RELIGIOUS FAITH IN VISALIA

In December, our thoughts naturally turn to religious holidays such as Christmas and Hanukkah.  It is with this in mind that I address the topic of religious faith in our community.

Some would argue that religion should have no part in local governance.  However, George Washington in his Farewell Address, stated that, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”  In the 1830's, a young French
nobleman, Alexis de Tocqueville, traveling throughout the United States, connected the success of America’s democratic republic to the critical role played by America’s religious devotion.  He observed that religion was essential to forming America’s democratic “habits of the heart.”

The Visalia City Council begins every council meeting with prayer.  We invite representatives of all faiths to take a turn in offering an invocation, and certainly we need and appreciate such prayers and blessings.  A while back we were criticized for allowing a person of the Hindu faith to pray at the beginning of one of our council meetings.  However, in a country (and community) that practices religious pluralism, we exclude none and ask that all faith groups participate in making our community a better place.  Legal scholar Quentin L. Cook stated “Under the constitutions of most countries, a religious conscience may not be given preference, but neither should it be disregarded. All voices need to be heard in the public square.  Neither religious nor secular voices should be silenced.”

A recent study conducted by professors at Harvard and Notre Dame found that religious Americans are more generous with their time and money to both religious and non-religious causes.  They are more civilly active,  they are more likely to belong to community organizations, participate in local civic and political life, and work with neighbors to solve problems; and they are more trusting, altruistic and happy.

Let me list but a few of the many examples of how various religions make our community a better place:

1. Food and shelter are provided for the hungry and homeless by local ministries such as The Rescue Mission and The Bethlehem Center.

2. Local churches provide chaplains for our police and fire departments such as Steve Harms, of the Neighborhood Church, who was sworn in as a fire department chaplain at our city council meeting on September 19.  These chaplains provide non-denominational and non-sectarian comfort and counsel to both believers and non-believers in emergency situations.

3. New places of worship were recently dedicated by local Catholic and Jewish congregations, along with a new campus for Grace Community Church.  Not only do these facilities contribute spiritually and aesthetically to the community, but the construction of new places of worship provide local jobs, especially important in our current economy.
4. The local congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints contribute hundreds of man-hours each year on Make a Difference Day and at other times, by planting trees, spreading bark and improving landscaping around community parks, and by cleaning the county museum in Mooney Grove.  They also host the Crystal Apple Awards to honor local outstanding educators.

5. On September 11, a number of churches combined at First Assembly of God to host a  commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and to recognize the heroic actions displayed by our public safety officers both then and now.

Many more examples could be given of the countless ways that local churches and their members contribute to our community.  If your congregation has a special event planned, please let the Visalia City Council know, so that we can join in your celebration.

With these many contributions in mind, I wish “happy holidays” to all and a wonderful time as you celebrate your religious holiday traditions with family, friends and loved ones.

If you have questions or topics regarding the city  which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.  For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.

Warren Gubler
Visalia City Council Member

MIKI, JAPAN

In August, a delegation of ten visitors from our sister city, Miki, Japan, came to visit.  The delegation consisted of mainly adults ages 30 through 60, along with two college students and a high school student.  Why does Visalia have sister cities in Japan and in Putignano, Italy?  President Dwight D. Eisenhower encouraged cities in America to form sister-city relationships in order to promote understanding and brotherhood between the peoples of the world.  Our relationship with Miki was formed in 1993, to further international understanding through the exchange of ideas, culture, education, municipal, professional and technical projects.

As of 2005, Miki had a population of 85,124 people.  It is located south of Tokyo, to the northwest of Kobe.  It is famous throughout Japan as one of the oldest blacksmith towns producing high-quality hardware, and holds an annual Miki Hardware Festival. They are also renown for growing a special kind of rice known as Yamadanishiki, which is used to brew high-quality saki.  The city was founded along the Minogawa River around 700 A.D.  I might add that it has 25 golf courses.

Over the years, Visalia has sent a number of delegations to visit Miki.  Some of these have consisted of local political and business leaders, while some have been high school students.

Our recent visitors kept a busy schedule while they were here.  They were welcomed on Monday at City Hall and were then taken to their host homes where they recovered the first night from their jet lag.  Tuesday was Ag Day as they visited various farms and ag businesses in the area.  Wednesday, they visited local schools, businesses, and the River Way Sports Park.  Thursday they took the shuttle up to Sequoia National Park where they spent the day admiring the giant trees and the beauties of nature.  On Friday they got to see more of the valley as they visited Forestiere Underground Gardens, Fresno State and Kingsburg.

My family was fortunate to be one of the host families, we hosted Ami Maruki, a 16 year old high school student.  She proved to be a perfect match for our two teenage daughters.  In the evenings, each of the host families was responsible for entertaining their guest.  One evening, Ami, my wife and daughter swam in our pool, and did lap races.  Another night we went to watch the Visalia Rawhide baseball team play.  We took Ami to see Costco, a supermarket, and other local businesses.  She was impressed by how large all the businesses here are.  By Thursday night we were running out of ideas, so I took her outside to help me pick some Concord grapes off one of our grapevines.  We juiced some of the grape bunches so that she could try fresh Concord grape juice.  My wife then came up with the idea of making Concord grape jelly, so she spent the evening teaching Ami how to make that, enough for all the Japanese visitors.

