November 20 Newsletter
Plaza Drive's Eastbound On-ramp closing Nov. 27 Kiwanis Park Celebrates Grand Opening: Kiwanis Park Celebrates Grand Opening: Visalia's newest park celebrated its grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 10. Kiwanis Park, located on Tulare Avenue and McAuliff, was filled with over 300 enthusiastic citizens. Local members of the Visalia Kiwanis Clubs provided lunch, activities and bounce houses and music played as Parky met with all of the guests. The 3.0 acre park features a sheltered playground with play equipment for children. A small shade shelter is available for parties and features a barbecue. The Park also has a half-court basketball court, open turf area for active play, a sidewalk that loops around the park for walking enthusiasts, a skate feature, and lots of trees with drought tolerant landscaping. In addition to the Park, the 12 acre City-owned parcel includes a 9 acre ponding basin for storm water retention and water recharge. The Park was constructed by Construction Development Systems of Fresno for $1.7 million. Storm funds and park impact fees were key in funding the development and construction of Kiwanis Park.
AlertTC Keeps You Informed in Emergencies
Recycling Food Scraps, Yard Waste Conserves Resources
Holiday Refuse Schedule
Kiwanis Park Celebrates Grand Opening
Annual Christmas Tree Lighting
Violin Prodigy to Perform in Visalia
City's unemployment rate lowest in County for October
Burn Cleaner with Financial Incentives for Upgrading Fireplaces and Pellet Stoves
DUI/Driver's License checkpoint planned for Nov. 24
Council OKs Changes to Marijuana Ordinance
North Visalia Commercial Development Fails to Get Council Approval
Plaza Drive's Eastbound On-ramp closing Nov. 27: The eastbound on-ramp from Plaza Drive onto State Highway 198 will close at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27. The closure will be in effect for about 21 working days, weather permitting. California Highway Patrol will provide traffic control and there will be flaggers to direct traffic during peak hours. The City has placed a temporary traffic signal at the 3-way-stop at the intersection of Hurley and Shirk to help alleviate congestion. Please utilize detours or find an alternate route during construction. Check the website at www.plaza198.com for further updates. Your patience and cooperation is appreciated. The result will be a wider bridge to better accommodate truck and auto traffic, auxiliary lanes for entering and leaving the highway, and improvements to Plaza Drive.
AlertTC Keeps You Informed in Emergencies: Hurricane Sandy is a grim reminder that emergencies can happen at any time. Register today by clicking here for Alert TC, an emergency phone notification system that sends out phone, text and email alerts in times of emergencies in the City. With AlertTC, the City is able to send time-sensitive, targeted messages to select groups and geographic areas. The system is capable of reaching landlines, cellular and VolP phones, BlackBerrys/PDAs, pagers and TTY/TTD devices for the hearing impaired. It also sends messages via SMS/text messaging, fax and email and posts messages to Facebook and Twitter. The City's contact database currently includes all residential and commercial landline phone numbers. You must register additional methods of contact, such as cell phone numbers, VolP numbers and email addresses. The system is primarily used to disseminate messages pertaining to the health, safety or welfare o the City when affected by an emergency event, including severe weather warnings. To learn more, go to www.alerttc.com.
Recycling Food Scraps, Yard Waste Conserves Resources: Your yard waste bin can now hold food items that help create a healthy environment for the community. With the exception of proteins (meat, fish, poultry or seafood - raw or cooked), food items sucha s bakery goods, beans, coffee grounds, and egg shells, just to name a few, can be placed in your yard waste bin for disposal. Want to get started? A helpful brochure tells you what items are recyclable and compostable. Property owners and business managers can schedule a free waste stream assessment today by calling the Natural Resources and Conservation Division at 713-4532. For a copy of the recycling brochure, click here. The City's free annual fall yard waste recycling event kicks off Friday through Jan. 5. All City of Visalia residents are invited to recycle their yard trimmings, grass clippings, leaves, branches, wood, lumber and food scraps For more information, click here.
Holiday Refuse Schedule: Residential refuse service normally scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 22, will be collected on Wednesday, Nov. 21. There will be no change in residential refuse collection on Friday. Commercial refuse service normally scheduled for Thursday and Friday, Nov. 22-23, will be serviced on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 23-24. City of Visalia business offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 22-23, in observance of the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
Annual Christmas Tree Lighting: Visalia's Official Christmas Tree in the Lincoln Oval Park will light up the night and the holiday season at 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25. The event is sponsored by the Visalia Police Activities League. Santa Claus will make an early appearance to pass out toys and candy to the children.
Violin Prodigy to Perform in Visalia: Simone Porter, a 2011 Davidson Laureate, will perform at the Main Street Theater at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25. The cost is $12, and children and students or an adult accompanying a child are admitted free. At 10, prodigy violinist Simone soloed with the Seattle Symphony. At age 13, she became an international sensation when she soloed with the Royal Philharmonic of London. Last year, she was chosen as the 2011 Davidson Fellow Laureate, one of the most prestigious of all awards for emerging talent.
City's Unemployment Rate Lowest in County for October: Out of the eight incorporated cities in the County, Visalia had the lowest in October at 9%. Tulare County's unemployment rate for that month was 14.4%.
Burn Cleaner with Financial Incentives for Upgrading Fireplaces and Pellet Stoves: The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is offering incentives to purchase versions that produce less pollution from burning wood or versions that operate on natural gas. The assistance is available to homes within the eight counties the district covers, including Tulare County. The grants are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Air district officials estimate they will have enough money to provide the financial assistance through the winter. For an application and more information, go to www.valleyair.org, click "Grants and Incentive" and then on the "Burn Cleaner Program."
DUI/Driver's License checkpoint planned for Nov. 24: The Visalia Police Department will conduct the checkpoint from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. at an undisclosed location within the City. Officers will contact drivers passing through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment and will check for proper licensing. Drivers caught driving impaired can expect jail, license suspension, and insurance increases, as well as fines, fees, DUI classes, and other expenses that can exceed $10,000. For more information, click here.
Council OKs Changes to Marijuana Ordinance: The City Council approved changes to the city's marijuana ordinance that restricts its cultivation inside city limits. The ordinance now allows 12 plants to be grown within a 12-square-foot area within an enclosed four-wall structure in either a residential or agricultural zone. If the City receives complaints, Code Enforcement could impose quarterly or monthly inspections for those who violate the ordinance. Fines for violators were increased to $1,000 a day, and after seven days, $2,000 a day. Individuals would have 10 days to come into compliance before the fines would be assessed. For a copy of the ordinance, click here.
North Visalia Commercial Development Fails to Get Council Approval: A proposed commercial development at the southeast corner of Riggin and Dinuba Boulevard failed to get approval from the City Council, which decided to uphold an appeal from CRS Farming without prejudice on the proposed development that includes a new ARCO gas station and a Wendy's Restaurant. That means Bridgecourt Homes Limited Partnership, which owns the property, can return with a more detailed plan of the proposed commercial development in hopes of getting approved by both the Planning Commission and the City Council. Some of the issues included the architectural design standards of the signage and if there was a master plan for the development.