Page 8 - Reedley Exponent 2-21-19 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A8Thursday, February 21, 2019
Series of storms leave scenic aftermath
SHELTER Continued from page A1
agreed to give us copies of their tax returns,” he said. “So that what re- sulted in the contract being termi- nated in the first place doesn’t have to repeat itself again.”
It was back in late December 2018 that the city canceled its con- tract with FOCAS for a status sus- pension the group had with the Fran- chise Tax Board.
FOCAS fixed the tax issue, how- ever were unable to reach a com- promise with the city in the months following.
The most recent setback came during a Jan. 23 City Council meet- ing.
FOCAS and the city were on the verge of an agreement during that meeting; however, the process was stalled once Hernandez and FOCAS representative Adriana Figueroa dis- agreed on a number of items.
Juanita Adame / The Exponent
Members of the public looked on as the Orange Cove City Council announced an agreement with the Friends of Orange Cove Animal Shelter on Feb. 13.
We have spent a tremendous, tre- mendous amount of time working with the president of FOCAS.
— Rudy Hernandez, Orange Cove interim city manager
Figueroa and Hernandez said they had come to an agreement and both groups were fully prepared to move forward.
“Also as far as fiscal impact, I have it that we shall assist with $2,500 a month, subject to general fund availability,” Hernandez added as he addressed Mayor Victor Lo- pez. “Because it does get tight, and you know we have a deficit in [this] year’s budget and future budgets may be challenging. I just want to make sure that we have the money to pay it. Other than that, Mayor, I’m
Danny Jimenez, the 2019 Citi- zen of the Year for Reedley and a frequent contributor of sports and feature photos to The Exponent, captured this image from southwest of the Reedley Sports Park looking east toward the Sierra Nevada after one of last week’s storms. The series
of storms in the past week has led to green fields and foliage along with — at least temporar- ily — clean air in the Central Valley leading to panoramic views of the mountains. The lat- est storms also put the Valley’s rain totals and snowpack above season nornals. The next snow survey in the Sierra Nevada will be on Friday, March 1.
Danny Jimenez / Photo Contributed
asking you to approve it.”
During the public portion of the
meeting, several residents again raised concerns about volunteer hours, and workers compensation insurance on student volunteers.
“We did discuss this, and we agreed that we would allow them one hour, one day a week where they could stay until 6 p.m., and we can put that in the contract.” said Her- nandez.
The council then proceeded with the approval.
“Make a motion and go ahead and approve,” Lopez said. “The FO- CUS Agreement, alright, yes — it’s approved.”
According to their Facebook page, FOCAS is responsible for the sheltering of animals impounded by the city of Orange Cove. Their mission statement is to strive and provide the best possible care for animals while they are in their cus- tody.
“There are some issues, though, that we hurried through,” Figueroa told council members on the eve- ning of Jan. 23. “We did the last
meeting in a hurry, and there are some things that are still not stated here.”
This time around, however,
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