The week wrapped up Friday night with an all-American barbeque and swim party in the Gubler backyard.  All ten of the Japanese visitors, along with all the host families, the mayor, the vice-mayor, and other city representatives were in attendance, a total of approximately 60 people.  We had hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, watermelon, and home-made ice cream for dessert.  One of the guests, Mr. Tanaka, performed a karate demonstration for us.  Then each of the Miki guests took a turn expressing in good English their appreciation to the city of Visalia and the host families for a wonderful week.

I spoke with most of the host families at the barbeque, and without exception, everyone had a great experience.  Many gifts were exchanged as is the custom in Japan.  Saturday at 4:30 a.m. our guests were off to San Francisco to sight see there before returning home to Japan the next day.

Having lived for two years in Japan and Okinawa as a young man, I am interested in all things Japanese.  At one time I was fluent in Japanese, although I do not get much practice using it in California.  I was amazed at how much of the language came back to me so that I was able to communicate with Ami and help her with her English in return.  She left my wife and I a note thanking us for an unforgettable experience.  She indicated that my Japanese helped her in understanding what was going on but that she would buckle down and study hard in Japan so that the next time she visits, she will be able to fluently communicate in our language.

We look forward to more visits from our many friends in Miki and to sending future delegations there as well to learn more of their city and customs.  These types of visits and exchanges cannot help but increase understanding between our two cities and our two countries as we continue to form lasting friendships.

If you have questions or topics regarding the city  which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.  For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.

Warren Gubler
Visalia City Council Member

PROJECT DIAMOND

This article takes the reader behind the scenes at City Hall for a  peek at a “cloak and dagger” process that seeks to bring new businesses to Visalia’s industrial park, and which confirms our city’s reputation as being “business friendly.”  On Tuesday morning, August 16, I participated in a meeting at the Convention Center involving Mayor Link, City Manager Salomon, city staff and department heads, and various business groups such as the VEDC.  This meeting was convened to meet with a company from another area that was exploring the possibility of moving to the Visalia Industrial Park.  Six or seven representatives of that business, along with their commercial real estate broker, met with us.  We took turns promoting various aspects of doing business in Visalia and explaining why selecting Visalia’s industrial park rather than going elsewhere was in their best interest.

What was the name of this company?  We didn’t know, we only knew their code name of  “Project Diamond.”  The people we met with used first names only.  By our allowing this anonymity, businesses can investigate the local industrial park without worrying that the news might prematurely leak out to competitors, unions, or even the local press.  The company has the luxury of conducting its due diligence and formulating a decision on its own time line.

While we were in this meeting, word came that another large business was in town exploring the possibility of locating here as well.  Once a decision is made by Project Diamond, hopefully a favorable one, I’m sure that a press release will be issued.  A similar process was used when VWR was exploring making Visalia’s industrial park its new home.

Our industrial park is becoming a hot commodity, due to its easy access for transportation purposes, and being part of a community like ours where educational, recreational, and shopping opportunities abound.  Visalia’s strategic location along Highway 99 in close proximity to San Francisco, Sacramento and Southern California markets with modern amenities in its industrial park make it ideal for companies to locate and/or expand here. The following is a snapshot of recent industrial park activity provided to me by Ricardo Noguera, our Economic Development Director:

VWR  (New company)
This project is scheduled for completion in early 2012.  VWR’s new Visalia location will be its largest globally, with a 500,000 square foot facility (larger than 8-1/2 football fields), doubling VWR’s footprint on the west coast and allowing this medical supplies company to reach more customers with next-day deliveries.

PERFECTION PET FOOD  (New company)
Perfection Pet Food is a subsidiary of family-owned Western Milling.  The new plant will manufacture and process dog and cat food in a new venture for the company, which currently processes livestock feed.  The factory is expected to hire between 40-50 employees.
VF OUTDOORS  (Expansion of existing company)
VF is in the process of adding approximately 40,000-45,000 square feet of mezzanine in their facility.  This company manufactures sportswear, clothing and footwear.  Visalia’s 900,000 square foot plant supplies retailers throughout 14 western states.

MOR FURNITURE FOR LESS  (New company)
MOR Furniture for Less has leased nearly 100,000 square feet of space from the Diversified Development Group and is consolidating distribution centers in Visalia from Fresno and Bakersfield.

HYDRITE CORPORATION  (New company and merger)
This is a Wisconsin-based chemical company which has purchased an existing company and will expand in Visalia over the coming months.  This company provides services to the agriculture industry.

These new projects will add to the thriving business atmosphere in our industrial park, which will in turn attract additional new businesses I predict.  After our meeting with the Project Diamond team, we received a note from the commercial real estate broker indicating that “Visalia continues to be the gold standard in hosting these types of meetings.  The Project Diamond team was very impressed.  The city team was outstanding as always in its presentation.”  New businesses locating to our industrial park mean new construction jobs, new permanent jobs, and additional city tax revenues.

Airport Update:  Effective September 8, 2011, our local airline, Great Lakes Airlines, has announced that it will add a second daily flight to Las Vegas.  With 30-day advance purchased fares starting at $95.00 to Las Vegas, the airline was experiencing many weekend flights that were sold out and many more travelers trying to book seats, according to Mario Cifuentes, Visalia airport manager.  Based thereon, Great Lakes thought it would be a good idea to add capacity to the Las Vegas route.  As previously reported, the new Los Angeles service was an instant hit.  Those passenger totals continue to climb as well.  Kudos to Great Lakes Airlines for providing attractive destinations and prices for our local business and leisure travelers.

