Funds Aim to Stimulate Housing Market

By Rick Elkins

Visalia - Those looking to purchase a new home can now find some assistance through the city of Visalia's New Home Deferred Second Mortgage Program.

While most admit it is not the complete answer to the struggling home construction industry, they do say the program will help and hopefully it will move some buyers to begin looking at purchasing a new home.

Ricardo Noguera, city Housing and Economic Development director, said the goal of the program is to “enhance employment in the construction community through the building of more homes.”

Replacing the First Time Homebuyers Program for a year, the new program provides up to $40,000 of a second mortgage on the purchase of a new home – one already constructed or yet to be constructed.

The city has set aside $520,000 of its HOME investment fund for the program that Noguera hopes will assist at the least 13 home buyers. Based on the funding formula, the money will be available for homes ranging in price from $120,000 to $180,000.

The council gave initial approval last week to the program that if given final approval this month, will begin Oct. 1.

Georgina Valencia with McMillin Homes is encouraged by the program.

“If that helps sell a couple of houses, that's good,” she said. “If it helps get more people get into a new home, that's better.”

Noguera said about seven local builders will participate in the program. He said the city is looking at builders to offer some matching funds – 5 to 10 percent – to put more money into the program.

This is the first time the city has used housing funds to stimulate new home construction. In the past, such dollars were used for existing home sales. “At the minimum, what it does is it demonstrates the city is trying to help the building community and it helps homebuyers,” he said.

Valencia said any help is welcomed. She said sales of new homes picked up in May, then slowed in June and have not changed a lot since. “We all hoped we'd see more consistency,” she said of the market that has been hit hard by the recession. “People just aren't feeling 100 percent confidence about their jobs,” she added.

However, she remains hopeful and said programs like the one the city is starting provides hope that things will begin to improve soon. She is also pleased to see the city trying to help stimulate the housing construction industry.

One thing is timing, she noted. The extra loan incentive comes on top of the lowest home prices in years and the lowest mortgage rates in history. Last week Freddie Mac reported a 30-year-fixed rate at 4.36 percent.

“Interest rates are phenomenal,” said Valencia.

What Valenica and other builders hope is that programs such as the city of Visalia's will stimulate buyers to once again begin looking at new homes.

So far this year the city of Visalia has issued just 228 permits for new homes and is on pace for about 400 new homes this year. That pails when compared to 2005 when 1,500 new homes were constructed in Visalia.

Program

In order to qualify, an applicant must have a fixed rate first Mortgage, financed by FHA, CHAFA, or Conventional Freddie Mac (VA with approval). They must have good credit.

The city-backed second mortgage is up to $40,000 and payments are deferred for 15 years unless the home mortgage is refinanced or the home is sold. It must be owner-occupied.

Also, the family income must be less than 80 percent of the area median income (Example: For family of four, maximum gross family income must be under $45,050.) And, borrowers must attend an 8-hour homeowner workshop.

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Visalia's Largest Oak Tree Removed Quietly,
Tree Was More than 280 Years Old

By Miles Shuper

Visalia - The huge oak tree on the 18th tee at the Visalia Country Club, which was considered Visalia's largest and likely oldest oak tree, is gone.

There had been concern for some time that the diseased and rotted tree, estimated to be more than 280 years old, was rotten from the inside and in danger of falling
City ordinance prevents oak tree removal without a permit, a process which has been enforced for a number of years.

Although an Emergency Oak Tree Removal Permit was granted on July 7, and the tree cut down about three weeks later, the lack of public notice of the removal isn't setting well with local oak tree preservationists.

Although they agree that the removal permit process was followed, the preservationists are miffed that they weren't notified.

Allen George, considered “Mr. Oak Tree” for his long-time oak tree preservation efforts as well as historic research, said, “I was shocked when I found out” the tree had been removed.

George said he learned of the removal from Sandy Newman, also a long-time oak tree and history advocate, who noticed the tree was gone as she drove on Goshen Avenue near the County Club.

Newman, George and historian Terry Ommen were among those who put the huge tree on the list of stops for a couple of oak tree tours. George called the Visalia County Club oak “our pride and joy,” adding that it likely was alive when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.

The County Club oak was the largest found during an extensive survey of city oaks, Ommen said, adding that oak tree size generally is considered an indication of a tree's age.

