Where the Sales Tax Leakage Occurs
By Rick Elkins
Tulare County - City and county leaders have been telling of a drop in sales tax revenues for more than two years now.
While it is obvious car sales are down and the housing industry is in a slump, a comparison of taxable sales shows a much clearer picture of which businesses are really suffering and which are not being hit that hard.
Not surprising, vehicle sales are way off in the region. Somewhat surprising, so are taxable sales in grocery stores.
Surprising, taxable sales in restaurants and bars are steady, if not improved, and home furnishing sales have not dropped nearly as much as other categories.
Taxable sales in the city of Visalia hit a peak in 2006, the year before the bottom fell out of the world, national and local economies.
In 2007, taxable sales began to decline, but not until about mid year. Still, sales for that year dropped to $174 billion and to $163 billion in 2008. While sales have rebounded slightly this year, they stayed pretty flat in 2009.
The state recently reported that taxable sales in California declined for the seventh consecutive quarter during the first quarter of 2009, the longest consecutive slide since World War II. Sales were off 16.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009, the most recent quarter that a breakdown of taxable sales is available.
In Tulare and Kings counties, sales during the first quarter of 2009 were way off from the first quarter of 2007, just before the recession hit.
In Tulare County, taxable sales in the first quarter of 2009 were $961 million, down from $1.15 billion for the same quarter of 2007. In Kings County, sales in the first three months of 2009 were $282 million, down from $304 million for the same period of 2007.
Those numbers have improved slightly, reported City of Visalia Administrative Services Director Eric Frost.
“We think they (sales) are improving some,” he said last week, noting that for the fourth quarter of 2009 sales were actually up $100,000 over the same quarter of 2008. However, that is small compared to the $3 million decline in taxable sales since the recession began.
Significance
Taxable sales are significant because that is one of the largest revenue sources for local governments. Visalia has seen a steady drop in sales tax income, although taxable sales did rise slightly in the fourth quarter of 2009, the first time there had been positive movement in the sales since 2007.
In 2006-07 sales tax meant $17 million in annual revenue for the city of Visalia. That money, which is used to pay for things like police and fire, parks and recreation, has been dwindling ever since. Last year it amounted to just $14 million in revenue, an 18 percent drop.
Frost continually points to the sales tax decline as one of the reasons the city has had to make substantial cuts, although sales tax is not the only culprit. Frost has said revenue from property taxes are down and the state of California continues to take money away from the city.
“Seventy-five percent of general fund comes from sales tax and property tax,” said Frost, adding that more than half of that is from sales tax.
The importance is that police and fire services are practically 100 percent supported by the general fund revenue.
He said for the three years prior to the recession there was little movement in sales tax revenue. It went up about 4 percent a year.
Then, “we had a real drop off and then it just continued. It didn't stop.”
Glenn Morris, executive director of the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, said retail sales, including car sales, are not only critical from the city's standpoint, but they are “for the broader community that leading indicator.”
He said taxable sales are also an indicator of consumer confidence.
The chamber has proposed a stimulus plan for the city to consider restoring confidence in local consumers. One idea was a gift card to reward shoppers, but so far the city council has balked at that idea. He said talks continue and a new plan may be presented to the council by the end of the month.
“Stores are still hurting,” said Morris, adding it will be interesting if the rise in sales in the last quarter of 2009 continues into 2010. “My guess is things are marginally improving.”
Where's the Leakage
A breakdown of sales comparisons from 2007 and 2009 shows that auto sales and general merchandise have taken the biggest hits, but supermarkets and building materials also are way off.
Sales were not that
far off in Visalia, even up in some cities, for restaurants
and bars.
In Visalia, the decline in taxable sales in bars and restaurants
was just 3 percent. In Porterville, Tulare and Hanford,
business in bars and restaurant was actually better in early
2009 than in early 2007, up 6 percent in Hanford.
Auto sales were off horribly. Visalia saw sales off 40 percent. In Porterville, they were off nearly 50 percent, off 33 percent in Tulare and 20 percent in Hanford.
