Hanford Insider
Welcome the Hanford Insider, I’m your host Rob Bentley. I’m a lifelong resident of Hanford and I’m very involved in the local history scene and podcasting so I decided to start this show as a resource to Hanford area residents for covering issues, promoting events, sports, and reflecting on some local history.
Tune in each Monday for a new episode.
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Hanford Insider
Hanford Insider: Decision 2024
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What if the future of Hanford depended on a single decision you make? Join us for a compelling episode of Hanford Insider as we bring you the latest updates on community events, sports, and the crucial local elections. Rob Bentley kicks things off with a dynamic rundown of the week's happenings, from a skate park workshop to the thrilling Hanford Halloween Boxing Rumble. Eric Bentley follows with a spirited recap of Hanford High's triumphant win over Tulare Union, setting the stage for the next big games.
Get up close and personal with the passionate candidates vying for seats on the Hanford City Council. Hear from Judy Scott about her dedication to open dialogue and Kimber Regan's resolve to preserve the historic charm of downtown Hanford. Nancy Howze shares her journey from parenthood to politics, guided by a commitment to respect and civility in governance. Martin Devine brings decades of experience to the table, focusing on transparency and leadership at a time when Hanford needs it most. Each candidate paints a vivid picture of their priorities and vision for the community.
The conversation then turns to the pressing issue of Revenue Measure H. Learn from Valerie Castles and Christine Leach about the 1% sales tax increase proposal aimed at revitalizing Hanford's public safety and infrastructure. With police and emergency services operating below recommended levels, this measure represents a pivotal moment for the community's safety and quality of life. Discover how the proposed measure aims to fund crucial projects without affecting essentials like groceries and prescription drugs, while ensuring accountability through an Oversight Committee. Don't miss this episode packed with insights and perspectives that will shape Hanford's future.
You can find the Hanford Insider at www.hanfordinsider.com and on social media at @hanfordinsider
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But of the Hanford Insider, rob will give us a quick community news update. I'll be back with a recap of the high school football action and then we'll get a chance to hear from the candidates for the Hanford City Council, as well as two members of the Revenue Measure Committee. This is the Hanford Insider for Monday, october 14th.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, welcome to this episode of the Hanford Insider. I'm your host, rob Bentley. Thanks for listening. We'll get to our election special in just a minute, but I'd like to keep my commitment to my listeners to provide a weekly community calendar and sports update In community news.
Speaker 2:This week's Hanford City Council meeting has been canceled. The next regular meeting will be held on November 5th. Here's some things coming up on our community calendar. There will be a skate park workshop for Heroes Park in the City Hall Training Room on Wednesday, beginning at 6 pm. At the Thursday Night Marketplace this week it's Crew Appreciation Night.
Speaker 2:Come out and thank the Main Street Hanford crew that has put on a great event this season. Music will be provided by the band Wild Hair, the Circus Caballeros, coming to the Hanford Mall parking lot this Thursday through Monday, main Street Hanford is holding Witch's Night Out on Friday night in downtown Hanford. The Hanford Halloween Boxing Rumble 3 will be held at the Longfield Center this Friday and Saturday. Crossroads Pregnancy Center is holding the Walk for Life at the Calvary Church on Saturday. The UCP Hanford Fall Fest will be held on the COS campus on 13th Avenue this Saturday from 11 to 2. The movie Scream will be shown at the Hanford Fox Theater on Saturday at 7 pm.
Speaker 2:And on Sunday, october 20th, kings River Hardwick School will be holding their annual Calico Art Festival from 11 to 5 pm. And on Sunday, october 20th, kings River Hardwick School will be holding their annual Calico Art Festival from 11 to 5 pm. If you have an event coming up and you'd like some help getting the word out, let's work together. Send your information to hanfordinsider at gmailcom. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a complete calendar of events.
Speaker 1:And now it's time for Hanford Insider Sports with Eric Bentley, a team that picked up a win this week, taking down fellow top 10 opponent Tulare Union 33-8 on Friday. Propelled by another gritty defensive performance, the Bullpups held the Tribe scoreless in the first quarter, forcing an interception and a fumble before the offense picked up points on a rushing touchdown and converted the two-point try to take an 8-0 lead. The Tribe answered in the second quarter with a touchdown and two-point conversion of their own to tie it at eight, but the defense forced a turnover on downs and the offense turned it into points as Hanford High took a 14-8 lead into the half. The defense continued to stifle a talented Tulare Union offense in the second half, forcing two turnovers and turning the Tribe over on downs three times, while the offense kept their foot on the gas to cruise to the 33-8 victory. The Bullpups remain perfect on the season, sitting at 7-0, 2-0 in WIL play, and will take their undefeated record on the road this week as they travel to face Tulare Western on Thursday.