A printed program for an oak tree tour in September, 2005 puts the golf course oak at 55 feet tall, 23 feet in circumference and 276 years old. The circumference is measured from breast height, according to David Pendergraft, the city's urban forestry supervisor.

Pendergraft, a certified arborist, issued the permit which states “the base and trunk of tree is decayed and hollow with the tree's outer ring supporting the tree. In addition, the tree has a severe lean and serves as a safety hazard in its current condition. The tree should be removed as soon as possible.”

The removal was done by Halsey's Tree Service which had inspected the tree several times and used it during a demonstration during another oak tree tour. Steve Halsey, also a certified arborist, concurred with Pendergraft the tree was a hazard and needed to come down.

Connie Fields, Halsey's sister, said her brother and his crew expected a group to gather to witness the downing of the golf course oak. “He told me he was shocked that there was not a group of people there to watch the operation,” she said.

George said he and others are considering formation of a committee which would review and serve in an advisory capacity as part of the city's oak tree removal permit process. Such as group, he says, would add transparency to the actions taken under provisions of the city oak tree ordinance.

Ommen said, “I'm disappointed the community was not made aware of the pending removal,” He added that since oak trees and the Fox Theater are Visalia icons and part of the City Of Visalia logo, the removal of the biggest and oldest should have been publicly noted.

Although provisions of the ordinance allow for appeal of a tree removal permit decision within seven days, Ommen and George said they basically had no way of knowing about it unless they specifically inquired with city officials.

Ommen said the Visalia County Club obviously followed the required procedures and acted out of concern for safety.

Pendergraft, who said he granted the emergency removal permit requests based on safety, said suggestions that a committee be formed to review potential removal of oaks with significant historical value might have some merit. He said he has worked with Ommen, Newman, George and others and was among the speakers during the oak tree tours.

“I stood under that tree at the County Club and mentioned that the tree would have to come down sometime in the future.”

The No. 2 tree at 1406 Beverly Drive, is 115 feet tall, 17. 5 feet in circumference and estimated at 210 years of age.

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Great Lakes Hoping to Land at LAX

By Rick Elkins

Visalia - For more than a year now Great Lakes Airlines, which offers two flights daily out of the Visalia Airport, has been looking for a new destination. That new destination is Los Angeles International Airport.

Mario Cifuentez, airport manager for the city of Visalia, confirms that Great Lakes is negotiating with LAX. Right now Great Lakes flies to Ontario International Airport, but with the downturn in the economy the number of connecting flights out of Ontario has dropped, making it less attractive to travelers. He said the main carrier out of Ontario is Southwest Airlines, which does offer many destinations.

“I'd love to see that,” Cifuentez said of the LAX destination. “I'm confident LAX will do great for us. It offers more flights,” he said, adding that Great Lakes may be in the same terminal as United and Delta.

Kassi Mohlenkamp, regional sales manager for Great Lakes headquartered in Wyoming, said the airline is “aggressively” pursuing a spot at LAX.

“We obviously see the need,” she said. “It's a big challenge.”

Great Lakes had looked at offering flights to Vegas. Several months ago it switched its Merced flights from Ontario to Vegas, but Cifuentez said the logistics could not be worked out for Visalia.

“Only way to do Vegas for us would include a stop in Merced,” he said. The plan is the flights from Visalia would be direct to LAX.

LAX is one of the biggest airports in the world with thousands of flights in and out every day. From LAX, a traveler can go almost anywhere in the world. Great Lakes does not have any flights into LAX today.

Cifuentez said the number of travelers using Great Lakes is down, but with only two flights instead of three offered every day, the number of passengers per plane is up slightly. Mohlenkamp agreed, saying that “things are looking up” for the airline.

Airport Improvements

The city recently got two Federal Aviation Administration grants to make improvements at the airport, including a study of a new terminal.

Cifuentez said he is moving his office out of the terminal in a few days. He and his assistant are relocating to the old city fire station office at the airport. The terminal will still open for passengers.

“In these tough economic times we have to look at using the space that we have more efficiently. We had a portion of the old fire station that wasn't being used, but due to its location, was only suitable for aviation related tenants,” said Cifuentez who said the city decided to remodel a portion of the building to accommodate the airport administrative staff.