Other Categories
Gasoline: Sales tax was up, but that is because sales tax is based on the price per gallon and a gallon of gas cost much less in 2007 than it did in 2009. In Visalia, taxable gas sales were down by 13 percent, while they were up in Tulare (1%), Porterville (1%) and Hanford (14%).
Apparel: In every city, but Visalia, apparel sales were up. Visalia saw the sales off more than 13 percent.
Food stores: In every city checked, sales at supermarkets were down, as much as more than 30 percent in Visalia and nearly 40 percent in Tulare and Porterville, and 18 percent in Hanford.
Home Furnishings: Most cities did well in home furnishing sales. Visalia actually saw an increase of about 25 percent, while Tulare and Porterville had smaller gains. Hanford saw home furnishing sales off 28 percent.
Building Materials: Except for Hanford which saw about a 13 percent gain in sales, every other city saw a decline. Visalia had only $27 million in sales during the first quarter of 2009, down from $43.6 million in 2006 – a 38 percent decline. Tulare and Porterville had smaller declines.
General Merchandise: Every city took a good hit here, with Visalia's sales off $9 million in the quarter – from $81.9 million to $72.4 million (11 %), but Tulare's actually up slightly (1%).
By Miles Shuper
Tulare County - Local professionals, including engineering firms, surveyors, and environmental specialists are working with governmental officials to help them get a fair share of major Tulare County highway construction projects.
With more than $500 million in roadway and highway construction projects to be funded in part by Measure R in coming years, it is important that qualified local professionals are hired creating jobs and boosting the local economy, say local engineers.
Measure R, the one-half cent sales tax measure was passed by county voters in 2006 with significant support coming from professional firms and industry leaders.
Ted Smalley, executive director of the Tulare County Association of Governments, the administrative agency which oversees highway projects and awards contracts, hopes to have the Local Preference for Professional Services implemented soon.
The action has been endorsed by the Measure R Oversight Committee comprised of city managers, the county and members at large.
Mike Knopf, a principal of Quad-Knopf consultants, who has been spearheading the policy formulation, said the idea basically encourages a portion of every design project to include local companies with staff members actually working in the region.
The concept, while not new, awards points to firms that include local companies in their bid proposals.
“If local agencies include a scoring system that gives extra points to teams that include local firms, the community would benefit from the local knowledge and closer proximity to the projects that the local firms can provide,” Knopf said.
Local officials and company owners realize that they are few local or even regional construction firms big enough to handle major highway construction projects, but there are a number of qualified firms capable of engineering, design and associated work.
“Local firms have a much greater stake in the outcome of any project they work on. Not only is their reputation at stake, but they live and work in the community and they will be living there long after the project has been built,” Knopf said.
The result, he said, “provides a level of commitment and accountability that someone from outside the area can never provide.”
Knopf said the selection of professional service firms is a very competitive and expensive process, but isn't necessary based on price. “In many cases the types of projects that firms compete for in this area don't come along very often. When that happens, it is difficult to score well against an outside firm that has thousands of employees and hundreds of similar projects on their resume, even if the local firm might do a better job. That is when it is important for local agencies to adopt selection processes that consider the value that local firms bring to the project.”
Resume building and increased expertise are important to smaller, local firms but the economic stimulus is the key result. “Instead of sending millions of dollars out of the area to support jobs somewhere else, it would make more sense to use local projects to build up our local firms so they can better compete elsewhere and bring more jobs back here. It seems pretty simple: instead of sending money out, we could bring high-paying jobs in.”
David Harrald, a member of the Measure R Oversight Committee, hopes to see the policy put in place as soon as possible with several major projects coming up.
By Miles Shuper
Kaweah Lake - With 5 feet of snow during the month of April alone above Visalia, Kaweah Lake will not only fill to the top this year, but it will be full for several weeks, said Phil Deffenbaugh, park manager at the lake.
“It looks like this is going to be a good year,” said Deffenbaugh Monday when storage in the lake was approaching 110,000 acre feet. He said the lake should reach its old “full point” in two weeks and max out at more than 180,000 acre feet of water in a month.
Storage was increased
in the lake when the spillway was raised several years ago.
Deffenbaugh knows there is plenty of snowmelt still to come
out of the mountains where there is more than 9 feet of
snow on the ground at the 9,500-foot elevation Farewell
Gap. Unofficially, April's storms added about 63 inches
of snow at that spot.