Speaker 1:Hanhanford West and Sierra Pacific weren't able to pick up wins last week and they'll look to bounce back on Friday as the Huskies travel to Exeter and the Golden Bears will host Selma. As always, we like to cover as many local sports as possible, so if you have any scores or story ideas, be sure to email them to hanfordinsider at gmailcom. I'm Eric Bentley and this has been your Hanford Insider Sports Report.
Speaker 2:Our country is preparing for a huge election on November 5th. Ballots have been mailed out and some completed ballots have already been received at the Office of Elections. The local ballot includes races for Hanford City Council Districts B and C. There's also the proposed Revenue Measure H, which promises to make Hanford a better place to live. My goal for this episode is not to endorse any particular candidate but to provide my listeners with the opportunity to hear from these aspiring leaders and learn about their goals for serving our community as a City Council person. Later in the show we'll also get to hear from two members of the Revenue Measure Committee about their experiences and why they feel this revenue measure needs to pass on November 5th.
Speaker 2:Area C, which covers most of the east side of Hanford, has not had a council representative since the departure of Diane Sharp earlier this year. Running campaigns to fill that seat are Judy Scott and Nancy Howes. They join me now. Judy Scott is running for the city council seat in District C. Judy, can you give us a little bit of your background? I understand you've resided in Hanford for a few years, more than a few years. Can you tell us about your background in Hanford?
Speaker 4:Yes, we moved here. My husband and I two girls moved here in about 30 years ago. We transferred. I grew up in Modesto and so we transferred from. Both worked with California Department of Corrections, so we transferred down to Coalinga and in driving around the small towns in the area we kind of fell in love with Hanford and so that's why we settled here and we've lived here ever since?
Speaker 2:So it's 2023, 2024, and you decided to run for city council. What made you want to run for city council?
Speaker 4:I've been going to city council meetings for probably the last off and on eight years and seeing the problems, issues, the good, the bad, the ugly going on, I believe I can help the city. I believe that I can have an open dialogue with the citizens of Hanford and whether they want to tell me good things or bad things, either way I'll listen. And with my background in Department of Corrections, I think that I know how government agencies work. I know how to get around certain things, I know how to work with—actually it's working with people, getting to know the staff and getting to know the other council people and getting along with them and working with them and trying to make the best outcome for the best of the city of Hanford.
Speaker 2:So why should the residents of District C vote for you? Why do you feel you would make a good city council representative for that area?
Speaker 4:Number one I'll listen to them. Number two is, like I said before, I know my way around the city. I already know the manager, not really personally, but I've talked to him. I've talked to some of the other top managerial staff. I know the other city council people. I know what the problems are. I know what the good and the bad are. I know how to do things and what I don't know I'll learn.
Speaker 2:So if you've been to a lot of the city council meetings, you know that they talk a lot about transparency and the need for better transparency from the city government. What does transparency mean to you?
Speaker 4:So, first of all, I think we need to be able to have the citizens get their hands on things more readily, whether it be maps of the city or agendas, agenda items. I know where to go and I know where to look because I've been doing it for a little while and a lot of the city staff they say oh, it's really easy, it's right here, right here. I think they need to make it a little easier. I also think that they need to make the city council meetings and I don't want to make them longer, but sometimes they need to stop and explain. This is why we're doing this. This is one side of it, this is the other and the staff do a really good job of explaining things, but they're focused on one thing and one thing only, of getting their point across to the city council.
Speaker 4:Sometimes they need to speak to the citizens and say this is why we did it, this is, you know why we're doing it, this is where their money's coming from. Sometimes it's going so fast that you're going okay, what happened? We just going on, because a lot of times, just city citizens walking in or listening online. They have no idea what's going on and what. You know, we just spent all this money. You know where's it going Where's you know how did we get it? Those kinds of things.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that makes total sense. So, if you were elected, what are some issues that you'd like to tackle immediately? What's important to Judy Scott, a potential new council member?
Speaker 4:Well, I think two things Right off the bat public safety and whether Measure H passes or not, we still need to look at our public safety and our response times. If it doesn't pass, then we need to be creative and get some things done. My other passion are youth and youth programs. I think we need to have more youth programs. I don't really think we need to have our youth paying extra fees to use the fields. Those belong to the kids.
Speaker 4:Now, if you say, well, we need to pay for the lights, okay, you know that extra charge is fine, but the rec leagues have a hard enough time getting kids to their parents paying all this money. My grandsons I have two grandsons, they both play baseball and my daughter's on the baseball board, the youth baseball board, and I said, well, how much is it going to be this year? $165 for a kid to play, and that's maybe three months. That's a lot of money. And she said they had to raise it because the city's asking for more money. So I think we can do different. Asking for more money, so I think we can do different. I also think we need to have some more programs for kids that don't want to play baseball, softball, soccer. Maybe they want to get involved in music. Maybe they want to get involved in art. We need to have that available for them too.