He said the city is looking at leasing the office space in the terminal as well as two other small offices in the old fire station.

Part of the new terminal study is to determine how the city can extend Airport Drive to eventually where a road will circle the entire airport, tying into the road where the new animal shelter will be constructed on the west side of the airport.

“We would have to move the terminal to develop the access road,” said Cifuentez who added while it doesn't seem like there is enough room for a road on the north end of the airport, there is plenty of room. “Eventually, you will be able to drive completely around the airport,” he said.

The Airport got a second grant to do engineering design for drainage improvements to the runway safety area.

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Mighty Casey Comes to Miracle League of Visalia

Visalia - Mighty Casey may have struck out in Ernest Thayer's 1888 poem, but he is now a hit in Visalia.

A 7-foot bronze statue formerly displayed in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, now sits at the site of Visalia's Miracle League on West Caldwell Avenue.

The statue will be unveiled at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 10, during the Miracle League's opening ceremonies of its fall season.

“It's just so cool looking. It's the first thing you see when you walk on the grounds at the facility,” said Gary Geiger, founder of the Miracle League of Visalia.

The world famous bronze statue, “Mighty Casey,” is the work of renowned sculptor Mark Lundeen. Since 1987, the statute has been displayed inside the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was brought to Visalia this summer thanks to generous league donors.

It sat in Geiger's back yard for a couple of months before it was placed at the baseball facility a week ago. The statue has been placed where the fountain once stood and will be illuminated at night.

Geiger said only 15 of the statues were done and this is the first to be sold. He found it at an auction house. “Two guys in Oklahoma had it,” he said.

“It is probably the best known bronze baseball statue out there,” added Geiger. “It's a mythical figure that this sculpture characterized.”

According to Wikipedia, “Casey at the Bat, subtitled 'A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888,' was first published in the San Francisco Examiner on June 3, 1888. It was later popularized by DeWolf Hopper in many vaudeville performances.
“A baseball team from the fictional town of Mudville (implied to be the home team) is losing by two runs with two outs in their last inning. Both the team and its fans (in the poem, about 5,000 attended the game) believe they can win 'if only' they could somehow get 'Mighty Casey' (Mudville's star player) up to bat. However, Casey was scheduled to be the fifth batter of the inning – the first two batters (Cooney and Barrows) did not reach base, while the next two batters (Flynn and Jimmy Blake) were perceived to be weak hitters with little chance of reaching base to allow Casey an at bat.

“Surprisingly, Flynn hits a single, and Jimmy Blake follows with a double (Flynn reaching third on the play). Both runners were now in scoring position and Casey represented the potential winning run. However, Casey is so confident in his abilities that he doesn't swing at the first two pitches, both strikes. On the last pitch, the overconfident Casey strikes out, ending the game and sending the crowd home unhappy.”

The Miracle League is celebrating its 15th season of providing the opportunity for disabled youth and adults to play the game of baseball on two state-of-the-art diamonds. Miracle League participants are paired with “Buddies” who are able to compete in sports of all kinds and in other areas of life.

Geiger said approximately 150 players participate, with more than double that number of volunteers. The Buddies assist players on the totally handicapped-accessible playing surface in games that allow everyone to get a hit and score a run in each inning.

To play or volunteer, call 635-1478 or visit, www.visaliamiracleleague.com.
Geiger, a huge baseball fan, attended the Chicago Cubs' tribute to Andre Dawson on Monday.

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Local Entities Play State Budget Shuffle

Tulare County - Local governments and state-supported entities dealing with a delayed state budget has almost became as much of a sign of the season as the start of school and the football season.

As Sacramento sleeps – no action on a state budget that was due July 1 – local governments or entities that rely on the state for funds are scrambling to come up with money to pay their bills.

Hardest hit is Family Health Care Network which CEO Harry Foster says is going this week without its first Medical payment from the state. That payment is roughly $600,000 a week.

Foster has been through this before. As have Eric Frost, city of Visalia Administrative Services director, Rita Woddard, the county's tax collectors and treasurer, Tulare County, Christine Statton, Visalia Unified chief financial officer, and Dr. Bill Scroggins, president of College of the Sequoias.