Last week, the state reported that those late season storms have boosted the statewide mountain snowpack to 143 percent of normal, according to the latest snow survey by the Department of Water Resources.
At Quaking Aspen above Porterville, there is still more than 6 feet of snow on the ground, a lot more than there was a year ago. Success Lake above Porterville has more than 30,000 acre feet, but that level is held down because of concerns over the integrity of the dam.
According to the state, the snowpack in the southern Sierra as of Monday was 143 percent of normal and 199 percent of normal in the northern Sierra. Then central Sierra snowpack was 122 percent of normal.
Last week's storm did not produce as much snow as pervious storms this month, but 10 inches did fall on Thursday at Farewell Gap.
Deffenbaugh is not too concerned the snow will melt too quickly, noting that warm weather, followed by cold weather, actually helps to create a block of ice on top of the mountains and ice melts slower than snow.
He said all three boat ramps are open, but in about two weeks they will lose one of the old ramps that is now below the new lake level. That closure could last well into June.
Deffenbaugh said boaters and swimmers need to be aware the water is extremely cold and will be so for several weeks. Also, he cautioned, the river is running very fast.
While most reservoirs are filling up fast, Lake Oroville, the principal reservoir for the State Water Project, remains only 59 percent of capacity, or 71 percent of normal for the date. DWR has said it will deliver just 30 percent of requested State Water Project water to cities and farms this year. The allocation may be adjusted slightly in the coming weeks, based on the snow survey data.
“This is good news after three years of drought, but we still face water shortages in many parts of the state,” DWR Director Mark Cowin said in a statement. “State Water Project storage is well below average and Delta pumping restrictions to protect native fish species will continue to hamper our ability to deliver water to millions of California homes, businesses and farms. If we are to ensure an adequate water supply for the future, it is critical that we conserve water and develop smarter, more sustainable ways to manage our water resources.”
The fed has also announced it will deliver only 30 percent of normal water, and while that is considerably better than last year when hundreds of thousands acres of farmland were left fallow, it is not even close to historic releases when the snowpack was above normal.
However, the snowpack has meant extra water for eastside users like the Friant Water Users Authority that is getting water for underground water recharge efforts.
Even the city of Visalia is benefitting as water runs through local streams.
By Rick Elkins
Visalia - Workers Tuesday began demolishing a piece of Visalia's history to make way for a new chapter in Downtown Visalia's history.
The East Main Street block on the north side from Bridge to Santa Fe will soon become the Downtown Promenade, a Mangano Company, Andy Mangano and Bob Dowds project that has been in the works for years, but is now coming to fruition.
“This has been a real exciting challenge to design an entire block in your own downtown,” said Craig Mangano before a large piece of equipment began chewing away at the 26,000 s.f. building that definitely had seen better days.
Local historian Terry Ommen said the two-story unreinforced brick masonry building was originally built as a mill over Mill Creek in the 1850s. The first hotel was not built until the mid-1920s. The building was home to the Nelson, the Ramona and most notably, the Larson Hotel. The block has also been home to a dry cleaner, a car lot, a liquor store and more. The east end of the building was still in use up until a few months ago, but the old hotel had been vacant and used for storage for some time.
Steve Peck, Mangano Company vice president, said the building had fallen into such disrepair that there was no hope of saving it. However, Mangano is replicating the historic flavor of the building in its new 60,000 square feet, three story building.
“We did not take it lightly,” said Craig Mangano of the design of the building. “There was a lot of time and energy put into it.”
The project will be an extension of the downtown fabric with typical downtown Main Street pedestrian features such as mid-block pedestrian crossing, corner bulbouts and outdoor dining and seating.
The ground floor is expected to be a mix of retail and office space ranging in suite sizes from approximately 900 square feet to over 5,000 square feet. Second and third floors are designed to accommodate similar sized suites.
Peck said the project is designed in four phases, but they will be taking out permits for phases 1 and 2 this summer. That will comprise about 30,000 s.f. of the entire project. Construction will begin on the west end of the block.