Speaker 2:At a recent city council meeting the council decided to nix the roundabout at Dowdy and Seventh, but they are moving forward with the downtown improvement project and the proposed design aspects of it and fixing some of the drainage. How do you feel about the downtown project and its effects on local businesses?
Speaker 4:We've always been. That's one thing I always hear. We need to make downtown better. Look at Kingsburg, look at Visalia. We need to do that, we need to do this. We need to make it better. This is our opportunity. This is our opportunity to make it better. This is our opportunity to make it vibrant that people will want to go down to have dinner, have lunch shop. I think it'll be. I think it's a big plus and, yeah, is it going to be disruptive? Yes, it is. I know staff will make it as easy as possible for the businesses as they can, but yeah, there's going to be some disruption. But I think in the long run it's going to be a positive thing. I think in the long run it's going to be a lot better. People are going to love it. They're going to have more people downtown.
Speaker 2:So I'm sure your message is going to resonate with a lot of my listeners, and if they are in your court and they feel like you're the best person to represent Area C, how can they get in touch with you to maybe put up a yard sign or contribute to your campaign?
Speaker 4:I have a Gmail account. It's electjudyscott at gmailcom or you can call me 559-381-1560. I will come put a sign in your yard, talk to you. If you have questions for me, feel free to call in and talk to me.
Speaker 2:Thank you very much for joining us and I wish you the best of luck in your campaign.
Speaker 4:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2:Nancy Howes is a local resident in District C who is running for city council. Welcome to the show, Nancy.
Speaker 5:Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:Nancy, can you tell us a little bit about your background in Hanford and maybe what brought you to Hanford and just a short background of your family?
Speaker 5:Yeah, absolutely. We moved here when I was in first grade in 1986. We lived in the Bay Area and my dad moved here for work. So we moved and I've lived here until I lived in Hanford till I was 18. And then I went to college, I went to Chico State and I lived elsewhere afterwards and worked and then moved back in 2004 and got married to my husband, dusty, in 2005. And I worked for a large corporation at the time as a sales rep and worked in had a large territory, basically from almost Modesto all the way to Larry. And then Dusty and I started a family in 2017, and we have three boys. Our oldest is 16, our middle son's 12, and our youngest is nine, and Dusty was also married before. So we have two children from his previous marriage, who was 30 and just turned 28 the other day, and we have two grandbabies, two girls. So we are a big blended family.
Speaker 2:So what gave you the idea or the motivation to run for city council?
Speaker 5:Well, I started getting more interested in politics about three years ago. I just found it was easier to have time to actually read anything because my kids were getting older. And then I got more interested in local politics and government the last year and I started watching the meetings online and I'd go to a few as well the city council meetings and I just thought there was some things that could be improved upon and I kind of thought, well, you know, somebody will come along and do it. I thought what? Maybe nobody is, maybe I should do it. And my son actually my oldest son, who's 16, he said he's been my biggest cheerleader. He was like Mom, you'd be really, really good at this. I think you should do this. And so I just started doing it. I've just been taking it one day at a time, step by step.
Speaker 2:And I put my name in the hat, so we'll see. November 5th is just around the corner and I know a lot of people are wondering who to vote for and why should citizens in District C vote for Nancy House?
Speaker 5:Great question. I think that people in District C, citizens in District C, should vote for me because I want to bring respect back to city council and its residents, and or the constituents of Hanford is a better way of putting that. I feel like currently there's a little bit of a lack of respect from the council towards the city and I don't like that at all. I want to really bring back respect, civility, transparency, decisions and resources resources aligning with the communities and wants and needs. I think we saw with the roundabout when that wasn't happening. That obviously got me interested as well in running. I'm very interested in supporting public safety. I've actually gone on a ride along, spent all day last Thursday with Hanford Fire Department. I posted about that on social media. I really enjoyed myself and learned a lot. And then I also went on a ride along with one of our HART officers and I'm going to do more of an action-packed ride along on a weekend night with Hanford PD. But anyway, I'm really getting out there and I want to learn.
Speaker 5:I told at the 1776 meeting I said I'm in information gathering mode right now. I want to learn as much as I can about each public safety entity and just basically everything I want to learn about Main Street, downtown Hanford. I want to really. So I'm talking to everybody. I'm talking to every city council member. I talk to Mario Cifuentes. I just want to kind of learn as much as I can so that if I am lucky enough to get elected then I can make good decisions and I can obviously continue to learn more and I'll be privy to more information if I were to be elected. But I kind of went off track. Sorry about that.