“It is unforgiveable that they do this every year and all they do is hurt people,” said Foster. He said FHCN will have to borrow money to cover its bills until the state finally passes a budget which some speculate will not be until after the November state election. On that ballot is a measure that would allow the state Legislature to need only 50 percent plus one vote to pass a state budget. The law now requires two-thirds approval and in this day of partisan gridlock, that is nearly impossible.

While clinics like FHCN will eventually get paid – once a budget is passed – Foster pointed out it will not be repaid the interest it must pay. He said last year that interest was about $30,000. “That's $30,000 that could have gone to patient care because of their monkey business, and it is monkey business.”

At COS, Scroggins said community colleges are also operating on a line of credit as state payments are missed. The July payment – COS is paid quarterly – was missed and it is likely the October payment will be missed as well. Also being hurt are students who get financial aid, such as Cal grants and Pell grants.

“We've been advancing money to students,” said Scroggins, who added the college paid out $17 million in financial aid last year and it looks like more will be paid out this year.

“The lines for financial aid have been out the door,” he said, saying there appears to be more need by students for financial aid this year than last year.

Like Foster, Scroggins said the budget crunch it is becoming the norm. “It's anticipated. It's sad,” he said.

The situation is a little less dire at Visalia Unified School District and the city of Visalia.

“We're probably OK because we will be using cash balances for a few months, then at that point it might affect us,” said Christine Statton, VUSD chief financial officer.

Even then, Statton said they plan on borrowing from other resources.

The state's payment of gas tax revenues to the city have been delayed, said Frost. That occurred last year as well.

However, this year the state has said it will not be paying the gas tax until April.

Frost said that is about $200,000 a month in revenue for the city – about $2 million between now and April.

Luckily, he pointed out, the state does not have much left to take away from cities, but not having a budget and the uncertainty that brings is not good for anyone.

“It's just bad, and what do you gain from this,” he said of the budget stalemate.

As they have n recent years, Tulare County officials are borrowing money to pay bills, especially welfare payments.

With California's budget mess still unresolved, the county is in the process of borrowing up to $55 million from Union Bank via a line of credit.

Woodard said, “We have borrowed money each year to cover the payments to recipients and to fund the mandated programs when the state does not send us the monies. Our plan is once again to borrow any monies needed to cover the approximate $10 million per month cost for funding the mandated welfare program. We have heard that the state budget may not be passed for several months - no budget, no monies forwarded for the state share.”

She said part of the welfare payments to the county are made by the federal government and monies are funneled to the county through the state. The state is supposed to timely forward the federal share to the counties. The shares are inconsistent from month to month, she added.

“Under the law, we must make the welfare payments to recipients whether the state pays us or not. We will have administrative costs to make these payments whether the state pays for those costs or not.”

The inconsistency in the payments received by the county is a continuous problem, Woodard said.

“For instance, in July 2010, approximately 43 percent of the CalWORKS program monies were from the federal government and 57percent from the state. In August, the state paid 99.3 percent of the CalWORKS program.”

Although amounts vary, Woodward says the county pays about $30,000 per month in interest on the money it borrows over usually three to four months a year. The county does not recoup those costs, she said.

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SECOND FRONT PAGE

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What's New

Water table improvement. Steve Johnson, superintendent of production for California Water Service in Visalia, said the latest measurement of the underground water table under Visalia found the water level had risen a foot from a year ago. The company's last measurement of its 85 wells found an average water depth of 114 feet in June. “Last year it was 115, so we've come up a foot,” note Johnson, who added that last June the water table was down eight feet from the year before. “What we'd like to see to start is to stem the decline,” said Phil Mirwald, district manager with Cal Water.

The Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) has received a $100,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation entitled “2011 Tulare-Visalia Communty College Connection Transit Study” to study a plan to provide unlimited bus service to COS students for a $5 per semster fee.

The number of foreclosure proceedings begun in Visalia rose in July. RealtyTrac reported that 376 foreclosure proceedings were begun in Visalia, up from 320 during June. The number of foreclosure proceedings was up in most areas of Tulare County, with the total 866, 97 more than in June. Tulare had 143 foreclosures, Porterville 155 and Dinuba 47. In Kings County, foreclosures were down in July from June. Total for the county was 222 compared to 246 in June. Hanford had 125, Lemoore 57 and Corcoran 25.