While they are not ready to announce tenants, Peck said, “We're actually making very good progress. We've had a great response.”
He said there has been a stronger response to the ground floor that will be basically retail space – both stores and restaurants.
Mayor Bob Link, who said the project has been a longtime coming for the downtown community, thanked the Mangano Company for its dedication to downtown, saying the reputation of the company ensures it will do “an A-1, top-notch job.”
Another aspect of the project is the city will extend the one-way eastbound traffic all the way to Santa Fe. That is expected to be completed early this summer.
Peck said the demolition will cost approximately $100,000 and take about a month.
A lot of the building has already been salvaged and Peck said as much of the brick will be salvaged as possible.
By Rick Elkins
Visalia - Improved timber prices and the continuation of federal dollars to ship logs have improved the situation at the only lumber mill south of Sacramento.
Sierra Forest Products in Terra Bella General Manager Kent Duysen said prices have risen quite a bit over the past few months, although demand has not gone up nearly as much.
“The lumber market
has definitely improved,” he said last week. “It's
not demand driven. Its supply driven,” he said, noting
that many lumber mills have either closed or shut down during
the difficult economic times, so less timber is being produced
“It's helped out a whole bunch,” he said of
the improved prices.
Still, he pointed out, the mill and the rest of the timber industry is not out of the woods yet. Housing construction, which makes up 70 to 75 percent of the timber business, is not expected to rebound significantly for another 18 to 24 months.
Last year saw only 400,000 homes built nationwide, down from 2.2 million in 2006. “This year may be 700,000 homes. That's only one-third of the homes constructed in 2006. We still have a long ways to go.”
The mill in Terra Bella is also still facing a shortage of logs with virtually no logging coming off the Sequoia National Forest that one day supplied more than enough logs for the mill.
Logging in the million-acre Sequoia Forest has basically come to a standstill. In the early 1980s, the Sequoia National Forest was selling about 90 million board feet of timber a year. Today, little is being offered for sale and no cutting is taking place, except for a few hazardous tree removal sales.
“We're pretty dependent on forest service timber,” he said, adding that the neighboring forest to the north – Sierra Forest – may allow some logging this summer and that is part of an understanding the mill, the Sierra Forest and the Sierra Forest Legacy have come to that will allow some logging.
That agreement is over forest health and that logging is a needed tool to manage the forests.
“We're hopeful there's not another group that will come in and litigate,” said Duysen.
The next closest mill left in the state is in Lincoln, north of Sacramento. Several mills either closed for good, or are shut down until the economy improves. Some shut down for the winter because they ran out of a supply of logs and the prolonged winter is keeping them shut down.
The good news is the mill is operating every week with one shift. When things got tough two years ago the mill went to a week on, week off schedule. But, for the past several months it has been able to employ approximately 120 workers, working one shift a day. At one time, the mill ran two shifts a day and Duysen hopes to see those days return.
It was California U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein who got funds put into the Omnibus Spending Bill passed by Congress last year to supplement the cost of bringing logs from Sonora to the mill in Terra Bella. That money not only allowed the mill to go back to a full one-shift a day schedule, but it kept more than 50 loggers employed through the summer.
“So, it (funding) keeps some of the logging infrastructure alive,” he said of the funds that will go through this summer.
Without those funds, the mill likely would have run out of logs to mill.
“We're fortunate to still be here today. It was the most challenging two years and we're not out of the woods yet. Our outlook today is much better than a year ago. The doors are going to stay open,” he said confidently.
SECOND FRONT PAGE
What's New
May 14 is the scheduled opening for Club Deuce Casino, a lounge and card room in Goshen at the former site of the Goshen Bus Depot. The new owner is Kyle Kirkland, owner of Club One in downtown Fresno. Kirkland said the lounge will open first but the casino opening has not been scheduled. For a number of years the site was operated as Gloria's Casino which closed last September. The building has been repainted, remodeled and a new parking lot has been constructed.
