August 19, 2014
City Council adopts revised parks ordinance: In an effort to curb criminal activity in City parks, the City Council adopted a revised City code to suspend persons from all park use for criminal activities and park hours for Lincoln Oval Park, Pappas Park, Provident Skate Park, and Seven Oaks Park will be changed. The revised ordinance will take effect in 30 days. Statistical data given by Code Enforcement Manager Tracy Robertshaw shows a significantly higher call for service to the four parks in 2014, each having more than 100 calls for police service. Lincoln Oval Park, the third smallest park in the City, has both the most calls for service as well as the highest call-to-size ratio, at an average of 250 calls per acre in 2013. The current hours of operation for all city parks is 6 am to 10 pm. The revised ordinance reduces the hours in these four parks to 8 am to 6 pm in the winter and 8 am to 8 pm in the summer. Exemptions to park hour restrictions for permitted special events would not be impacted by the proposed change. The change in hours would coincide with the daylight savings time change.
Status of North Visalia Advisory Committee referred to Citizens Advisory Committee: The City Council approved referring process issues related to the North Visalia Advisory Committee to the Citizens Advisory Committee for review and recommendations. During a recent appointment process for the Committee, it was noted that several committee members don't reside in the area of focus for the North Visalia Advisory Committee. It was determined that over several decades, this committee has evolved from a very local, specific committee that required residence in the clearly defined affected neighborhood to a more broadly focused committee comprised of devoted, committed members but not necessarily those who live in the neighborhood. The Citizens Advisory Committee will consider whether the committee's membership requirements would be changed to better reflect current membership interest and composition. In addition, the upcoming Council district election process may also affect how neighborhood input should best be provided for all parts of Visalia. To review the staff report, click here.
Other Council news: Council authorized the formation of a Public Art Policy Task Force to develop broad-based public art policies with guidelines and procedures for installing public art in the community. The draft guidelines and procedures will be vetted with local art organizations, and groups with a vested interest and brought to the Council for final review and consideration of adoption. For the staff report, click here.
Save the Date for Annual State of the City: Mark your calendars for Sept. 23 at the Visalia Convention Center for the annual State of the City presentation by Mayor Steve Nelsen and Vice Mayor Warren Gubler. The presentation begins at 6 p.m. and will cover topics including: update on City projects; district elections; Capital and infrastructure improvement project updates; and a look ahead to the future!
Make Your Voice Heard and Help Prioritize the City's Needs over the next five years: If you were unable to attend one of three community forums recently held, you still have an opportunity to provide input on how federal funds the City receives should be invested to improve the community. Take the quick online survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VisaliaConPlan. The City will develop a five-year consolidated plan which identifies community development, homeless, and affordable housing needs. The Plan is created every five years and assists the City in determining community needs. The federal funds included in the Consolidated Plan are: HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME), and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). Eligible uses for low and moderate income families and neighborhoods include: Community services; economic development assistance; improvements to public infrastructure and facilities; affordable housing, and; homelessness. Low and moderate income refers to individuals and families within income below 80 percent of the area's media income. In Visalia, this includes individuals earning less than $30,650 annually, and a family of four earning less than $43,750 annually.
Refuse schedule for Labor Day Holiday: Residential and commercial refuse will run one day late all week the week of September 1. Residential service will run Tuesday through Friday instead of Monday through Thursday. Commercial service scheduled Monday through Friday will receive service Tuesday through Saturday. City of Visalia business offices will be closed on Monday, Sept. 1, in observance of the Labor Day Holiday.
