September 17 Newsletter
Council votes not to reject bids for Water Conservation Plant upgrade: The Council voted unanimously not to reject all six construction bids to expand the City's Water Conservation Plant. Bids were opened on Aug. 2, ranging from $92.3 million to over $107 million. The apparent low bid for $92.3 million was made by Fresno-based W.M. Lyles Co. Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc., the second-lowest bid, raised a protest with the City. Staff will make a formal determination of the validity of Balfour Beatty's claim. Depending on that decision, either one could file an appeal. It will then be up to the Council to determine which bid is correct.
RFP process for design of new fire station moves ahead: At Monday's City Council meeting, staff received approval to issue a Request for Proposals to hire an architect/engineering firm for the design of the proposed new fire station at the southeast corner of Walnut and Atwood. Council also authorized appropriating additional funds from Fire Measure T, increasing the total budget appropriation to $3.2 million. The new station is on about 1.25 acres on property the City is in the process of acquiring from the Visalia Unified School District. The project will be designed and constructed using a traditional competitive bid (design-bid-build) delivery method. The existing Fire Station 55 construction drawings will be used as a basis for design for Station 53 to save time and reduce costs associated with the planning and project design. To read the staff report, click here.
Special Events process streamlined: The City of Visalia, in its effort to “go green”, has developed and implemented a new process, designed to streamline and refine the way the public accesses the special events information, applications, and associated forms. During the update, staff felt it necessary to provide the public one location to obtain all they would need to complete the paper process for their specific event in one location. With this new process, an applicant will complete an on-line form that when submitted, will automatically be emailed to the special events committee for initial review. The applicant will also be able to access every application they may need for their event, each application is in a “fillable” format, allowing the applicant to complete the form and send it to the special event committee via the email that has been established for ease of communicating. The public can access all they need to know by going to the City of Visalia’s website or by following the link; http://www.ci.visalia.ca.us/depts/fire/special_events/default.asp. If there are any questions, you can email [email protected] and we will be happy to assist in any way we can to make your experience more enjoyable.
California Language Teachers Association to Meet in Visalia: The California Language Teachers Association has selected Visalia to host their 2016 annual conference. The conference will take place at the Visalia Convention Center and attendees will be staying at the Visalia Marriott at the Convention Center and the Comfort Suites. This conference will bring approximately 400 attendees to Visalia over a five day period in March 2016.
Burlington Coat Factory holds grand opening on Oct. 25: The official grand opening of the new 50,000 square foot store will be held at 9:30 am on Friday, Oct. 25. The store is located on a part of the former Home Base location. Two signature community-based programs will be part of the grand opening - Burlington Gives Back and Charity Day. Burlington Gives Back is an effort to distribute new merchandise - apparel, housewares, accessories, baby products, etc. - to local partner agencies who provide assistance to needy families and individuals. Charity Day is a VIP shopping event to be held the day before the grand opening.
Work continues on Caltrans Houston Widening project: Caltrans continues construction on the State Route 216/Houston Avenue widening project. Lane closures are scheduled between Lover's Lane and McAuliff Street this week. State Route 216 remains open to traffic, but is reduced to one lane in each direction. Signal lights at the intersection of Lover's Lane and State Route 216 and at McAuliff Street and State Route 216 are fully operational. To view a copy of the Caltrans press release, click here.
Caltrans closures on 198 connector ramps through Friday: Eastbound State Route 198 connector ramp to Northbound State Route 99, Westbound State Route 198 connector ramp to Southbound State Route 99 and the Northbound 99 connector ramp to Westbound 198 will be closed through Friday morning, September 20th, 2013 between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. each night. These closures may include lane closures on State Route 198 when needed. Northbound and Southbound State Route 99, #1 (left lane) within the project limits will be closed Sunday night, September 15th through Friday morning, September 20th, 2013 between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. each night. The closure may include lane closures on State Route 99 if necessary. Detours will be available, pay close attention to directional signs. Commuters may experience delays and are encouraged to avoid this area during project work hours and use alternate routes if possible. CHP will assist with traffic control. Closures may continue for longer periods of time if necessary. For more information, go to: www.dot.ca.gov/dist6 and click on the Tulare to Goshen logo.