In August, local Catholics dedicated their new Parish Center on the property site of St. Charles Borromeo Church, and the Congregation B’Nai David dedicated their new Jewish Education and Cultural Center.  Both facilities are beautiful and functional, and a great addition to our community.  

If you have questions or topics regarding the city  which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.  For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.

Warren Gubler
Visalia City Council Member

Medical Marijuana In Visalia

Medical marijuana continues to attract attention in the news.  In Kern County, eight people were arrested recently for growing 2,462 marijuana plants, supposedly for their own medicinal purposes.  In Fresno County, pot dispensaries were recently raided by law enforcement, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash were found secreted therein.  The L.A. Times reports that marijuana is a significant contributing factor in a growing number of fatal automobile accidents.  Right here in Visalia, greenhouses have been erected in a residential neighborhood with hundreds of plants being cultivated.  A teenage boy selling marijuana was arrested at a local park, while in possession of his own medical marijuana card.  “Specialist doctors” grant medical marijuana cards to the people lined up outside their office door.  Such cards can be had by practically anyone willing to pay the doctor’s fee.

Such is the status of California’s experiment with medical marijuana, which began in 1996 when California voters approved Proposition 215, entitled “The Compassionate Use Act (“CUA”).”  The CUA was intended to ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes only where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician.  In 2004, Senate Bill 420, entitled the “Medical Marijuana Program (“MMP”),” was enacted to clarify the scope of the CUA and to allow cities and counties to adopt and enforce regulations.  In 2010, Proposition 19, which attempted to legalize all marijuana usage in California, was rejected by the voters.

On the federal level, Congress has determined that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that the illegal distribution and sale of marijuana is a serious crime that provides a significant source of revenue to large-scale criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels.  Congress enacted the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”).  Federal law preempts state law and per a June 29, 2011 U.S. Dept. of Justice memo, persons who are in the business of cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana, and those who knowingly facilitate such activities are in violation of the CSA.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are not expressly mentioned in either the CUA or the MMP, and the recent case of City of Claremont v. Kruse, concluded that cities retain their police power to regulate and, if necessary, restrict the operation of dispensaries.  Numerous judicial decisions have confirmed that California voters did not intend to allow large-scale commercial operations.  The court in People v. Urcizeanu held that the CUA “creates a narrow defense to crimes, not a constitutional right to obtain marijuana.”  The city of Anaheim in 2007 banned all marijuana distribution facilities consisting of three or more people who otherwise qualified as patients or caregivers under the CUA or the MMP.  When the city was sued by a collective, the court concluded that Anaheim could use its police powers to ban marijuana distribution facilities and impose a criminal penalty for violating the ban.  More than 130 California cities have imposed bans like Anaheim’s, now joined by Visalia.

Visalia City Council members are sworn to uphold the laws of the state and nation.  Accordingly, on July 18, the council approved Ordinance 2011-10, dealing with medical marijuana issues locally, to be effective September 1, 2011.  This ordinance was adopted pursuant to the city’s basic police powers, which permits the city to adopt laws protecting health, safety and welfare.  In instances where the state has not preempted local lawmaking authority, a city is free to regulate.

In summary, Visalia’s new ordinance prohibits medical marijuana dispensaries and all other medical marijuana businesses inside the city of Visalia.  Such businesses are defined as a “facility or location, whether fixed or mobile, where marijuana is cultivated, made available and/or distributed by or to three or more persons.”

State law permits individual use and cultivation for medical purposes only.  Visalia’s new ordinance protects the integrity and safety of residential neighborhoods from smoke and odor, by prohibiting outdoor marijuana cultivation and use.  It prohibits large, uncontrolled cultivation activities in residential neighborhoods which present safety, nuisance and blight problems to neighbors.  Said ordinance only allows use of medical marijuana inside a private residence.  Cultivation must occur in a fully enclosed and secured structure with solid walls and roof, but not in any living space.  Any person cultivating up to 100 square feet per parcel indoors must obtain a city building and safety inspection every three months and must pay inspection fees.  Such person must provide evidence of qualification to conduct marijuana cultivation as a medical marijuana user.

Visalia’s new ordinance is a good-faith attempt to comply with state law, while providing protection to our citizens and neighborhoods from abusive practices.  Nothing in state law requires or allows the for-profit sale of marijuana through dispensaries or collectives.

If you have questions or topics regarding the city  which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.  For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.

Warren Gubler
Visalia City Council Member

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

How is California doing, compared to other states, in keeping businesses here and being "business friendly"?

In the last 10 years, Texas has added 732,800 private sector jobs, the most in the US, while California showed the biggest loss of such jobs with a decline of 623,700. The Wall Street Journal reported that Fujitsu Frontech, which recently announced it would leave California, became the 70^th business to leave the state since January. An average of 4.7 businesses are moving out each week. What’s driving the business exodus from California? Business owners and analysts boil it down to one word: government. Many claim that California’s red tape and regulations are killing business. California has the fourth largest government of all U.S. states, with spending equal to 18.3% of the state’s GDP. California’s highest state corporate income tax rate is 8.84% and its highest personal income tax rate is 10.55%, compared with other states like Texas which don’t have such taxes. The San Francisco Examiner also reports that California’s capital gain tax and energy taxes are the highest in the country. Job growth in the Silicon Valley has flat-lined. Firms keep their headquarters there, but pursue growth in friendlier states. Google, Intel, Cisco, and other companies locate new plants in states such as Arizona, Utah, Texas, Virginia or North Dakota. California has the second highest unemployment rate in the U.S.