Speaker 5:I think I am a great candidate for it because I am somebody who's able to take a lot of information in and then digest it and then kind of figure out what is the best fit and I want to listen to other people. I don't have a huge agenda at all. I don't. Being in city council isn't going to make my life or my business any better than it is my life's.
Speaker 5:I'm very lucky, but I want to be able to make impartial decisions, like listen to people and make decisions based on the information, the facts, information I learn, and then listening to the people of Hanford with respect and civility and curiosity and actually really listening with the intent to understand, not just listening to feel. There's a feeling of superiority right now and I just don't like that. I want everybody in Hanford to feel like we're all on the same, because we're all on the same team and we all want what's best for Hanford, and we spend a lot of time, money, resources and energy wasted being just in negativity and kind of caught up in the wrong stuff, and I don't. I want to get rid of that so we can actually work and get things done, because it's hard. We have a big job. It's hard enough, we don't need to add to it is my point.
Speaker 2:You mentioned earlier. You mentioned transparency and that's one of the things that I'm asking all the candidates. That seems to be a hot topic among the citizens. What does transparency on city council mean to you?
Speaker 5:Transparency means to me is honesty. If, if you have nothing to hide, put it all out there. I want information to be more easy to access. Sometimes I feel like not very bright when I'm dealing with city websites and things of that nature, because it's just not as user friendly as like websites that we're used to using in our day to day life. I feel like more commercial websites. Anyway, I feel like it would just be nice to have that information easier to find.
Speaker 5:Right now, the onus to find the information is on the constituent. I want us and if there's in a way we can get more interaction via social media. Obviously, with civility and respect, there's rules. You can have Facebook groups that have rules, Like you know. I understand, like right now city council pardon me, the city of Hanford you're not allowed to comment on their Facebook posts and things of that nature. So I think that could help with some transparency.
Speaker 5:Just being more open in general with these are the facts. These are why we're making decisions, Like, for instance, with the roundabouts. If there was really good information and facts and figures as to why they were a great idea, why weren't they more forthcoming with that? Why didn't they say like these are the reasons why and like, lay out a bunch of reasons and the facts and figures, and, unless I miss something, I never saw that and I feel like that's transparency, saying look, and I think a lot of times it's going to be, here's our choices.
Speaker 5:Neither one's super great, but these are. This is all the informational choice A. This is all their informational choice B. What do you think if we could restructure the times and the way the meeting works where public comment can be after? That would be another awesome thing thing, because then people could then put in their feedback on A and B and then you can kind of see, I feel like we've kind of put the cart before the horse, because it seems like we put a lot of money and time and effort into a project before we even know if we want to do it. With the roundabouts I believe don't quote me I think it's around $400,000 we've spent thus far, but we're not doing it or we're doing some modicum of it. But anyhow, it just seems like if there was ways that we could figure this out sooner.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I totally agree and that's a common theme. If you are elected on November 5th and take office in January, what are one or two things that you feel like you want to just get right to and have an impact on the community?
Speaker 5:Well, the most amazing thing would be if Measure H passes as well, because then we will have more money to do those things, because it would be public safety right away. And I would want to start with actually hiring more firefighters and more police, start with actual staff, start with actually hiring more firefighters and more police, start with actual staff, because I think that sounds like, if I'm understanding everything I'm learning correctly, that that would be the priority. I really am very interested in an animal control officer. We have one currently. It is not enough and I know the public is very on the same page with me on that one.
Speaker 5:I obviously started that by saying if Measure H passes, that's what I want to do. I mean, obviously I want to find a way to do that either way, whether it passes or it doesn't pass. I think it'll be easier, obviously if it passes, and we might have to be more creative and a little harder do some digging if it doesn't. But nonetheless, those are my priorities. And to learn. I'm going to be really realistic. I need to learn. I've never done this, but I want to do a damn good job. So I know it's going to take me time to learn and I want to learn exactly all the procedures, the Brown Act, everything. I've got some really great people mentoring me who are going to make sure that I learn how to do the job correctly.
Speaker 2:So I asked my listeners, nancy. I asked them what would you like to know from the city council candidates? What are their views on certain topics that have really been in the news lately? And the Hidden Valley. Completion of the 18 acres of the undeveloped parkland is definitely something that the community wants, but there's not money there yet. How do you view the Hidden Valley expansion project?