City Non-Profit Grant Workshops scheduled: Workshops are being held for eligible organizations wishing to apply for grants through the Non-Profit Program Fund available through the City of Visalia. A subcommittee of the Citizens Advisory Committee, which oversees the grant process and makes recommendations on funding to the City Council, will offer three application workshops from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, September 11, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Saturday, September 13, and from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 16. All three workshops will be held in the City Council Chambers, 707 W. Acequia Ave., in Visalia. No reservations are necessary. Again, applicants must attend one workshop session as a prerequisite for submitting an application unless the agency was an award winner in FY 2013-14. The Visalia Non-Profit Program Fund is available to qualified non-profit and government agencies with programs or services for people under age 18 in the City of Visalia. The fund is designed to assist agencies in providing gang prevention/intervention programs and for services aimed at improving quality of life for youth, including at-risk youth. The minimum award is $1,000, and the maximum amount is $6,500 for FY 2014-15. Agencies may apply for funding for more than one project or program. A separate application must be completed for each program or project requesting funding. Priority will be given to requests for “seed” money to start new programs. Both capital expenditures that benefit the qualified program or project and operating funds also are eligible for funding. An application for funding can be obtained at City Hall West (707 West Acequia), from the City’s website at www.ci.vialia.ca.us or requested by email ([email protected]. The application and all required attachments must be received by 4:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 22 at City Hall, 707 W. Acequia Ave., Visallia, CA 93291 (please put to the attention of the Citizens Advisory Committee. A subcommittee will review the applications and make recommendations to the Citizens Advisory Committee, which will then make recommendations to the City Council for final approval. Information: Ruth Pena at 813-4327 or email [email protected].
Highway 99 nighttime closures this week: Caltrans has announced nightly lane closures of northbound and southbound State Route 99 in Goshen, within Tulare County as part of the current State Route 99 Tulare to Goshen-North Segment Widening Project necessary for new highway construction. Nighttime lane closures will be as follows: Southbound and Northbound State Route 99 between the State Route 198 interchange and Betty Drive in Goshen will be reduced to one lane with alternating lane changes beginning Wednesday night, August 20, through Friday morning, Aug. 22, between 7 pm and 6 am for pavement work. Closures may continue for longer periods of time each night if necessary due to delays caused by uncontrollable events that occur during construction. Motorists may experience delays are are encouraged to take alternate routes whenever possible.
Madera County fires impact air quality: Smoke from the Junction Fire in Oakhurst is affecting air quality in Madera County and may impact more Valley counties today, local air officials said. As meteorological conditions change, smoke impacts may be felt in additional Central Valley counties, including Stanislaus, Merced, Fresno, Tulare and Kings, and may periodically affect these counties until the fire is extinguished. Smoke can send pollution to the Valley floor, including particulates and ozone precursors. Residents can check the District’s wildfire page --- www.valleyair.org/wildfires --- for information about any current wildfires and whether they are impacting the Valley. The District also provides the Real-time Air Advisory Network (RAAN), an automated reporting system that delivers data directly to users’ computers. It’s free and easy to subscribe! Visit http://www.valleyair.org/RAAN for complete instructions. People with existing respiratory conditions, young children and elderly people are especially susceptible to health effects from these pollutants. Air District officials urge residents to follow their doctors’ orders when exposed to wildfire emissions. For more information about the Air District, visit www.valleyair.org or call a District office in Fresno (559-230-6000), Modesto (209-557-6400) or Bakersfield (661-392-5500).
Drug Take-Back Day: The United States Drug Enforcement Administration and local law enforcement agencies are providing the public with an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medication (including pet medication), both in pill and liquid form as well as unused vitamins. The Visalia Police Department at 303 E. Johnson St., and the Tulare County Sheriff's Administration Office at 2404 W. Burrel will be open from 10 am to 2 pm Saturday, Sept. 27. Place pills, capsules, and tablets of unwanted medication and vitamins into a zip-lock bag. Keep liquid medication in its original container, then place it in a zip-lock plastic bag. Medication from hospitals, pharmacies, doctor's offices, etc., will not be accepted. This is a free event. The public is encouraged to drop off unwanted medication and vitamins. For information on times and days to participate, call the Visalia Police Department at 713-4216 or the Tulare County Sheriff's Office at 636-4625.