With that in mind, let’s look at the specific example of a new business locating to Visalia’s industrial park, VWR. That company has purchased a 33-acre site, upon which it will build a 500,000 square foot facility (larger than 8½ football fields), with room for expansion. VWR is a global scientific and laboratory supply distribution company. It outgrew its Brisbane and San Dimas, California facilities years ago (where it rents), and will be closing those operations to relocate to its own property in Visalia. Over 100 jobs will be created here and posted on vwrjobs.com for Visalia residents to apply. The new Visalia location will double VWR’s footprint on the west coast and allow the company to reach more customers with next-day deliveries. They looked at other options outside of California, but chose the Central Valley, and settled on Visalia simply because it was the best geographic location and had the available infrastructure. The construction project is due to be finished by mid 2012.

In the free market system, some businesses come to Tulare County, and some businesses leave, that is their prerogative. It is the city’s job to make our community attractive to both businesses that are already here, and to those that are seeking to relocate here. The realities are that the San Joaquin Valley has an available work force, and the cost of doing business here is less than in other areas of the state.

Now, let’s look at how "business friendly" California has responded to VWR’s move to Visalia. San Francisco Congresswoman Jackie Speier told a crowded room full of anxious Teamsters recently that she would do everything in her power to keep VWR from leaving her district. "I’m going to make it a living hell for them moving forward," Speier said of VWR. State Treasurer Bill Lockyer also was at that meeting, and said that he was reviewing whether the state’s employee retirement system, CalPERS, should continue to invest in the parent company of VWR. Speier chimed in "This is a moral issue," comparing it to divestment campaigns against apartheid South Africa in the 1980's. While VWR’s current facility in the Bay area is a union shop, in Visalia the company will operate, at least initially, with non-union workers. Accordingly, the Teamsters union filed a lawsuit against VWR and the Visalia City Council, claiming that the city did not follow appropriate CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) procedures, and trumping up claims that an additional 10,000 daily truck trips would be made in and out of Visalia. That lawsuit was successfully defensed, and construction goes forward. Now, the Teamsters and others have sent letters to the California Dept. of Industrial Relations, claiming that the VWR distribution facility and the improvement of adjoining Riggin and Kelsey roads are covered by the prevailing wage law, which could increase the cost to the city of widening those roads by $250,000.00! The city’s response is that the VWR private development project is separate from the road project, and that this is a municipal road project not involving any state, county or regional funds such that the provisions of the city charter, not the prevailing wage law, apply.

VWR recently wrote that it feels like it has been attacked and discredited by state officials and the unions, who have made statements that are untrue, unfounded and without merit. VWR stated that it has been committed to the State of California for over 50 years by providing employment, tax dollars and community support. They made it clear that if they had not found Visalia, they would have relocated out of state under these circumstances.

While it appears that California is adopting policies that drive businesses away, I for one, welcome VWR and other businesses to our community, and pledge that Visalia will do what we can to make them feel welcome here. P.S. When VWR, Super Walmart and others come on line, watch how the local tax revenues will blossom, and budgets will balance.

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313. For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.

Warren Gubler

Visalia City Council Member

FLY AWAY

Over the years, I’ve flown a number of times out of the Visalia Airport on business trips. It’s hard to beat our local airport for convenience. During the almost 30 years that my family has resided here, Visalia has had a number of airline carriers and destinations. I recall previously flying into L.A. for connecting flights. For a period of time, we had service to the North Las Vegas airport. That was impractical because once there, you had to take a shuttle bus to the McCarran Airport (approximately a 45-minute ride with stops at the casinos), in order to rent a car or make a connecting flight. More recently, I have flown from Visalia to Ontario Airport, but that seemed to be off the beaten path. Usually these flights had few passengers. Our current carrier, Great Lakes Airlines, depends on federal subsidies to make ends meet. While we appreciate these subsidies, I don’t foresee them lasting much longer, perhaps ending as soon as 2013 due to federal budget constraints.

Recently, it was announced that Great Lakes has procured gates at LAX and McCarran airport. With the economic downturn and consolidation of airlines, these gates became available. Beginning May 15, 2011, Great Lakes flies out of Visalia twice daily to Los Angeles, and once daily to Las Vegas. Since I had a business trip scheduled in Las Vegas, I decided to take advantage of this new travel option, and to act as an investigative reporter, in order to share my experiences with my readers.

Saturday morning, May 21, my daughter Rachel dropped me off at the Visalia Airport (parking is free by the way). I arrived approximately one hour before my scheduled flight time and was quickly checked in. I was the only passenger departing from Visalia on that flight. The four security guards ran me through the security devices, and fortunately no alarms went off. I boarded the Beech 1900D with its turned-up wingtips, which has a single row of eight seats on each side of the aisle, and three seats in the back. We taxied down the runway at 9:41 a.m. I spread out on the back three seats and enjoyed viewing the San Joaquin Valley farmland below as we took the 25-minute jaunt over to Merced, where five more passengers came on board.