Speaker 5:and very much for the Hidden Valley Expansion Project. I believe this is something that's been in the talks for about 18 years. I think we need to really move forward with it. I actually even just was driving I had some extra time the other day when my son was at piano and I was driving around there and just actually looking at it and really reacquainting myself with that space and I thought, wow, what are we doing? We really need to use that space. I know that there's been talks that you know developers had wanted that in the past to build homes on. I know that there's houses being developed in the other parts of the community, so I don't think housing would be a priority there. I would rather see more recreation for youth. Recreation for youth is another big issue for me, something that I'd really like to increase and make it more accessible, both financially, and just have flat out more spaces to recreation.
Speaker 2:Certainly, nancy. I would like to thank you for coming on the show and voicing your support for your election to Hanford City Council, district C, and I want to wish you the best of luck in your campaign and good luck on November 5th.
Speaker 5:Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you for having me. It was fun.
Speaker 2:Hanford City Council District B roughly covers the middle of the city, from Fargo to Florinda. When Kaleesh Morrow resigned back in June, the council appointed former councilman Martin Devine to the position temporarily, until the November election. He's decided to run for his own three-year term. Also on the ballot to hold the office is Kimber Reagan and Alfred Benavidez. Mr Benavidez was unavailable for an interview, but Kimber Reagan and Martin Devine join me now. Well, it's great to have on the show our next candidate for Hanford City Council District B. We have Kimber Reagan with us. Welcome, kimber.
Speaker 3:Thank you. First, let me say thank you for this opportunity and thank those of you that have shown me your support and continue to keep me in your prayers. For those that don't know me, I prayed the night before entering this race and it was with God's conviction that we're doing this together, so thank you.
Speaker 2:That's great. Kimber, can you tell us a little bit about your background in Hanford and maybe a little bit about what you're doing these days?
Speaker 3:I first moved to Hanford in 1969. My stepfather was an advisor to the farmer, so I grew up in our farming community. I have owned several successful businesses and I'm currently the owner of Help you Sell Real Estate, where I've been for almost 23 years. Other businesses, including being a contractor, owner of a pebble flooring business, an AT&T cellular and paging business and a building supply company. I also had a craft supply store and others. I was a top advertising executive at the Hanford Sentinel for five years and was the marketing director at the Remington Retirement Community and I even helped City of Hanford start a visitor's guide many years ago.
Speaker 3:My roots in this town run deep and my community involvement has been for over 40 years. Working with people, solving problems and making things happen has always been my passion. As the owner broker of Help you Sell Real Estate, I discuss people's needs and find out what's important to them and find ways to make things happen. We actually have one of the most successful real estate offices in the county and my office has been downtown on 7th Street for 19 years, so that's one of the reasons for my passion for downtown.
Speaker 3:I've been very involved in the community and have a lifelong of experiences organizing and running events. Some examples are 14 years of chairing Hanford Sober Grad, nine years of Santas for Seniors and nine years of Salvation Army Christmas Tree for Kids. And one of my favorites is a youth group that I started many years ago called my Life Counts, where the kids picked a different charity each month and did a kids team for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life for seven years. The last year I had 175 kids on our team at the overnight event. I've participated with lots of other charities and events and I am deeply involved in Hanford and making it in Kings County better than ever before.
Speaker 2:That's great stuff. Why did you choose to run for city council?
Speaker 3:Because I know I will listen. I'm the mom of four daughters, seven grandkids, and they are my world and my motivation for running. I don't like what I see happening in Hanford. This is our town and it's yours and all of our opinions matter. I don't have any fancy degrees, but my education and experience is extensive. I am committed to our community. We need more job opportunities through vocational training and we need more opportunities, activities and choices for our kids.
Speaker 2:So in District B, we've seen your signs around town and what sets you apart from the other candidates and why should the residents of District B vote for you?
Speaker 3:I didn't enter this race to be a competition and I only entered after many conversations with community members and a serious conversation with God. So here I am. I'm a representative of what Hanford is, who the people are. My mom and my dad divorced when I was five. I grew up dirt poor. I can remember living in Corcoran and going into the fields with my mom to pick cotton, and I can remember living in a duplex owned by my aunt and uncle with a mattress in the living room and an ice chest in the kitchen and that was it and taking mayonnaise sandwiches to school because of that's what we had. But I never felt poor. My mom remarried and we moved to Hanford. Life was so much better. My new dad was a valued advisor to the farmers and life became better.
Speaker 3:I understand the importance of working together to get things done. Our farmers are important. So is our military base and our corrections facilities and our factories and our small businesses. We all matter, we're all important, but our city council doesn't always seem to get that. Unlike one of my opponents, the incumbent, I value our historic downtown buildings. The current incumbent was one of three votes that voted to take down the historic Art Deco firehouse, which was one of my favorite buildings of Hanford of all time. The incumbent also voted to sell off Hidden Valley Park land or to have it switched over to surplus, which is a first step in having it sold. I would never do that. I want to protect our historic town. I want to find ways to creatively finance and develop Hidden Valley Park.
