Drought Update - I recently read an interesting article which indicated that "California has a Mediterranean climate in which the vast majority of precipitation falls during the 6-month period from October through March. In fact, more than 80% of California's rainfall is during the cold months. As a result, it's very difficult to get significant changes in the drought picture during the warm season." Most of California's water needs depend on 161 reservoirs, which are typically replenished during the winter months. As of May 31, the state's reservoirs added less than 6.5 million acre feet of water over the winter, 78% of the typical recharge of the 8.2 million acre feet. This was the fourth consecutive year that reservoir recharge failed to reach the historical average. The cloud's silver lining (no pun intended) is that many forecasters are now predicting that this will be a robust El Niño winter coming up and we may experience heavy rains, which will hopefully replenish our groundwater and reservoirs. According to Kevin McCusker at Cal Water, for May Visalia's water usage was down 27% over the 2013 base year level, down in June 25.3% and down in July 28.2%. While not quite meeting the 32% reduction mandated by the state, I would suggest that this is remarkable progress and I give Visalians a pat on the back and encouragement to keep conserving. City manager Mike Olmos recently observed that our city organization exceeded the state's mandated water reduction target. City facilities, buildings, landscaped areas, landscape and lighting districts, parks, and all other city-owned areas have reduced water usage by 34% over the first six months of 2015. Most of the city's water reduction was made in the areas of landscaping, parks and sports fields the city owns. It is a huge challenge to reduce water usage to this level and still maintain quality parks, playable sports fields and our urban forest. We thank the park's maintenance division (Jeff Fultz, Tim Skobel and the park's maintenance staff) and our arborist (Joel Hooyer) for their extraordinary efforts.
Transit App - Regular Visalia transit riders will love the new Visalia Transit app which is available for both Apple and Droid phones. Unveiled at a recent council meeting, this new app provides real-time information about where the buses are, adjusted arrival times, and a current schedule of options. It will even plan your route from where you are to where you want to go. Over two million riders use Visalia transit each year. I recommend that you download this app and enjoy the (bus) ride.
Tourist Dollars - The Visalia Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) in their annual report to the city council, announced that visitors to Tulare County spent more than $445 million during 2014 and produced more than 4,770 jobs. The CVB was responsible for contracting thirteen new conventions during the year that will result in over 24,000 attendees utilizing 11,000 room nights. Visitors to Sequoia National Park were up by over 100,000 in 2014. The CVB booked the girls' CIF wrestling championships for another three years and the Golden State Spirit Championships for 2015. With this volume of tourism, no wonder two or three new hotels are on the drawing board for Visalia.
Senior Games - Don't forget, October 21-25. Register now at visaliaseniorgames.com. The Kiplinger Letter mentioned that senior households are on track to nearly double in the next 15 years. By 2030, the aging baby boomer population will expand the number of households with folks aged 65 and up to 46 million, from 25.8 million in 2010.
Thank You Letter - Leland and Marie Castro wrote the city recently. They mentioned that they regularly take walks from their house along the Packwood Creek trail toward the recently constructed Kiwanis Park near McAuliff and Tulare Avenue. "Since installing the plant vegetation, sprinklers, lighting and upgraded landscaping around Packwood Creek trail area, the neighbors have really enjoyed taking walks through the newly landscaped area. We want to personally thank Michael Santos of the Urban Forestry Department who has been the most visible CSET on-site supervisor and his hardworking crew who have spent countless hours making our neighborhood area look great." Thank you Leland and Marie for noticing and commenting, and we hope that you and your neighbors enjoy these amenities for many years to come.
Warren Gubler
Visalia Vice Mayor
(559) 713-4400 x 3313
wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us
