Reedley Exponent 1-11-18 E-edition

Gonsalves steps down as Immanuel volleyball coach
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Reedley (Fresno County) CA 93654 | 50 cents Plans proceed to purchase land for new library
Youngsters have fun at city’s Christmas Camp event
Panorama
Council resolutions allow for donation to buy land at a new downtown location
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The Reedley City Council passed two resolutions Jan. 9 allowing the city to enter an agreement with the Friends of the Fresno County Public Library to work together on the
Chamber
accepting
award
nominees
Staff Report
The Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce is accepting nomina- tions for its annual awards gala on Saturday, Feb. 24.
The event — with a theme of “Discover Reedley” — will be held at the Reedley College Student Cen- ter. The chamber will honor Citizen of the Year, Youth Citizen of the Year, Business of the Year, Agri- cultural Business of the Year, En- trepreneur of the Year, Educator of the Year, Health Professional of the Year, and the new Reedley Beautifi- cation Award winner.
The Reedley Beautification Award will go to the business or residence that has improved its ex- terior and enhanced the overall look of the community. Any physical im- provement to a Reedley business or residence that has an impact on the aesthetics of the community — from full business/home remodels to new awnings, paint, flower box- es and more — can qualify for this award.
The public can nominate candi- dates for any of the major awards. Nomination forms are available at the Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce office, 1633 11th St., or at The Exponent, 1130 G St. Nomi- nations also can be downloaded online at reedleychamberofcom- merce.com. Nomination forms can be dropped off at those locations or emailed to info@reedleychamberof- commerce.com.
Erik Valencia, executive director for the chamber, said that nomina- tions are being accepted through Friday, Feb. 2. The awards commit- tee will alert the honorees before the event, and they will be publicly announced in the Thursday, Feb. 15, issue of The Exponent.
Valencia said that sponsorships for the awards gala are available. For more information on the event and nomination process, contact the chamber at 638-3548 or send an email to erik@reedleychamberof- commerce.com.
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Vol. 129, No. 2 | Thursday, January 11, 2018
purchase of property that will be the site of the future Reedley Public Library.
Both resolutions were passed as part of the City Council’s consent agenda at its regu- lar meeting.
The downtown location for the estimated $6 million library is a different site from the previous proposed location — the old Royal Valley directly behind City Hall and the Reed- ley Police Department.
The resolution allows City Manager Ni- cole Zieba to negotiate and execute the agree- ment which calls for the Friends of Reedley
Library — through the larger county library organization — to donate money to the city to eventually purchase the property. The par- cel is located between 10th and 11th streets, flanked to the west by the San Joaquin Valley railroad line and to the east by the Rails to Trails Parkway.
The proposed 15,000-square-foot library is three times larger than the current facility on E Street. The local organization threw its sup- port to the project at its Dec. 14 meeting.
The Friends of Reedley Library will pro- vide the donation through Fresno County’s
Friends, and Zieba then will negotiate to pur- chase the property.
Zieba said the new site for a library is preferable to the Royal Valley site, which had prohibitive demolition costs that the Friends of Reedley Library would have had to cover. It also means the city doesn’t have to donate that land to the county library for the facility.
“It’s a much better spot,” Zieba said. “It’s an area that’s ideal for their space and gives room to grow.”
See LIBRARY on page A6
Council to use vehicle fees for street repair Staff Report
Despite the objection of Council Member Mary Fast, the Reedley City Council on Jan. 9 approved a resolution using ve- hicle impact fee funds to help with reconstruction on portions of Dinuba and East avenues in southeast Reedley.
On a 4-1 vote, the council opted to authorize the agreement that would use $200,000 of the city’s vehicle impact fee money to help fund more than $775,000 to repair Dinuba Avenue from the railroad tracks to East Ave- nue as well as East Avenue north to Lincoln Avenue.
Fast said that while she sup- ported work to improve streets and roads, she was against us- ing the vehicle impact fee funds. She said that represented about a third of those funds, and was meant to go to the garbage en- terprise fund.
“I can’t agree with that. It’s an enterprise fund. To me, the amount of money that comes out of that should be for garbage, and we’re using it for streets and roads,” Fast said.
Council Member Ray Soleno asked John Robertson, city engi- neer, what effect not shifting the funds to the roadwork would do. Robertson said the street repair project would have to be scaled back some on both Dinuba and East avenues.
Soleno said it was important to still do something to fix roads after getting complaints from the public.
Robertson said the search to find additional block grant fund- ing could result in delaying the project. Plans are to send the agreement to the County Board of Supervisors for approval, and then for the city to begin design of the project. A contract to do the work then could be awarded this summer.
Funding for the project has been appropriated into the ad- opted 2017-18 city budget.
Back in session
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Lee Martinez, right, learning director at Silas Bartsch K-8 School, directs students into a single line to enter the school cafeteria on Jan. 9. Students and staff at Kings Canyon Unified School District schools returned to classes on Jan. 8 following three weeks of winter vacation break. There will be no classes at KCUSD schools on Monday, Jan. 15, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. There also will be two school holidays in February in observance of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and Presidents’ Day.
Reedley, Central Valley receives some much-needed rain
Classified - B5-6
Directory - A5
Legals - B7
Reedley, Central California and the Sierra Nevada received much-needed rain last week after two storms swept through the area. Reedley received measurable rainfall on Jan. 4, 8 and 9. The latter two days were part of a system that resulted in a winter storm warn- ing and snowfall in the mountains. The city received rain through Jan. 9. The immediate forecast from the National Weather Service called for clear skies and possible areas of dense morning fog through Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 13-14.
LEFT: Puddles of water formed at a soccer field in the Reedley Sports Park on Jan. 9.
RIGHT: Water collects in the basin near the water tower at the Reedley Sports Park on Jan. 9.
Photos by Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Sports - B3-4 Lights & Sirens - A3 Obituaries - A2-3 Opinion - A4