Speaker 3:I search for solutions and fight to get things done, things that are important to the public. Examples I fought for almost three years to stop the roundabout at Dowdy and 7th Street. We did get the roundabout stops, but most of the public doesn't understand that they still plan on doing major construction on 7th and possibly Dowdy. When the city council voted it was not transparent and there were no comments or discussions allowed to the public. I have concerns as to what it will do to our downtown businesses and I don't like destroying our historic look. Our Help you Sell real estate office is currently working to find new owners to revitalize historic Superior Dairy. We want to find new owners that will embrace what Superior Dairy has been to our community. I also have other ideas that will revitalize our community but keep our historic downtown that we all love.
Speaker 2:So you mentioned transparency. That seems to be a big topic among city council discussions. What does transparency mean to you?
Speaker 3:Transparency to me means doing nothing behind the scenes. I know that there are mandatory closed sessions, but we need to take and have as much open out the public as we can. The meetings that they've had at 4 or 5 o'clock need to stop. It needs to be held at a time that it is available to the public to be able to take and come and participate and speak. It needs to be done to where there's comments from the public available after every presentation, to where the community knows that they're heard, the community knows that their opinion is valued. That's one of the major things. There needs to be stop the secret meetings or the secrecy where things are done behind the scenes, to where the public doesn't understand and to where the public finds out what's happened after it's done.
Speaker 2:So, kimber, let's say you are elected November 5th and you take office in January. What is one of your top priorities, if seated on the council?
Speaker 3:I feel like we have a lot of different things that we need to get done together, but one of the things that many people have discussed with me is completing Hidden Valley Park, and I feel like that we can do that with creative financing and not take and just go straight after the public's tax dollars. One of the things that I would love to see happen at it is I would like to see a pump track and a walking track and a bike track, and one of the things that was mentioned to me or suggested by Larry Faria is possibly having a fishing area and have it stocked with fish. There are things that we could take and do with that park that would benefit kids. The pump track in case the public doesn't understand, a pump track is a bike park. It's a bike track like they have down in Corcoran and it's pretty amazing.
Speaker 3:I load up my grandkids all the time in my husband's truck and take them down to Corcoran to take and ride their bikes and it's a pretty neat thing. There's a lot of other stuff that we need to do. We need to take, and it's a pretty neat thing. There's a lot of other stuff that we need to do. We need to take.
Speaker 3:One of the biggest things that I feel like we need to do is we need to take and explore ways to take and come up with joint projects with schools and the city and other things, to where we're focusing on different kinds of vocational opportunities for kids, because there's going to be a lot of kids that do not have the opportunity to go to college and we need to take and make sure that they have job skills that they can support themselves and their future families.
Speaker 2:Well, kimber, that's all great stuff. You definitely have a lot of plans for Hanford. If elected or not elected, you are very involved in the community and we deeply appreciate that. So, kimber, if someone wanted to get a hold of you and find out more about things that you're pushing for and kind of what's on the way, how can they reach you?
Speaker 6:I would be happy to talk to anybody and answer any of their questions by phone numbers 559-415-9254. I've had it publicized for years and years, and years and I'm always happy to take a talk to anybody if they have any questions about anything going on with the community or with real estate or whatever. Again, 559-415-9254. I look forward to talking to anybody that wants to speak.
Speaker 2:I want to wish you the best of luck in your campaign.
Speaker 3:I appreciate your time For the love of the city. Please everybody get out and vote. I appreciate you and keep us all in prayers.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Our next candidate for Hanford City Council in Area B is Martin Devine. Welcome to the show, Martin.
Speaker 7:Thank you and glad to be here. I appreciate you giving me the time to speak about my campaign.
Speaker 2:Martin, can you tell us a little bit about your background in Hanford and maybe some of the projects that you're currently involved in.
Speaker 7:Yes, just real quick here. I was born in Hanford, grew up in Fresno, unfortunately, spent many weekends and summers here in Hanford with my grandparents. My parents grew up here in the area. I moved to Hanford my senior year of high school and then graduated from Hanford High in 1985. After that I worked various photography things and then went into structural pest control for over a couple of decades and worked in various aspects of pest control, from treating residential houses, termite inspections managed. Let's see, I have two children my daughter Kylie, my son Aiden and two grandsons, maverick and Sid.
Speaker 2:So, martin, you've been on the Hanford City Council before and you chose to run again. What is your motivation for serving the city on the City Council?
Speaker 7:Well, I genuinely care about our city. Well, I genuinely care about our city, and I believe we are at a very pivotal and crucial time, which requires experienced and knowledgeable leadership. We need leaders who will make sound decisions based upon rational skills and the understanding necessary to address the challenges that our city is facing. Along with my experience and common sense approach, I am committed to listening to the concerns of our residents and working towards solutions that are best for our city.