Visalia's population grew to 125,927 people, the California Department of Finance reported, a 2 percent gain in the past year. The state basis its population off of the most recent census, which was 2000. This year's census will determine a new base count. Other population numbers reported by the state: Tulare, 59,535, 1.9% gain; Porterville, 52,960, 1.9% gain; Hanford, 53,266, 1.3% gain; Corcoran, 25,692, 0.7% loss and Lemoore, 25,461, 2.8% gain. California's population was put at 38,648,000, with 393,000 new residents to the state in 2009.
The Visalia City Council has decided that the Riverway Sports Park will be primarily for youth. Monday night the council voted to build four more youth softball fields in the next phase instead of adult softball fields that was initially proposed.
Median income in Tulare County was $26,494 in 2008, 57th out of 58 counties in the state. The county's median was lower than Merced and Kings counties. In Kings, the median income was put at $29,766, 45th of the state's counties. The median income for the state was $35,923, a slight increase over 2007. For the Central Valley, the median income was $31,160.
The Kaweah Delta Healthcare District appointed Lynn Havard Mirviss to fill the Zone II vacancy to the board of directors. Mirviss was one of eight people who applied for the seat that was previously held by Margaret Foley. Mirviss will have to run in November to earn a four year term.
City to get improved Transit Operations & Maintenance Facility. Thanks to $1.1 million in stimulus funds, the city council approved awarded a contract for $2 million to for the improved facility at 525 N. Cain St. The bid was nearly $600,000 under the estimate.
Carrizosa commended. Tuesday night the Visalia City Council awarded outgoing Visalia Unified School District Superintendent Stan Carrizosa a resolution of commendation. Carrizosa is leaving the district in June.
Two students from Goshen Elementary School appeared on the American Idol Gives Back program on April 21. Sixth Grade students Breanna Murillo and Roy Valdez represented the Save the Children non-profit organization featured on the program. Both students participate in the afterschool reading program, Reading Adventures, funded by Save the Children. Save the Children has partnered with Visalia Unified and Goshen Elementary School over the last three years in providing additional support for students in reading.
The COS President's Award, called The Step Beyond Award and it is earned by those who have gone beyond their regular job duties to perform outstanding service to COS, was awarded to Anna Williams, counseling faculty member; Marjorie Scheidt, coordinator at the Hanford Center; John Bratsch, dean of Human Resources and Francis Gusman, VP of Student Services.
DDs Discounts, a clothing store with an outlet already on South Mooney Blvd., is looking to add a 22,000 s.f. store in the Food 4 Less shopping center on North Dinuba Blvd. The company submitted plans to the city's site plan Review committee and was given the go ahead to proceed. Officials indicated the company wants to begin construction this summer. Also, there is interest by another store that would complete the build-out of that center.
An overview of the latest national health care spending trends, shows national health expenditures grew in 2008 at the slowest pace in nearly 50 years. With the country still reeling from the recession, however, the modest spending growth still outpaced growth in the economy, and health care's share of the GDP rose to 16.2%, up from 15.9% in 2007. Total health care spending in 2008 reached $2.3 trillion, or $7,681 per person.
Electric bill refund. A settlement was reached that will bring $400 million in refunds for California consumers who were victimized by market manipulation and exorbitant prices during the energy crisis of 2000-2001, state Attorney General Jerry Brown announced. Customers of Southern California Edison and PG&E are in line for rebates, but how much they will get was not announced..
Fifteen California schools and one school district, including several in Kings County have received Achievements in Respiratory (AIR) Health Awards for taking steps to reduce asthma attacks and triggers that often cause asthma attacks. The schools honored by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) were Hamilton Elementary School and Washington Elementary School in the Hanford Elementary School District that received the highest ratings. Given an award of Achievement: Roosevelt Elementary School – Hanford Elementary School District. Given an award of Excellence: Lee Richmond Elementary School and Joseph M. Simas School , both Hanford Elementary School District. Earning Distinguished Achievement Award: Hamilton Elementary School and Washington Elementary, both Hanford Elementary School District.
By Miles Shuper
Woodlake - Woodlake's annual Western Week continues it's galloping pace leading to this weekend's parade and Woodlake Lions Rodeo Saturday and Sunday.
This 57th annual edition of the professional rodeo is held east of Woodlake at the Woodlake Lions Rodeo Grounds at what is renowned as one of the most picturesque rodeo grounds in the nation.