The Auto Club reported that motorists in Visalia are paying just 6 cents a gallon more than they were a year ago for regular unleaded. Prices Monday were $3.168 a gallon, up a penny from a week ago and about the same as last month. A year ago the price at the pump was $3.104. “Crude oil prices have plummeted by about 14 percent in the last three weeks from their 2010 high point of nearly $83 a barrel on Aug. 4, but unfortunately, as is often the case, gas prices are dropping much more slowly,” said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring. “However, prices are almost identical to where they were this time last year.” Gasoline consumption edged down 0.1 percent in May 2010 when Californians consumed 1.290 billion gallons of gasoline compared to 1.291 billion gallons consumed in May 2009.

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Visalia - A little bit of the Central Coast is coming to downtown Visalia.

Anthony Mungia and Nathan Micola are planning to open Bailey's Bar & Grill at 215 East Main Street, site of the old McWilliams and Mosley clothing store. The building has already been partially remodeled as someone else began transforming the old clothing store into a restaurant a while back, then abandoned the plan.

The two Tulare residents are hoping to bring some of the flavor and ambiance of the coast to the sea food and steak restaurant.

Mungia has lived in Pismo Beach for the past 12 years, managing different restaurants there including the Pierside Seafood restaurant just off the beach in Pismo.

“I want to bring some of Pismo with me,” said Mungia.

Bailey's will offer sea food, steaks, burgers, pasta, and more at “mid-level” prices, the two friends said. “We're going to try to keep prices under $16,” said Mungia. The menu will also include freshly made clam chowder and several different sea food dishes including fish and chips. “A little bit of everything for everybody,” said Micola.

The restaurant will offer lunch and dinner, seven days a week to start. He said they want to offer affordable dining and a place where families can have a nice time.

Micola, who ran Nate's Café in Tulare, said they hope to blend into Downtown Visalia, partnering with other businesses on promotions. They both feel downtown is a perfect fit for them and that it is alive and vibrant – ingridients needed for a restaurant.

Besides fine food, the two friends said they will also have a full service bar and a small stage to offer entertainment on weekends.

The name Bailey's is a story in itself. Bailey is a bull terrier that belongs to a neighbor. The dog will be incorporated into the restaurant's logo and marketing.

The two have been planning on opening a restaurant together for some time. “We've been talking about it for over a year,” said Micola. Mungia said when the partially remodeled building on Main Street became available, they move up their timetable.

Plans are to open the restaurant in December. They said it will employ about 25 people.

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Visalia - Visalia residents might notice a little more water pressure now that California Water Service's million gallon tank has been put into service.

The $2.8 million tank at Roeben and Riggin in northwest Visalia was finally completed and tied into the private water company's system this week.

Phil Mirwald, district manager for Cal Water, said the 600-foot deep well and tank is capable of pumping 3,000 gallons of water a minute into the system. That is more than double any other well in the company's Visalia system. The well is also the deepest in the city.

“It will add pressure in northwest corner. But it has a domino effect – meaning less water from other areas of the city will not be needed in that area,” explained Mirwald.

“You're adding several thousand gallons of water that wasn't there before,” added Steve Johnson, superintendent of production.

The biggest difference will be noticed between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. - peak hours for water usage.

“It helps to meet a growing demand,” said Mirwald. “It's always good to have something like that on hand for fire flow,” he added. Having improved fire flow can be a role in lowering the city's fire insurance rating, although Mirwald did not know if the addition of the tank alone will make that much of a difference.

The tank is the company's first ground level tank. Cal Water provides all of the water for the City of Visalia. Right now, the only two storage tanks are the elevated tanks, one near Redwood High School and the other at Roosevelt and Santa Fe. Both of those hold 300,000 gallons.

The well and storage tank site on Riggin is designed to keep all wastewater and storm drain water on site, instead of putting it into the city's storm system, said Johnson. “If we need to drain the tank, will not have to go into the city's system,” he said.

“It was about a two year project,” Johnson said, adding it took them it little longer than expected to get it completed. “We were hoping having it on line by the first quarter of this year,” he said.

He said they did not run into any problems, but being the largest project undertaken by the company in Visalia, it just took longer than they expected.

A second million gallon tank a little further west is being completed. “It is pretty much a carbon copy of this one,” said Mirwald, adding they hope to have it up and running by next summer.