Speaker 2:So there's lots of candidates running for the Hanford City Council and some others in Area B. What kind of sets you apart from the other candidates running?
Speaker 7:Well. My experience and knowledge set me apart from the other candidates. I'm able to hit the ground running on day one, whereas my opponents will have a large learning curve that'll take a lot of time. We need continuity in such a pivotal time when many good things are coming to our city.
Speaker 7:I was recently appointed to the Open District B Council seat from a panel of many very qualified individuals and subsequently appointed by the council to the KCAG, that's, the Kings County Association of Governments, and the KCAPTA commissions Kings County Area Public Transportation Authority. They oversee CART, if anyone doesn't know what they exactly do. Anyhow, I will be able to continue what I have currently begun with these commissions as well as the policy committee of the California League of Cities, where I was recently appointed. With the California League of Cities Policy Committee, I can help to shape state policies concerning our city. Also, my previous time as a LAFCO commissioner and my previous time serving on KCAG and CAPTA in my former council term has garnered me much experience and knowledge, from simply knowing how to use the computer on the council dais to understanding the budget and such things as landscape assessment districts. I've also built relationships with other elected and government officials that can benefit the city of Hanford as well.
Speaker 2:So lately in city council discussions there's been a lot of talk about transparency. We need more transparency. What does transparency on the Hanford City Council mean to you?
Speaker 7:Well, one of the definitions of the word transparency is the quality of being easy to perceive or detect. With that said, I believe information should be easily accessible, as much as legally allowed that is, and council members should be open, honest and accessible. Many cities are working toward better transparency and I've seen the city of Hanford move in that direction, beginning when I last served. I believe there's still a lot of room for improvement and, just like many cities, hanford is working toward better transparency.
Speaker 2:If elected to the city council in November and sworn back in in January. What are two things, maybe, that you'd like to tackle as soon as possible?
Speaker 7:Well, with one of the biggest issues behind us now, after my fellow council members and I voted to move forward with the downtown project without the controversial roundabout, there's two things that need to get done that have been issues for quite some time. First is the issue of the 18 acres west of Hidden Valley Park. I'd like to work with city staff on finding funding for this project and how to begin developing those acres into parkland. Now I know there's some question to that. As to my previous time on the council, I did vote to place the parkland on surplus property, which then means it could be sold. There was no attempt to sell it. There was no buyer for that property in all that time. In the meantime, the council has said that we would like to put that property back into parkland, which is currently being done by city staff now, and I am in support of working to find that funding and develop that into a park.
Speaker 7:The other issue is the Grangeville grade separation at the railroad tracks.
Speaker 7:This has been something that's been talked about.
Speaker 7:I believe the idea for this began before I was even on the council in 2016.
Speaker 7:I'd like to work toward getting federal funding for this project, and that would mean working through the KCAG Commission. They oversee transportation projects in our area and, along with other commissioners from the other councils of governments in other counties, they have a group. They call themselves Valley Voice. They go back to DC and talk to the electeds back there and try to find funding for this. Recently I've got to give credit to Supervisor Verboon and KCAG Director Terry King, who went back to DC and discussed this very issue with many of the electeds back in DC electeds back in DC. I made sure they got the proper information to take back there and they discussed with many of them this project and got the interest of people back in DC and they actually want to come out and do a site inspection of this property, which is a first step in the right direction. So I'd like to work towards that more should I get reelected and should the council see fit to place me back on this commission.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great. That totally slipped my mind. I know the grade separation there at Grangeville has been worked on for a number of years and that's going to be exciting when that gets a little bit, maybe, closer to reality.
Speaker 7:I'd like to address the area of the downtown improvements and you can even include the East Lacey project if you'd like, but I know that the roundabout was for helping to secure funding for that project. Thank you, mr Valadao, for that. We have some issues down there that we can take care of at the same time because of this project. If we weren't doing this project we wouldn't be able to take care of the other issues, which is sewage issues there that desperately need to be done to help alleviate some of the flooding in the downtown area. With going ahead with the downtown project, while we're doing that, we can access that sewage area and repair that as well. So that's a positive and this is a move in the right direction for getting some funding into our downtown and it's a good start.
Speaker 7:This is merely phase one. We're going to be looking at moving forward with other projects in the future. The timeline on the construction. Unfortunately that is going to have a negative impact on the businesses in that area and I've spoken to some of them and they're aware of it and they're glad to see investment in that area. They're glad to see that we're moving forward without a roundabout. That goes without saying. But they do understand there's going to be some impact to their business while this construction is going on. Hopefully it's done in a timely manner and it's not too disruptive.
