Page 5 - Reedley Exponent 1-25-18 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A5 Thursday, January 25, 2018
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
About 40 people attended the Jan. 18 Reedley Planning Commission meeting. The commission approved a conditional use permit for an emergency housing facility at 1697 W. Huntsman Ave. People in attendance spoke out in favor and in opposition of the project.
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chase of the property shows the outstanding foresight and vision of our school board” as they plan for the future growth of the district.
And, he said, “we want to have that need met in ad- vance so we’re not left like many districts have been been — scrambling.”
Kings Canyon Unified currently has nearly 10,000 students at 20 campuses (in- cluding Reedley Middle Col- lege High School at Reedley College), plus alternative schools.
With the purchase of the Orange Cove location, KCUSD now has three sites for future campuses.
The other two are in south Reedley and were ac- quired in 2012. One site, at 47.82 acres, is near Frank- wood and Floral avenues. The other site is nearby and consists of 44.79 acres in the 10000 block of East Avenue (of that acreage, 20.32 acres were donated).
Quinto said that once land is purchased — and dis- tricts have the responsibility to offer fair market value — there is a process the state requires called School Site Approval Procedures.
It takes at least a mini- mum of five years to com- plete and includes a list of areas to be addressed. For example, a school site must comply with the California Environmental Quality Act.
In a separate matter, the KCUSD trustees on Jan. 9 approved continuing the district’s consulting services agreement with Townsend
Public Affairs, Inc. The con- tract, for $5,000 per month, initially began in January 2015. It now will continue through Jan. 1, 2020, with an option to extend through Jan. 1, 2021.
The firm, founded in 1998, provides consulting services to government enti- ties, such as school districts, special districts, cities and counties. The city of Reedley is a current client. Townsend has offices in Central, North- ern and Southern California as well as Sacramento and Washington, D.C.
Chelsea Vongehr, a se- nior associate, reported to the trustees that Townsend since 2015 had secured more than $1.6 million in funds from federal, state and local grant programs. Vongehr said that “is quite a signifi- cant return on investment, approximately 810 percent.”
Those grants included two amounts of $500,000 each from the California Energy Commission for Central Valley Transporta- tion Center CNG equipment. (CNG stands for compressed natural gas.)
The transportation cen- ter is a state-of-the-art col- laboration between KCUSD and the city of Reedley that’s near Buttonwillow and Huntsman avenues, just south of the Reedley Sports Park.
Campbell said after the meeting that “we value our partnership with Townsend and the work they do for us in our district. Through working with them, we’re able to provide some things for our students we other- wise would not be able to.”
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the facility and the remaining 40 percent on operational aspects.
Robert Miller and Sage Clark, two neighboring residents of the facility, said they oppose the project’s location. They said crime occurred often in the area when the Marjaree Mason shelter operated and declined when the facility closed in 2016.
“My opposition has nothing to do with how much the city of Reedley needs this. It has everything to do with where this home is placed,” said Clark. “I hear a lot of the complaints, concerns. I go out first hand and witnessed the graffiti, the bro- ken glass.”
Miller said that the facility’s location also was a problem for him, in addition to what he claimed was past history at the site.
“Again, there was criminal activity during [the time of the] Marjaree Mason Center,” he said. “There were other vehi- cle burglaries, petty thefts that occurred. Drug paraphernalia.”
Miller cited other concerns.
“The lack of public transportation. It’s out in the middle of nowhere,” he said. “There are no public services in the gen- eral area. Stores, medical facilities, oth- ers things. Facilities like this need to be in a downtown area where they can get the services they need.”
Miller didn’t believe the Department of Finance can provide money to a city or county for a purpose unrelated to what he said is stated in the grant that is linked to transitional housing. He said there is a half sentence statement in the grant that says the facility can be used for other purposes, including housing criminal of- fenders.
“I strongly urge you to vote no. You have an entire community against this,”
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Robert Miller, a resident at River View Estates near a proposed emergency housing facility in southwest Reedley, addresses the Reedley Planning Commission on Jan. 18. Miller said his opposition to the facility is its location, not the concept.
Miller told commissioners.
There were supporters of the proj-
ect who spoke to commissioners during public comment. Kathy Wilson said she’s lived in the community for 53 years and volunteered intermittently for 10 years at Open Gate Ministries in Dinuba — a nonprofit that Faith House organizers looking to model their facility after.
