COMPLIMENTS TO VISALIA

In last month’s article, I referenced a recent Fresno Bee editorial that was very complimentary of Visalia as being a business-friendly community.  Let me share with you some excerpts from another article, this one authored by Joe Matthews of the L.A. Daily News and posted July 16, 2013:

“Are you a young person in an expensive coastal city who fears the California dream ended a few generations back?  Do you see no end to your struggles with high rents and a sluggish job market?

“Go inland, young Californian.  If I were younger, I’d think hard about moving to Visalia, population 126,000, about 45 minutes south of Fresno.

“The city is an art center, with its own symphony and opera.  Its downtown has at once old-school charm and new-school functionality, with enough ethnic food options to satisfy even an L.A. hipster.  The minor league baseball team, the Visalia Rawhide, is run with major-league style.

“On a recent visit, I marveled at a three bedroom, two bath, 2,100 square foot house for sale in a spotless neighborhood for $179,000.00.  And you get more than you pay for.  A new survey of Visalia residents found that 69 percent  rated the quality of life in town as either high or very high.

“But what’s most striking about Visalia, and other smaller cities of California, is the relative openness of the people in charge.

“Inland California won’t be built in a day.... but move now, and you can get in on the ground floor.”

Sequoia Shuttle:  On a recent weekend, my brother and I took our families to Sequoia National Park to do a little camping and sightseeing.  In particular, I wanted to test out the Sequoia Shuttle, run for the National Park Service by our Visalia Transit department.  I found numerous shuttle stops within the park, clean, modern and air conditioned shuttle buses, and polite drivers.  I met people on the shuttle buses from around the world.  This shuttle service reduces automobile traffic within the park and certainly was convenient for getting around to the main tourist sites.  I was impressed that each bus not only had the National Park Service logo on it, but Visalia’s logo next to that as well.  This is clever marketing, because when people see this, they will associate Visalia with Sequoia National Park.  I predict that this will pay future big dividends for Visalia tourism.  While a bus ticket from Visalia to Sequoia National Park and back is a mere $15.00 (inclusive of park entry fees, and not much more than a movie ticket), the shuttle buses within the park are free to the public.

Survey Results: The Citizens Advisory Committee conducted their annual public opinion survey and presented their 2013 findings to the city council at our July 15th meeting.  The results included that 69% of the respondents rated the overall quality of life in Visalia as high or very high.  88% rated fire services as good to excellent, and 70% rated police services as good to excellent.  Overall, comparing this year’s survey results with past years, citizens appear to be more optimistic about the direction Visalia is headed, as the economy continues to improve.

Positive Trends: Adam Peck, the executive director of the Workforce Investment Board of Tulare County, recently made a presentation to the VEDC.  Some of the positive trends he noted included that in the third quarter of 2012, Tulare County taxable sales increased by 7.7% compared to the state average of 1.1%.  City of Visalia building permits for single-family homes are up 81% so far in 2013.

Dump on Us Success: On July 20, 2013, Visalia’s Solid Waste department sponsored its quarterly free Dump on Us event at the city yard.  824 vehicles (including mine) visited that morning to dispose of their home refuse, a record for this event.  This successful program just keeps getting better.  A special thanks to Bill Huott, who always organizes a volunteer team of workers with trucks to pick up mattresses, tires and other refuse in north Visalia to dispose of at this event.  The final one in 2013 is scheduled for October 19.  Mark your calendar!

Blue Ribbon Task Force:  At the July 15 council work session, we received the final report of the task force appointed to consider putting a sales tax increase on the ballot.  The committee’s conclusion was that such an increase is not needed at this time, which I agree with.  No proposed tax increase should ever be implemented in a rush, at least not until all the needs of the community and alternatives are explored.  In this case, the slow but steady process worked, and I congratulate the blue ribbon committee on a job well done.


Warren Gubler
Visalia City Councilmember
wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us
(559) 713-4400 x 3313