We then took off from Merced airport for the one hour and twenty minute flight to Vegas. Being in the back row of seats, I was able to look out the windows on both sides of the plane. Shaver and Huntington lakes soon came into view as we flew over the snow-blanketed Sierras. I could see the boat docks below on Shaver Lake, along with the point on the lake where boy scout Camp Chawanakee is located. On the eastern side of the Sierras, Owens Valley came into view. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to look down at the town of Lone Pine and see the road and entrance known as "the Portal" that leads up to Mount Whitney, where I had hiked with my son and scout troop a few summers back.

Beyond Owens Valley, we quickly traversed the Mojave Desert. The captain’s voice soon came over the intercom, announcing 81º and sunny in Las Vegas. We made a big loop as we circled above Las Vegas, on my right I could see Lake Mead. As we made our descent, we came in parallel to The Strip. The Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, the great Sphinx and an obelisk were at eye level as we descended for the landing at McCarran International Airport. We arrived right on time at 11:44 a.m. at gate E25. I was able to quickly pick up my luggage at Carousel 12 and enjoy the rest of my business trip.

The Visalia Airport opens a window to the rest of the world, whether you have business in Los Angeles or Las Vegas, or use those airports for connecting flights to other areas. By booking on-line in advance, a flight to L.A. costs around $50.00, and to Las Vegas costs around $90.00.

I hope this article has encouraged you to give our local airport your business and to try out this new travel resource. Increased ridership will make government subsidies unnecessary, and will make our airport self-sufficient. As they say in Vegas, "What happens in Visalia, doesn’t have to stay in Visalia!"

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313. For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.

Warren Gubler

Visalia City Council Member

THE DELIBERATION PROCESS

In this article I’d like to address how the deliberation process works as to the Visalia city council. How are decisions made at City Hall?

The issues that are deliberated at city council meetings come from council members themselves, the general public, or are raised by the city manager or department heads. An agenda is prepared and staff reports are drafted on each agenda item. The staff reports are compiled into what usually turns out to be a rather thick binder and are given to the council members in advance to read and study. All agenda and staff reports are posted in advance, and may be viewed on the city’s website, www.ci.visalia.ca.us under city government.

The city council usually meets on the first and third Mondays of every month. Depending on the press of business, additional council meetings are scheduled as necessary. The usual format is that Monday meetings begin with a work session commencing at 4:00 p.m. at City Hall. The work session usually lasts from 4:00-6:00 p.m. At the work session, opportunity is given for public comment, presentation of reports by city staff, and open discussion and deliberation by council members.

At 6:00 p.m., we go into closed session. In closed session, only council members, invited staff and the city attorney participate. This meeting is not open to the public, and what is discussed is limited by the California Brown Act (Government Code §§ 54950, et seq.) generally to personnel/labor, real property, and litigation issues.

Thereafter, the formal city council meeting commences at 7:00 p.m. We have a consent calendar of items which for the most part do not require extensive discussion since they are considered routine, and often have been deliberated upon previously. Any member of the public or member of the council can ask that a consent item be pulled for further discussion and review. Otherwise, the consent calendar is enacted in one motion and approved by council vote. The city council then deliberates and votes upon the remaining agenda items. The meetings are usually concluded by 9:00 p.m., but have been known to last much later!

Under the California Brown Act, which requires open and public deliberations, the five council members may not meet together unless it is done in a meeting open to the public, and with sufficient notice to the public. Outside of formal advertised meetings, no more than two council members may be present at the same time if city business is involved. Nor may a council member meet individually with each of the other council members in order to poll them or solicit their support on an issue.

There are certainly more expeditious ways to conduct business, but these open meeting rules are designed to promote more transparency and to protect the public’s right to know.

While many of the issues that come before the city council are straightforward, resulting in a unanimous vote, it only takes a majority of three of the five council members to agree in order for an item to be adopted.

In attendance at council meetings, you will usually find the police chief, the fire chief, other public safety officials, department heads, those with business interests, college students who are there for class credit, and regular attenders who just want to monitor what is going on at city hall. We invite all citizens of Visalia to visit the city’s website to find out what issues are coming before the council, and also to attend council meetings.

Word has it that The Habit burger grill has pulled its building permit, and construction should begin soon on the Merle’s remodel.

Finally, in an attempt to move into the 21^st Century, I have created a blog of my past articles for Direct Magazine. If you missed any, feel free to read them at directfromwarren.blogspot.com.

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.

Warren Gubler
Visalia City Council Member

MISERY INDEX

Forbes Magazine recently released its annual rankings for the most miserable cities in America. California cities didn’t fare very well, as eight of them placed in the top twenty. Forbes used 10 major factors to rank cities, including weather, unemployment over three years, tax rates (both sales and income), commute times, violent crime, and how their pro sports teams have done.

In my opinion, these types of rankings are often somewhat arbitrary and subjective. When I came across this article on the internet, I hurriedly scrolled through the list of top twenty miserable cities in America to see if Visalia had achieved this distinction. I’m happy to report that Visalia was not on the list. However, you might recognize a few of the ones from our valley: Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield. I believe that Visalia was skipped over for this "honor" because it is a well-run city, has lower tax rates than many others in the area, has no commute times, violent crimes are down, and the Visalia Rawhide continue to be winners.

Stockton had the dubious honor of being number one on the most miserable list. In response to Stockton’s poor rating, City Manager Bob Deis stated that "Stockton has issues that it needs to address, but an article like this is the equivalent of bayoneting the wounded." While Visalia certainly isn’t without its problems, I believe most of our citizens acknowledge Visalia’s livability and agree that it is the "jewel of the valley."

