Page 2 - Reedley Exponent 4-26-18 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A2 Thursday, April 26, 2018
Council OKs added money to fully fund Trimble splash pad
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The Reedley City Council will provide nearly $515,000 in additional money to fully fund construction of a splash pad facility at Luke Trimble Park in west Reedley.
At the April 10 regular meeting, the council also approved awarding the construction contract to Steve Dovali Construction, Inc. in Fresno in the amount of nearly $1.06 mil- lion. That resolution also allows City Manager Nicole Zieba to authorize up to an additional 7 percent of the contract.
The splash pad is at the former site of the Luke Trimble Pool on the north side of 8th Street, just east of South Reed Avenue.
Zieba said $250,000 additional money comes from redevelopment agency bonds funds that the city has had in a bank account earning inter- est. That shortfall is being covered after the city reduced costs on the overall project by receiving a second round of bids.
“This is a very appropriate use for those bond funds, as they were taken out to redevelop property, to eliminate blight and to provide de- velopment opportunities in blighted
areas of town,” Zieba told the coun- cil. “Obviously, the Luke Trimble pool site was very obviously blight- ed.”
The remaining added money comes from Measure C funding of more than $192,000 and storm drain development impact fees of $72,000.
Council Member Bob Beck ex- plored the possibility of scaling back the splash pad portion of the park, citing among his concerns the $10,000 annual maintenance of the splash pad. Zieba said it would be a council policy call.
However, other council members
expressed their support of the splash pad.
“I think it’s time for us to do something on the west side [of the city],” Council Member Ray Soleno said. “This would be a benefit for in- dividuals. I’m for this splash park.” Frank Pinon, mayor pro tem, agreed: “The splash park is a nice [scenic] presentation, and I think that’s some- thing that we could and should pro- vide for that part of the community.”
Council Member Mary Fast and Mayor Anita Betancourt also cited strong community support for the splash pad.
“It’s just a nice place for kids
to go and get wet when it’s hot. The more we can do for our kids, the bet- ter,” Betancourt said.
The bid to Dovali Construction was awarded only after the city rejected all bids in initial bidding. Zieba said although the subsequent bids came in lower, there still was a need to provide additional money to the project.
Questions were asked during public comment about security for the facility. John Robertson, city en- gineer, said there will be a fence tall enough to act as a deterrent. The city plans for additional parking east of the site along the alley.
Annual Mayor’s Prayer breakfast set for May 3
TV anchor talks politics at RC event
Staff Report
The public is invited to participate in the 38th annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast at 7 a.m. Thursday, May 3, at the Reedley Community Center.
The event — sponsored by the Reedley Sunrise Ki- wanis Club, Rotary Club of Reedley and city of Reedley — is held in conjunction with the National Day of Prayer.
This year’s keynote speaker is Julie Mendoza,
WALKOUT Continued from page A1
At Reedley High, more than 100 students briefly left campus with about 40 of the students gathering for a brief vigil in front of the Reedley Police De- partment. Ahlin said those students who walked off campus were subject to the same discipline measures
Obituaries
Wilson Kimble
Wilson Kimble of Visa- lia died April 22 in Visalia. He was 86.
Mr. Kimble worked in farm labor.
A Celebration of Life service will be at 6 p.m. Friday, April 27, at Dop- kins Funeral Chapel in Di- nuba.
CEO of HOPE Sanger. The multi-denominational, faith- based nonprofit community organization provides food and other necessities to the homeless and families in most need of Sanger.
There is no cost for the breakfast. A free will offer- ing will be taken, with pro- ceeds going to Community Youth Fellowship.
For more information, contact Neal Harris at (559) 393-2260.
for truant students. Those penalties ranged from de- tention to a day at Saturday school.
That same day, Reedley High recognized the victims of the Florida shootings with a special ceremony in the RHS main gym. About 200 people attended. Students read out loud the names and a brief biography for each Florida shooting victim.
William Reimer
William “Bill” Reimer of Reedley died April 14 in Reedley. He was 90.
Mr. Reimer worked in law enforcement.
A Celebration of Life service will be at 2 p.m. Fri- day, April 27, at Palm Vil- lage Retirement Commu- nity in Reedley. Burial will be at Reedley Cemetery.
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
Evan Onstot told the au- dience at Reedley College on April 20 exactly what he’s looking for during an upcom- ing televised debate among candidates for California gov- ernor.
“I want to see these can- didates separate themselves on the issues. I want to play devil’s advocate,” said Onstot, news anchor for KSEE 24 who will moderate the debate air- ing on KSEE — and across the state — on Sunday, April 29.
Onstot addressed about 30 people during the “Politically Speaking” lunchtime event in the school’s staff dining room. His appearance in town raised money for Reedley College’s Constitution Week Conference held each fall.
Onstot hosts KSEE’s “Sun- day Morning Matters,” which focuses on Central Valley and California politics.
“I think that we’re try- ing to do our best,” he said. “We’re trying to bring people on where we’re not just talk- ing about the poll numbers or about the fundraising. We’re not just talking in sound bites back and forth. We’re talk- ing about providing multiple minutes at a time to bring people together and have conversations about the is- sues and what matters in the campaigns.”