Prescription Take Back Day Oct. 26: The public can rid their homes of unwanted, unused, and expired prescription drugs from 10 am to 2 pm Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Visalia Police Department, 303 S. Johnson St. Local Police will provide the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft of these potentially dangerous prescription drugs. Pour pills and capsules into a sealable bag. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods of disposing of unused medicines - flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash - both pose potential safety and health hazards. To view an informational flyer, click here.
RFP process for design of new fire station moves ahead: At Monday's City Council meeting, staff received approval to issue a Request for Proposals to hire an architect/engineering firm for the design of the proposed new fire station at the southeast corner of Walnut and Atwood. Council also authorized appropriating additional funds from Fire Measure T, increasing the total budget appropriation to $3.2 million. The new station is on about 1.25 acres on property the City is in the process of acquiring from the Visalia Unified School District. The project will be designed and constructed using a traditional competitive bid (design-bid-build) delivery method. The existing Fire Station 55 construction drawings will be used as a basis for design for Station 53 to save time and reduce costs associated with the planning and project design. To read the staff report, click here.
Special Events process streamlined: The City of Visalia, in its effort to “go green”, has developed and implemented a new process, designed to streamline and refine the way the public accesses the special events information, applications, and associated forms. During the update, staff felt it necessary to provide the public one location to obtain all they would need to complete the paper process for their specific event in one location. With this new process, an applicant will complete an on-line form that when submitted, will automatically be emailed to the special events committee for initial review. The applicant will also be able to access every application they may need for their event, each application is in a “fillable” format, allowing the applicant to complete the form and send it to the special event committee via the email that has been established for ease of communicating. The public can access all they need to know by going to the City of Visalia’s website or by following the link; http://www.ci.visalia.ca.us/depts/fire/special_events/default.asp. If there are any questions, you can email [email protected] and we will be happy to assist in any way we can to make your experience more enjoyable.
California Language Teachers Association to Meet in Visalia: The California Language Teachers Association has selected Visalia to host their 2016 annual conference. The conference will take place at the Visalia Convention Center and attendees will be staying at the Visalia Marriott at the Convention Center and the Comfort Suites. This conference will bring approximately 400 attendees to Visalia over a five day period in March 2016.
Burlington Coat Factory holds grand opening on Oct. 25: The official grand opening of the new 50,000 square foot store will be held at 9:30 am on Friday, Oct. 25. The store is located on a part of the former Home Base location. Two signature community-based programs will be part of the grand opening - Burlington Gives Back and Charity Day. Burlington Gives Back is an effort to distribute new merchandise - apparel, housewares, accessories, baby products, etc. - to local partner agencies who provide assistance to needy families and individuals. Charity Day is a VIP shopping event to be held the day before the grand opening.
Work continues on Caltrans Houston Widening project: Caltrans continues construction on the State Route 216/Houston Avenue widening project. Lane closures are scheduled between Lover's Lane and McAuliff Street this week. State Route 216 remains open to traffic, but is reduced to one lane in each direction. Signal lights at the intersection of Lover's Lane and State Route 216 and at McAuliff Street and State Route 216 are fully operational. To view a copy of the Caltrans press release, click here.
Caltrans closures on 198 connector ramps through Friday: Eastbound State Route 198 connector ramp to Northbound State Route 99, Westbound State Route 198 connector ramp to Southbound State Route 99 and the Northbound 99 connector ramp to Westbound 198 will be closed through Friday morning, September 20th, 2013 between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. each night. These closures may include lane closures on State Route 198 when needed. Northbound and Southbound State Route 99, #1 (left lane) within the project limits will be closed Sunday night, September 15th through Friday morning, September 20th, 2013 between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. each night. The closure may include lane closures on State Route 99 if necessary. Detours will be available, pay close attention to directional signs. Commuters may experience delays and are encouraged to avoid this area during project work hours and use alternate routes if possible. CHP will assist with traffic control. Closures may continue for longer periods of time if necessary. For more information, go to: www.dot.ca.gov/dist6 and click on the Tulare to Goshen logo.
Prescription Take Back Day Oct. 26: The public can rid their homes of unwanted, unused, and expired prescription drugs from 10 am to 2 pm Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Visalia Police Department, 303 S. Johnson St. Local Police will provide the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft of these potentially dangerous prescription drugs. Pour pills and capsules into a sealable bag. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods of disposing of unused medicines - flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash - both pose potential safety and health hazards. To view an informational flyer, click here.