saw 801 such proceedings begun, up from 748 in January. Still, at least for February, the number of foreclosure proceedings was below some previous months when that number topped 1,000.
Visalia saw 322 foreclosure proceedings begun in February, Tulare 181, Porterville 116 and Exeter 30, according to RealtyTrac. Last February, Visalia has 358 foreclose proceedings begun and that number peaked at 448 in the month of April, 2009.
In Kings County, the total was 233 proceedings, a jump of 46 over January. Hanford had 106, Lemoore 39 and Corcoran 29.
Matzke said banks that had been holding on to properties are now moving forward with foreclosure and putting those homes on the market.
He did not hold out much hope that the plan
announced by the Obama Administration last month will
have much of an impact. That plan was to help people from
losing their homes, but Matzke said it is too cumbersome
to be effective.
And, he said, “Instead of rewarding people who are
doing it right, they're rewarding bad behavior.”
California Leads the Way
Statewide, according to DataQuick, an estimated 28,111 new and resale houses and condos were sold in February. That was up 0.9 percent from 27,858 in January and down 3.8 percent from 29,225 for February 2009. California sales for the month of February have varied from a low of 20,513 in 2008 to a peak of 48,409 in 2004, while the average is 32,325. MDA DataQuick's statistics go back to 1988.
The median price paid for a home last month was $249,000, up 0.8 percent from $247,000 in January and up 11.2 percent from $224,000 for February a year ago. The year-over-year increase was the fourth in a row, following 27 months of year-over-year declines. The median peaked at $484,000 in early 2007 and hit a low of $221,000 last April.
Of the existing homes sold last month, 44.3 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was up from a revised 43.8 percent in January and down from 58.8 percent in February a year ago, the all-time high.
California led the way in foreclosures with 68,562 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month — down nearly 5 percent from the previous month and down 15 percent from February 2009.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
April 8, 2010