The April 29 debate won’t include Democratic Party member Gavin Newsom, cur- rent lieutenant governor and the frontrunner in polling. He has announced that he won’t participate in any debates before the June 5 primary election. The top finishers — regardless of party — will ad- vance on to the general elec- tion in November.
“What changes the game so much here in California is the ‘top two’ system we have from primary to general election,” Onstot said. “The fact that now we can have two Democrats go on changes everything.”
COUNCIL Continued from page A1
fee hike.
If the council approves
the fee hike on June 26, the new rates would take effect Aug. 1, 2018. They would be the first increase in the basic rate since 2014.
“The rates have not in- creased since then because of the city’s diligence in finding cost-cutting measures,” said Russ Robertson, public works director.
The plan that the council approved also maintains the Vehicle Impact Fee funding of $200,000 per year for solid waste.
The rate increase for a sin- gle family residential dwelling
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Evan Onstot, news anchor for KSEE 24 in Fresno, talked about the upcoming governor’s race during an April 20 “Politically Speaking” event in the Reedley College staff dining room.
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The Reedley Exponent is one of Fresno County’s oldest newspapers. It was established in March, 1891, in the Knauer residence on the corner of what now is F and 11th streets. In about 1893, it moved to the building where it is still located. The newspaper’s office is at 1130 G St, Reedley, CA 93654, Phone (559) 638-2244.
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Candidates who will at- tend the KSEE debate are Democrat Antonio Villarai- gosa, former mayor of Los Angeles; Republican John Cox, businessman; Republi- can Travis Allen, Assembly- man from Huntington Beach; and Democrat Delaine Eastin, former state superintendent of public instruction.
Onstot said an interesting point in the debate will be the performances of Cox and Al- len. Cox actually moved into the number two spot behind Newsom, two points ahead of Villaraigosa, in polling by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Sturies. Allen
will go from 33.54 monthly to 35.05 per month in 2018-19. Inflationary rate hikes would see that bill climb to $39.63 per month in 2022-23.
The other fee increase option — “Alternative B” — would eliminate the annual vehicle impact fee funding of $200,000 and replace it with an annual funding of $20,000 to be used solely for alley maintenance and repair. The council didn’t take that option.
The fee increase with that plan would have been 2.5 percent annually for the five- year period. Monthly bills would have been $37.76 for residential customers in 2022- 23, but without the vehicle impact fees the sole funding would have been the $20,000
trails Villaraigosa by another two points.
“Just imagine if one of those Republicans weren’t in this race. You wouldn’t have to worry about the top two sys- tem in this case,” Onstot said. He added that Allen is push- ing himself as a supporter of President Donald Trump while Cox is funding his own campaign.
Another point of inter- est to Onstot is the absence of Central Valley Democrat Amanda Renteria. She is not eligible to participate in the debate. Her late entry into the race prevented her from even being polled by the Institute of
for alley maintenance. Council Member Ray So-
leno asked Robertson how much per year can be done with the $20,000 alley main- tenance funding. Robertson said: “The answer would be as much as we can. These alleys are not going to look pristine.” Robertson said much of the work would be simply filling in potholes, doing some skim patching to rough surfaces, and cleaning dirt and road oil.
In explaining her opposi- tion, Fast said she supports the idea of fixing streets but is struggling with the plan to tie streets in to the rate hike.
“I feel like we’re not being up front with our public by putting street costs into our garbage funds. I can’t be con- vinced that’s right,” she said. “If we use that money to fix the alleys, I might think dif- ferent. But using them to fix the streets I think is not appro- priate for this fund.”
CIty Manager Nicole Zie-
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Call weekdays at 638-2244
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CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL DEBATE
When: Sunday, April 29, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
TV: KSEE 24 Fresno, broadcast will air statewide
Scheduled to atttend: Gubernatorial candidates Antonio Villaraigosa, John Cox, Travis Allen and Delaine Eastin. To be eligible for the debate, candidates must poll 5 percent or higher in the most recent UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll.
Governmental Studies. “Rules are someone has
to be able to run a statewide campaign,” Onstot said. “Ac- cording to rules with polling from the institute, Renteria doesn’t qualify to be in this debate.”
Onstot said that some con- servative Republicans in the Valley are considering Vil- laraigosa since his politics are more moderate than frontrun- ner Newsom. Onstot said Vil- laraigosa may very well shift back toward the left to court the liberal vote if he finishes in the top two in June.
The current heated politi- cal landscape bothers Onstot. He said that has prevented civil discussion and debate among the public.
“When we do want to talk about civic-minded things, political matters, we have no idea how to talk to each other anymore,” he said. “I do mean that quite literally. We have no idea.”
ba said that whether or not the city had vehicle impact fees to use, it would still find itself in the funding position it’s in.
“The world has changed and shifted dramatically in the past couple of years, with [Senate Bill 1] and the gas taxes,” she said. “Obviously, the garbage trucks use a lot of gas, and recycling is a huge issue for us.”
Zieba said the city used to receive $20 per ton for recy- cling. It was reduced to a neu- tral position where they could dispose of recycled waste at no cost. But the situation got worse.
“Now, we’re actually hav- ing to pay to have somebody get rid of [recycling waste] for us, and we’re under state mandate to do that,” she said.
Council Member Bob Beck agreed about the recy- cling crisis: “I see that as a major issue. Maybe not today, but maybe three years to five years from now.”
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