Changing topics, I note elsewhere in the state that the city of San Bernardino just imposed a 10% pay cut on their fire fighters union. Additionally, the city of San Jose indicated that it’s possible that 349 police officers and 145 firefighters could lose their jobs this coming year, which is on top of the 49 firefighters who lost their jobs last year. Overall, it is conceivable that one-fourth of their public safety employees will face layoffs. San Jose officials are projecting a looming $110,000,000.00 deficit. That city is looking to get all unions to implement 10% concessions in total compensation. If those concessions are somehow accomplished for all unions, then it is possible that only 237 officers could lose their jobs. Other cost-saving measures suggested including turning off street lights, reducing library hours, and closing community centers.

I mention the foregoing merely to emphasize that while Visalia has its own budgetary concerns, due to past conservative spending and laying in store for a rainy day by building up its reserves, Visalia has so far been able to keep its budget in balance. More tough decisions for the City Council are ahead regarding how to stretch our limited resources and about potential cuts in services and/or benefits.

In 2010, two firefighters from Miki, Japan, one of our sister cities, visited Visalia. Mayor Link, Fire Chief Nelson, and I hosted them at Fire Station 55 and gave them a tour of this new facility. One of our visitors, Shigeyoshi Daito, stated that his specialty was rappelling out of a helicopter onto the top of skyscrapers in emergency fire situations. Not long ago I received an email from him indicating that Miki was not affected by Japan’s recent earthquake and tsunami, since Miki is located to the south of the affected area. However, Mr. Daito indicated that his fire team was heading to Fukushima for search and rescue. We are pleased that our sister city survived these natural disasters, and wish Mr. Daito and his highly-trained team the best in their relief efforts. I might add that his specialty is not one that our local fire department trains for, since Visalia is not yet in the skyscraper business.

On a final note, I received a nice email from Visalia resident, Annabell Jennings, in response to my recent Direct Magazine article, "Recovering From December Rains." She wrote this about our city staff: "I’m so grateful that those men and women were willing to go the extra mile to keep our city and residents safe. It is so refreshing to hear that people still do those things."

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.

COOL, CLEAR WATER

As a boy, I remember hearing the Sons of the Pioneers sing:

All day I've faced a barren waste

Without the taste of water, cool water

Old Dan and I with throats burned dry

And souls that cry for water

Cool, clear, water

I was reminded of this song when I attended the Visalia City Council Strategic Planning Workshop on February 4, 5, 2011. A report on Visalia’s water supply was presented there by Kim Loeb, Visalia’s Natural Resource Conservation Manager, and Mark Larsen of the Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District. The following are excerpts from that report.

Visalia’s water supply is obtained solely from ground water that is primarily purveyed by California Water Service Company (Cal Water). Ground water beneath Visalia occurs in the Kaweah Basin, which is part of an inter-connected aquifer system that extends across much of the San Joaquin Valley. In the Kaweah Basin, agricultural pumping accounts for about 90% of the groundwater used.

The depth to water in Visalia averaged less than 20 ft. below the ground until about 1960; averaged between 20 ft. - 40 ft.from 1960 to 1990; declined precipitously to about 75 ft. by 2000; and dropped down to an average of 115 ft. below the ground in 2010. By December 2010, the depth came back up to 110 ft., most likely due to groundwater recharge efforts.

During the 1990's, the average decline in our Visalia groundwater table was 3 feet per year. In the 2000's that increased to 4 feet per year.

Cal Water’s annual pumping has increased about 233% from approximately 15,000 acre ft. in 1980 to about 35,000 acre ft. presently. Cal Water estimates that it can pump 23,500 acre feet per year without contributing to the overdraft. Cal Water pumping has exceeded the estimated sustainable amount since 1995; however, regional overdraft has a significant impact on water levels beneath Visalia, irrespective of Cal Water’s pumping. As surface waters become less available for farming purposes, mainly due to environmental issues, more groundwater is pumped, adding to the decline of Visalia’s water table. Likewise, as Visalia’s population continues to grow, more water usage is anticipated. The majority of the city’s water is used for landscape irrigation.

The City is at the forefront of efforts to address this water overdraft issue. Visalia has an ongoing groundwater recharge program. When funding is available and prices are reasonable, the City purchases surface water on the spot market to recharge groundwater. The water is run through waterways or placed in basins to percolate into the ground and recharge the aquifer. Over the last five years, the City has recharged an average of 2,800 acre ft. per year. In 2010, the City purchased and recharged over 7,800 acre ft.

Visalia’s current water conservation plant upgrade will enable the City to recycle 100% of our wastewater. Some of the recycled water will be used to irrigate facilities on the west side of the city, but plans are to trade the majority of the recycled water with farm irrigation users west of the City in exchange for surface water that can be used for recharge on the east side of the city. Approximately 14,500 acre ft. of recycled water will be generated annually by the upgraded water conservation plant, and as much as 24,500 acre ft. may be generated by 2025.

Additionally, plans are to construct infrastructure to deliver recycled water from the wastewater treatment plant to irrigate Plaza Park, Valley Oaks Golf Course, and the Visalia Municipal Airport so that irrigation wells at these facilities can be turned off. The system can be expanded to support new development on the west side of the City.

Of course, water conservation by our citizens can directly improve the City’s water supplies. While analysis suggests that less than half the water artificially recharged may provide a direct benefit to the City (although it does to the region) water conservation provides a one-to-one direct benefit. An acre foot not pumped is an acre foot saved.

