Mid Valley Times 10-10-19 E-edition

Thursday, October 10, 2019 Vol. 1, No. 15 'Setting bad precedent' an issue in Sanger meeting By Rick Curiel Mid Valley Times A matter of reimbursing a local contractor for improve- ments at the intersection of 7th and West streets became contentious at the Oct. 3 Sanger City Council meeting. The action item brought to the council was unlike most reimbursement agreements, in that the contractor in ques- tion, Samuel Lucido of Lucido Properties, requested an ad- ditional 10 percent on top of the reimbursement amount for administrative fees, some- thing city staff and the city attorney believed would set a bad precedent. “Paying for administrative fees is something that is sim- ply not done,” City Attorney Hilda Cantu Montoy advised the council on Thursday night. “I have not seen it done in any of the cities I’ve worked for. It would set a bad precedent. And for that reason, it’s not recommended.” Lucido Properties recently did improvements to an office building located on 7th street. Those improvement included replacing alley gutter and asphalt, some of which, ap- proximately 150 feet, was city property. After discussing the matter with Sanger’s City Engineer, it was determined and agreed that the appropriate reim- bursement for the improve- ments totaled $34,753.98. The amount of the reimbursement was never questioned by city staff or the city council. The matter of an additional 10 percent on top of the amount, however, was. Lucido was allowed to ex- plain his reasoning for the ad- ditional costs. See COUNCILonpageA6 Boy, 8, dies in crash 50 cents Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times A member of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad takes an x-ray of a package that was removed using the squad’s robot. The package was discov- ered Oct. 7 at the Northgate Apartment complex in Dinuba, magnetically affixed to the bot- tom of a silver Jaguar. Bomb squad called out for package in north Dinuba By Rick Curiel Mid Valley Times The Dinuba Police De- partment called out the Tu- lare County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad the afternoon of Oct. 7 after finding a mysterious package under a vehicle at the Northgate Apartment Complex. According to Dinuba PD Detective Sgt. Eric Trevino, the small package was dis- covered by the of a silver Jaguar four-dour sedan. The owner then called police to investigate around 5 p.m. and officers found that the package was affixed to the undercarriage of the vehicle. See PACKAGEonpageA14 Alex Contreras consoles Anna Saldana (in black) at an Oct. 6 candlelight vigil for 8-year-old Eliseo Saldana, who died in an Oct. 4 crash at the intersection of South and Alta avenues northeast of Reedley. Contreras and Anna Saldana were riding in the vehicle with Eliseo when they were hit. Both suffered minor injuries. Reedley's Eliseo Saldana died after vehicle he was in was struck north of city By Juanita Adame Mid Valley Times Rows of cars, trucks and motorcycles lined Alta Avenue near South Avenue on the evening of Oct. 6 as family and friends came to show their support for the Saldana family after their youngest son, Eliseo Saldana, 8, was killed in a car accident on Oct. 4. “He was very loving, caring, he cared about everyone,” said Fernando Saldana, Eliseo’s old- er brother. “He was a nice kid, he was so loved A photo of Eliseo Saldana was placed at the accident site on Alta Avenue and South Avenue. Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times by everybody.” The accident happened just after 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of South Avenue and Alta Avenue. See ELISEO on page A14 Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times Reedley will vote on proposed sales tax in March By Jon Earnest Mid Valley Times The Reedley City Council approved an ordinance to hold a special election in March 2020 for Reedley voters to decide on levying themselves a three-quarters cent transactions and use tax. Before a sparse audience on Oct. 8 in the council chambers, the council voted 4-0 — council member Bob Beck was absent be- cause of illness — to adopt a resolution giv- ing notice that a special municipal election will be held in conjunction with the Califor- nia presidential primary on March 3, 2020, to present Reedley voters a measure to levy a general purpose transactions and use tax of three-quarter of one percent. On a suggestion by fellow council member Mary Fast, Ray Soleno made a motion to approve the primary reso- lution for an election. But there was one substantial addition that the tax if passed would require an annual audit or a 10-year review. The tax measure has no automatic sunset clause. The vote followed a near-45 minute presentation by Paul Melikian, assistant city manage, stressing the financial need for the tax to prevent the city from deal- ing with rapidly rising annual deficits. More information on the vote will be in future issues of The Times. Nishinakas are Reedley Fiesta King and Queen for 2019 Ron and Kathy Nishinaka are pic- tured outside their north Reedley home on Oct. 4. The cou- ple are this year's Reedley Fiesta King and Queen, and will rideinthe annual Fiesta Parade on Saturday, Oct. 12, in downtown Reedley. Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times By Jon Earnest Mid Valley Times Kathy Nishinaka confessed that she was a bit perplexed when she and her husband, Ron Nishinaka, were told they had been selected the Reedley Fiesta Queen and King for 2019. "It's such an honor to be recognized," she said. "We just feel it's very strange that they picked us, because we feel like 'what have we done?'" That's a bit of an under- statement. The couple owned and ran a well-known regional busi- ness, Dinuba Garden Center, for a quarter century. Both have extensive teaching back- grounds; Ron for more than 37 years as an instructor special- izing in ornament horticulture at Reedley College and Kathy for seven years in Fresno be- fore raising a daughter (Erica, 40) and son (Garrett, 30) in a family that now includes four grandchildren. And there's leadership. Ron Nishinaka served two terms on the Reedley City Council from (1978 to 1986) including two years as mayor pro tem, then after retiring from Reed- ley College worked with Tree Fresno and then served two terms (2010-2018) as a trust- ee representing the RC area for the State Center Commu- nioty College District. Kathy, meanwhile, has served with the Reedley Buddhist Church See NISHINAKASonpageA11 Classifieds - B4-5 Directory - A12 Legals - B6-10 Sports - B1-2, B11-12 Lifestyle - A7-11 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4