“It is a wonderful organization,” she said. “{They’ve] helped people who are displaced because of the citrus freeze, who lost their jobs. Homes they’ve lost because of fires, divorce or loss of other jobs. There is a great need for this.”
Wilson said she had complete confi- dence in Reedley police Chief Joe Garza and Ken Baker, police chaplain and pas- tor at Heritage Church of God when they tell her that former convicts or drug ad- dicts would not be staying at the home.
“I’ve known the Bakers for six years. They have a real heart for ministry,” she said. “They have a heart for the commu-
nity and a heart for the public I think it’s a valuable asset.”
Baker said he wanted to house and ministry to be run with what he called the highest amount of integrity possible. The facility would have an on-site man- ager living in the house and would be consistently monitored.
“I’ve been involved in leadership for 20 years and made a lot of tough deci- sions that were not popular,” Baker said. “I’ve even lost friends along the way. But I’ve always tried to make my decision based on what’s good for the community as a whole.”
Like Wilson, Baker said he has com- plete confidence in Garza and police lieu- tenants Marc Ediger and Hector Aleman.
“If we can’t trust our own police de- partment and chief of police then we should all just go home, close the blinds and wait for the world to end,” he said.
Public comment followed a detailed 45-minute presentation by Rob Terry, community development director. Terry went over details of the project and house and reviewed history of the site.
After public comment ended, com- mission chair Alberto Custodio made a motion to approve both resolutions. Com- missioners Pete Perez and Brian Bissett joined Custodio as “yes” votes.
Following the meeting, project op- ponents didn’t indicate that they would appeal the commission’s vote. They did pledge to continue to make public com- ments at all city government meetings. Miller and Clark both addressed the Reed- ley City Council at the Jan. 23 meeting.
On Jan 17, Soleno responded in writ- ing to the residents’ notice of intent to recall him from office. By Jan. 22, resi- dents had collected 26 names to the intent letter and planned to submit it to the city. Reedley and Fresno County then would have 10 days to respond with approval to the petition.
north, ending when the truck became stuck in a dirt field near Manning and Smith av- enues.
The release said that citi- zens helped detain Ambriz, the driver, while Herrera and Bray ran from the truck. When one of the officers confronted Herrera with his handgun, Herrera pointed the .22 rifle at the officer. Other CHP officers approached seconds later and Herrera was taken into cus- tody without further incident. Officers also arrested Bray.
Sheriff’s deputies and offi- cer searched the pickup truck and found a shotgun, cash and jewelry that had been taken from the home.
Herrera remained in the Fresno County Jail as of Jan. 23. Bail was set at $410,000.
Windows makeover
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Workers with Yanez Construction checked their work Jan. 20 after removing awning from second-story windows above the West Coast Mennonite Central Committee offices and Mennonite Quilt Center on G Street. The awnings adorned the windows for decades but had fallen into disrepair. Officials decided to remove the awnings rather than replace them.
HOMICIDE Continued from page A3
at a CHP officer.
A Fresno County Sheriff’s
Office news release said the incident began just before 11 a.m. Jan. 17 at a residence near the intersection of South Zediker Avenue and East Kamm Avenue. The release said three men, armed with a handgun and baseball bat,
HOMICIDE Continued from page A3
from where 46-year-old Pe- dro Mantancillas was found fatally shot on Dec. 6. Man- tancillas suffered from mul- tiple gunshot wounds.
Investigators haven’t found a connection between the two killings. No suspects have been arrested in Man- tancillas’ death.
smashed a glass door and entered the home.
A wom- an was inside the home at the time and ran to a nearby
Lorenzo Herrera
office, the woman’s husband arrived home and followed the men leaving the area in a red Dodge pickup truck.
A CHP officer pa- trolling nearby was notified and attempted to pull the truck over using his lights and
Morgan Bray
business to get help and call 911. According to the sheriff’s
have any information on this case. They can call Det. Hec- tor Palma at (559) 600-8204, Det. George Razo at 559-600- 8206, or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-7867 (STOP). In- formants will remain anony- mous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
Baldemar Ambriz
siren. The suspects refused to stop and a chase ensued
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