Visalia, and the region, is on an unsustainable course. At this rate, wells will continue to go dry, requiring expensive, deeper drilling. The City must do its part to reduce its increasing water demand and to increase supply. The General Plan update will address these concerns further. Long-term regional solutions are also required as more than 90% of groundwater use in the Kaweah Basin occurs outside of the City.

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.

STORMY WEATHER

In my article last month, I briefly touched upon our December rainstorms. I want to address the topic again this month in more detail.

Visalia experienced 6.27 inches of rain in December 2010. We received 1.55 inches of rain on December 18-19 alone! Another big storm passed through the following week. It was the wettest December in Visalia’s history!

And yet, not a single home or business flooded. Lessons were learned from prior severe storm experiences. This time, City staff became aware of the pending storms based upon a National Weather Service forecast on December 12. Staff met on December 16 to discuss how to respond. On the order of Fire Chief Mark Nelson, an emergency operation center (EOC) opened at 4:15 a.m. on the morning of December 19, in the basement of the downtown police station. The EOC remained open for five days to deal with the impact of the storms on the community. At approximately 10:00 a.m. on December 19, City Manager Steve Salomon made a declaration of local emergency. The Visalia City Council affirmed that declaration at its meeting on December 20.

Our city has over 40 ponding basins. Currently, we own three portable, trailer-mounted pumps, and in this particular emergency we needed to locate and rent 10 additional ones. These can pump 3,000-4,000 gallons of water per minute. They were used to pump water from the ponding basins into adjacent creeks and ditches.

One of the major priorities occurred at the Mineral King and Linwood basin, located at Bruce McDermott Park. This basin quickly filled to overflowing, largely due to Caltrans pumping rainwater from adjacent Highway 198 into that basin. In order to stop the water from overflowing the basin, city staff got Caltrans to agree to stop pumping water into it from 198. Once the Caltrans pumps were turned off, rainwater filled the section of Highway 198 between Akers and Demaree, which resulted in the closure of Highway 198 for approximately eight hours. This reprieve from Caltrans pumping allowed city staff to operate an excavator and break the north bank of the ponding basin, which allowed water to flow from the basin into the adjacent Persian ditch, and from there west out of the city. After the water level lowered in the basin, the highway pumps were turned back on, the water in the Highway 198 depression was pumped into the McDermott basin again and ultimately out through the Persian ditch.

This is but one example of the swift city responses to emergency situations throughout the community. Several small basins overflowed or reached capacity but did not cause significant damage to private property. In most cases, these basins overflowed because lift station pumps were not able to move the water from the basins to canals. All functioned, but some were moving water very slowly because pumps became plugged with leaves. Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District and Tulare Irrigation District worked with the city to provide capacity in the channels for city storm water run-off. If this storm had occurred in the spring when there was simultaneous snow run-off, there would have been substantially more flooding problems to handle.

At the January 17 city council meeting, the council appropriated $968,000.00 from its general fund reserves to temporarily fund needed repairs, with the majority of that, $650,000.00, allocated to repair the sink hole at Ferguson and Shirk near Fire Station 55. We believe a large portion of these monies will be reimbursed from state and federal emergency funds. Staff will continue to assess our emergency response and will bring a report back to the city council at a future council meeting for further direction. Included in these considerations is the recommendation to purchase seven additional portable pumps with hose to be used in future such emergencies.

Again, I applaud the efforts of the city’s emergency response personnel in dealing with these storms and in minimizing the potential damage that could have been caused thereby. Perhaps FEMA could take some lessons from Visalia as to how to respond to such natural disasters!

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.

Warren Gubler

Visalia City Council Member

High Speed Rail

In mid-December, Visalia Mayor Link, assistant city manager Mike Olmos, and myself met in Hanford with Hanford’s mayor and vice-mayor, along with members of the High Speed Rail Authority. Our main objective was to begin coordinating efforts between our communities to get ready for and to help implement the new Kings/Tulare station that will be built between our communities, near the corner of Highways 198 and 43.

The Rail Authority announced recently that the first phase of California’s high speed rail line will be built from Fresno on the north, south through Kings County and Tulare County, and ending approximately at Bakersfield., The only two stations announced to date are the Fresno Station and the Kings/Tulare station. When adding up the bond money previously approved by California voters, and matching federal ARRA funds, along with the additional ARRA funds which Wisconsin and Ohio declined and which got re-directed to California, approximately $5.5 billion dollars will be available for the first 100+ miles of track.

At this meeting we learned that this section was chosen to be built first, because construction and land acquisition costs in the Central Valley are anticipated to be less than elsewhere in the state, and thus more can be built with less. It is estimated that for every billion dollars spent on this high speed rail line, 20,000 jobs will be generated. This is the first time that such massive funding has been appropriated to the Central Valley by the state and federal government. I believe that this infusion of cash will jump-start our local economy.

Construction needs to commence no later than September 2012 so that these funds are not forfeited. The track will continue to be extended in both a north and south direction as additional funds become available on a yearly basis. We learned at this meeting that it will still be a few years before high speed trains will actually run on these tracks, as the electrical power source will be added later. Ultimately, passengers will be able to travel on these bullet trains at a speed of 220 miles per hour between San Francisco and Los Angeles and elsewhere.

