September 5, 2012

Council Honors Cal Ripken Team on Home Turf

The 12-year-old heroes of the Cal Ripken World Series were treated to a "hero's welcome" by the Visalia City Council and an appreciate audience at Monday night's City Council meeting.

The team of 13 brought home the national title for the second consecutive year in a row, after last year's hometown and "team" advantage at the tournament held at Riverway Sports Park. Council members gave out certificates and Visalia pins for a job well done under a "Welcome Home Champions" banner.  

Coach Cameron Kelly thanked the Council and the City for their support of the team, as well as the efforts of Team Manager Frank Durazo and Coach Jason Thompson. The Championship team members are: Buddy Cervantes; Jace Chamberlin; Gunnar Haskill; Bryce Jordan; Connor Kelly; Chandler Lucas; Nolan Montgomery; Elijah Munoz; Holden Powell; Jaylen Rodriguez; Mitchell Silvas; Tucker Stainbrook; and Zane Thompson.  

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Site, Architect OKed For 911 Center

The City's new 911 Center moved two steps closer to a reality at the Sept. 4 City Council meeting with unanimous approval of the location and the architect. The Council approved one of four proposed sites on land southeast of Goshen Avenue, just east of Burke Street. In addition to approving the site location, the Council also authorized contract negotiations with the team of Darden Architects and LPA for architectural/engineering design consulting services.

Council also approved to co-locate the public safety dispatch services with the County. In doing so, Council made it clear that it does not intend to delay the progress of its own 911 Communications Center project. It also identified three items the County needs to address to achieve co-location: Agree to a negotiated cost analysis for additional architectural work to accommodate the increased size of the facility required for a co-location by Nov. 1; accept the Council-approved site selection for the project; and agree to a long-term lease agreement, for perhaps as much as 20 years, with the City for the County's portion if they request to lease rather than co-own .