About 240 professional cowboys and cowgirls will compete for cash prizes in bareback bronc riding, barrel racing, bull riding, calf roping, steer wrestling saddle bronc riding and team roping.
The Woodlake Lions Rodeo is one of the prime events in the Central Valley and is always held on Mother's Day weekend.
The rodeo starts at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Saturday's pre-rodeo slack competition starts at 9 30 a.m. at the rodeo grounds with barbeque beef available at 11 a.m. Presale tickets are $12 and $14 at the gate. Children ages 7 to 12 are $8 both presale and at the gate. Children aged 6 and under are free. Parking is free and overnight RV parking is $25 per day.
Saturday is Military Appreciation Day with all active and reserve military personnel with valid identification admitted free.
And on Sunday, rodeo fans and participants will participate in the “Tough Enough To Wear Pink” nationwide breast cancer awareness campaign sponsored by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Two new additions have been added at the rodeo grounds this year: video screens will be in the barbecue and concession booths and ATM machines will be available for rodeo fans' convenience. The video screenings will include instant replays and CDs of the entire rodeo will be available, said Billy Ferry, Woodlake Lions Club vice president.
Western Week events in downtown Woodlake include tonight's YMCA family carnival with games, food and more at the city park at Antelope and Magnolia from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fruit Growers Supply will host its annual Customer Appreciation Day at 132 Road 204.
Friday night a teen dace for 9th to 12th grade students will be held at the Woodlake YMCA at 179 N. Magnolia starting at 9 p.m. Price is $5.
Saturday is the biggest day of Western Week with a number of activities preceding the 3:30 p.m. start of the Woodlake Lions Club Rodeo.
Woodlake mail carriers will conduct a food drive and will pick up donations left at mailboxes from 6:30 to 9 a.m. The Woodlake Kiwanis Club will host its annual all-you can eat (pancakes only) breakfast in the parking lot at 245 N. Valencia.
At 10 a.m. the parade starts on Valencia moving north to south from Whitney to Naranjo.
Paul Gomez is the grand marshal of this year's events and will lead off the parade which also includes the Rodeo Queen Tarah Rowland of Visalia and princesses Audra Balaam of Tulare, Nicole Graham, Jaclyn Percival, both of Visalia, Eileen Yazzie of Porterville and Laurabell Burns of Lemon Cove.
This year's queen is the daughter of Jerry and Sharon Rowland of Visalia.
Floats, bands, horses and a variety of entries annually attract large crowds. Many local residents and visitors arrive up to two hours early to stake out the best viewing locations.
The action shifts to the rodeo grounds where the rodeo officially starts at 3:30 p.m. in a traditional grand entry and again this year skydiver Kent Lane will descend into the area with a gigantic American flag. The young women of the Riata Ranch Cowboy girls and the Visalia Rockettes will demonstrate their precision and trick riding skills.
Announcing this year's rodeo action will
be Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association announcer Chad
Nicholson.
As part of the tradition, this year's rodeo will include
the popular mutton bustin' contest held during intermissions
on both days. It is open to children between the ages
of 5 and 8.
Following Saturday's rodeo, a dance will be held at the newly reconstructed 2,400 sq. ft. dance floor at the arena pavilion. Cost is $10 with live music provided by Chapparal. Attendees must be at least 21 years of age.
Visalia - About 10 of the 40 citizens who attended the first city council Town Hall Meeting last week came to hear what has been accomplished on the FEMA flood plain issue, but unfortunately, there was not much new news to share with them.
City Council member Steve Nelsen hosted the first of four planned Town Hall Meetings designed to inform citizens what the city is doing and to get feedback from citizens on issues.
“Your council wants to work with you, hear from you,” Nelsen began as people slowly filed into the St. Mary's Parish Hall Thursday night.
Nelsen explained the plan is to hold quarterly Town Hall meetings, each in a different quadrant of the city and each dealing with issues pertinent to that quadrant. Last week's dealt with gangs, traffic issues and the flood plain.
Nelsen admitted that the flood plain issue that placed more than 8,500 parcels into a flood zone requiring expensive flood insurance a year ago is mostly responsible for his running and getting elected to the council last November. He is one of those whose property now falls in the flood zone.