At one time, there was a question as to whether we would even get a station in our area, and there were discussions that our local communities would have to pay for such a station if and when it was built. Due to the location selected for this first phase, our station became indispensable as part of the initial game plan, and full funding thereof is anticipated from federal and state monies. With the work already progressing to add two additional lanes to Highway 198 between Visalia and Hanford, Visalians will have easy access to the station. There is excitement in the air as we anticipate this new project, and what it will mean for local jobs, for boosting the local economy, and for the future. This is the train to prosperity! I have ridden the Shinkansen in Japan and the Eurostar in Europe, and high speed rail is a superior form of transportation.

Speaking of mass transit, the Visalia City Council has agreed to participate in a program with COS to initiate a COS student pass, commencing winter semester 2011. All students at COS will be charged $5.00 per semester, with COS contributing another $.40 per student per semester. In return, all enrolled students will receive a transit pass good on most fixed-route systems in the county. This pilot program has the goal of giving our students an affordable option for transportation, will hopefully cut down on some of the parking problems at COS, and will give them a taste for the benefits of public transit.

Finally, kudos to city staff and personnel for their prompt and efficient response to the recent rain storms that hit our area. While many citizens were just coming to terms with the 4+ inches of precipitation, city staff had opened up an emergency operations center in the basement of the downtown police department, where our city manager, Steve Salomon, and other personnel directed the city’s emergency response. Many of our city staffers stayed up throughout the first night directing workers at various ponding basins to make sure that pumps were in place and working and that waters were being discharged through local ditches and creeks to prevent flooding, similar to that which occurred in 2006 in the Cobblestone area. On Sunday, December 19, I drove around the community with my youngest daughter, and we observed our fire fighters and other city staff manning the pumps and hoses at these ditches and basins. Water damage was limited. Hats off to our city personnel for their quick and effective response.

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.

Warren Gubler

Visalia City Council Member

LOOKING BACK

As we come to the end of 2010, and anticipate 2011, it’s a good time to reflect upon the City of Visalia’s progress over the past year. The national economy is still moribund, and city government has attempted to stretch your tax dollars without raising taxes further. The construction industry locally is still off, but there are glimmers of better times on the horizon. Visalia is still a great place to live, raise families and do business. Our local economy will get better.

The local transit center expansion was completed, and the final touches are being put on construction at the Ben Maddox interchange and on Mooney Boulevard. The transit center expansion includes 31,371 square feet located just south of the existing transit building. It features twelve new bus bays, above each of which new monitors will display "real-time" bus arrivals and departures. The transit center provides a connection point and distribution center for various transit services. The transit center facilitates connections between Visalia transit, Dial-a-Ride, Visalia Town Trolley, Tulare County transit, Tulare City transit, Kings area rural transit, Sequoia Shuttle, Orange Belt Stages, Greyhound and a connection to Amtrak. Down the road, we hope that there will also be a connection to the new high-speed rail station located between Hanford and Visalia.

The following is a list of some new commercial development in 2010. Remember, these are pieces to the puzzle as we re-build Mooney Boulevard and the Visalia business climate in this economy. Eventually, the pieces will all fit together nicely in a complete mosaic.

Vallarta--The grand opening of this new supermarket was held September 22, in the Orchard Walk Shopping Center in north Visalia. This store exudes the fun and flavor of old Mexico with some unique offerings. A few weeks after its grand opening, I dropped by with my son to inspect some of their speciality items. I was amazed at how packed the store was with customers.

Hobby Lobby--This craft store will be opening December 27, 2010 in the old Mervyn’s location at the Sequoia Mall. This company is big time, with 462 stores in 39 states, especially strong in the Southeast and Midwest. Special kudos go to Mayor Link and city staff for encouraging Hobby Lobby to enter the California market here in Visalia first. Find out more at www.hobbylobby.com.

Rabobank--Rabobank is moving into the old Blockbuster Video store on South Mooney, next to the Sequoia Mall. They expect to be open by the end of December 2010. Another plus for the Sequoia Mall and its comeback.

Main Street Promenade--This development by The Mangano Co. broke ground earlier this year and the first phase is expected to be completed by Summer 2011. This is the first new office and retail development on Main Street in many years, and hopefully will lead to more investment in the east downtown area.

VWR International--In August 2010, VWR International LLC announced that it was building a new facility in Visalia’s industrial park. The facility, approximately 500,000 square feet, will be a distribution center. VWR is headquartered in Westchester, PA and is a global laboratory and distribution company with worldwide sales in excess of $3.5 billion dollars in 2009. The Visalia distribution center will act as a supply chain solution for this company in the western United States. The facility is expected to be operational in 2012 and will create many jobs locally.

The Habit--Coming soon to Visalia at the old Merle’s location across from COS. This company started in 1969 in the Santa Barbara area and now has 39 locations in California, Visalia will be its 40^th. I personally investigated their only location in the San Joaquin Valley, recently opened at Fig Garden Village in Fresno. I found the burgers, salads, shakes, sandwiches, fries and onion rings to be tasty, and reminiscent of 1950's dining. I particularly recommend their hot pastrami sandwich. Find out more at www.habitburger.com or take your own taste test in Fresno. I believe this to be an excellent solution to how to use and restore the old Merle’s location. I predict that the citizens of Visalia will enjoy frequenting this new business establishment, and that it will help rejuvenate North Mooney Boulevard.

Happy New Year to all!

If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313.

Warren Gubler

Visalia City Council Member