City Engineer Chris Young explained the city has done a lot of work and has been successful in getting more than 500 parcels out of the flood zone, but to date has not gotten the Federal Emergency Management Agency to extend the Preferred Risk Program that allowed property owners to get insurance at a much lower rate in the first year. The city is seeking that to be extended beyond the June 16 deadline, otherwise many property owners will see their flood insurance premium more than triple.
Nelsen said it will take time for the city to get FEMA to change its map, if ever. “Fast track to FEMA is eight years,” he explained, adding the city staff is doing all it can to have the criteria FEMA used to come up with its new flood plain altered.
“The city takes this serious,” he said Young said that the flood plain mapping is a FEMA process and the city is working with both Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer to assist it in getting changes to the map and the Preferred Risk policy extended for another year.
He said the city flood plain hotline that once got as many as 50 calls a day, still gets eight to 10 calls a day.
The city is also looking at ways to mitigate the chance of flooding, Young said, looking at what can be done with the levees or ponding basins to catch flood water.
During the discussion on traffic, several suggestions were made as to where a stop sign or signal light is needed, with one citizens wondering if money would have been better spent on road repairs rather than the Santa Fe Bridge. He was told the bridge is a part of a larger process to provide better north-south travel through the city.
Lt. Jason Salazar, the police department's man in charge of its gang unit, told the crowd of efforts by police over the past several months to curtail gang activity that is prevalent in the northern end of the city.
“I could spend the next eight hours on gangs and what we're doing,” he said, adding that suppressing gangs and gang violence is the No. 1 priority, but intervention and prevention are also a big part of the effort.
“What we're dealing with today is some kids claiming gang membership at age eight or nine,” Salazar said.
He added that while suppression has an immediate impact, intervention will take time. “It is going to take a lot of commitment from the community and hopefully it will pay off for years to come down the road.”
He reported there are 14 gangs in the city and while police have identified 1,284 validated gang members in the city, “It's probably two to three times that number.”
The Oval came up several times, with one woman wondering why nothing has been done and why the city backed off a plan to redo that park and roadway.
North side commander Lt. Perry Phipps said the key is for families to take back the oval.
“We are making some strides. You've got to take baby steps, but at least we're taking steps,” he said.
The other three Town Hall meetings will be held in July, September and November. They will be moderated by Vice Mayor Amy Shuklian, Council Members Warren Gubler or Mike Lane, and will be held in the other three quadrants of the City.
Visalia - Dana Lubich of Visalia can take a little pride in the new Santa Fe Bridge, although his design done in 2002 is not exactly what the bridge looks like today, it is close enough.
“I've kind of followed it over the last nine years,” he said of the progress of the bridge over Highway 198 that was dedicated and opened last Thursday. “It's been fun to see it progress.”
Lubich was one of four people who submitted designs as part of a Valley Voice project in 2002. His design shows pillars with oak trees, similar to how the bridge turned out.
The bridge is part of a larger design to improve north-south traffic through the city, noted city of Visalia Engineering Supervisor Adam Ennis. He said eventually Santa Fe will be turned into a major four-lane roadway from the St. John's Parkway on the north to Ave. 272 on the south.
Mayor Bob Link jokingly said that the project
was “not a bridge to nowhere” and Ennis agreed,
saying it was a major step towards giving motorists quicker
access to downtown and to relieve congestion on other
north-south roadways.
“It's something the city has needed for a very long
time,” noted Link.
The bridge is the first project totally funded by Measure R to be completed in the county, noted Pam Kimball, vice chairperson of TCAG and a Lindsay city council member.
She also said the project shows how Measure
R can be utilized by cities to make improvements to their
traffic systems.
“I'm very pleased that the measure can be used to
fund cities' top priorities,” she stated.
Measure R is the half-cent sales tax approved by voters in the county in 2006 to pay for major road projects. It paid for the $5.4 million bridge that includes time capsules – one to be opened in 50 years and a second to be sealed for 100 years.
Those two time capsules were the finishing touches to the bridge that took less than a year to complete and not only was done on budget, but finished two months ahead of schedule.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
May 6, 2010