Speaker 2:Well, I'd like to thank you for coming on the show, Martin. If people are interested in learning more about your positions on different issues, how can they reach you and maybe pick up a yard sign or something like that?
Speaker 7:My yard signs are available at both the Republican Party headquarters out at the Republican Party at the Thursday Night Marketplace. They're also available at the Republican store located at 11th and Grangeville, behind Fashion Cleaners there. They can contact me at martin at martindivinecom. For more information. They can look up wwwmartindivinecom or find me on Facebook at Divine for.
Speaker 2:Hanford. Well, that's wonderful, Martin. I'd like to wish you the best of luck in your campaign and encourage the people to go out and vote for your candidate of choice.
Speaker 7:Well, thank you. Love the podcast and I do listen every week.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you Love the podcast and I do listen every week.
Speaker 2:Also on the ballot is the Revenue Measure H, which, if passed, will increase the sales tax rate by 1%.
Speaker 2:Hanford has attempted similar measures in the past and has not been successful. Rather than try for a measure that would only go to public safety, that would require a two-thirds majority to pass, it was decided to ask for a general measure which would increase funding for police, fire, streets, parks and code enforcement that only requires a 50% plus one vote to pass. Earlier this year, a revenue measure committee was appointed to study the city's finances with great detail and they forwarded the recommendation for a measure to the city council for approval. The city Council agreed with the recommendation to send the measure to the voters on the November ballot, and now it's up to the voters to decide. Well, joining me on the show now, it's a pleasure to have Valerie Castles and Christine Leach, and they were both members of the Revenue Measure Committee, and I've invited them on the show this afternoon to talk about their experience on the Revenue Measure Committee and what it means to the community to be able to pass this measure. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 8:Well, thanks, Rob. I'm happy to be here and really appreciate your invitation.
Speaker 9:Thank you, Rob, and thank you for having me. I appreciate the invitation.
Speaker 2:So, Valerie, let's start with you. The Revenue Measure Committee met for over 20 hours and discovered a lot of things about the city finances. What stood out to you?
Speaker 8:things like Hanford's more than 100 years old and we've never passed our own sales tax, 400 plus. Other communities in California have done that and we just keep going with. Do more with less.
Speaker 2:So when you say do more with less, I know that there was a figure about the number of police and firefighters that we had, say, 20, 30 years ago, and we're at a number that's basically the same or lower.
Speaker 8:That's right, but what's even more important is to know that, based on best practices in law enforcement and in firefighting, both of our departments have only about half the number of policemen or firemen that we should have for a city of almost 60,000 people.
Speaker 2:So, valerie, why do you feel, after your experience on the Revenue Measure Committee, why do you feel the voters of Hanford should be supporting this Revenue Measure H?
Speaker 8:supporting this revenue measure H. For several decades now, previous city councils and previous voters have been adverse to a sales tax, and that has led us to the position we're in now, and there really is no more budget to cut. We've been doing that for at least 20 years. We've got to pass this or we will continue to have tired and worn out streets, we will continue to have longer response times on fire calls and our police officers won't be able to do as much preventive types of work that they could be doing in our community.
Speaker 2:I know that the Revenue Measure Committee was made up of people from all facets of life. They had a lot of different experiences, some of them very involved in city council, some of them not, and I know that one of the big discussions is about the Oversight Committee and how that will be selected if this is passed. How do you feel that the makeup of the committee led to the success of the Revenue Measure Committee forwarding this proposal to the City of Hanford?
Speaker 8:Well, I was really impressed with the people on this committee because of the diverse work and life experiences that we had. Many of us have been in Hanford for a long, long, long time and some of us not so long, but we really did have skill sets and there were people on our committee who were very big tent, big umbrella, big overview. I would be in that group. And then some people were very, very detailed and we really did look at those budgets line by line and people asked critical questions and the department heads gave us legitimate answers. Appoints people similar to those of us that served on Measure H.
Speaker 2:It'll be a committee that the community can have confidence in. So, Christine, how about you? Why do you believe Hanford should vote for Measure H?
Speaker 9:Well, the big why is my family and the citizens of Hanford as a whole, and the issue of safety alone. Because I feel like everyone desires to live in a safe city that includes plenty of police officers, firefighters, even safe roads, having clean, safe parks and a thriving downtown the Y2, I took it upon myself to apply for the RMC and I was selected by the city council based on the application that I submitted. Hanford, I truly believe, is an awesome town to live in. We have so many good things here, but, just like every city, we have areas we need to improve on, and I believe that Measure H can tackle some of these things. Again, part of my why I believe Hanford should vote for this measure is, if Measure H is approved, it will generate a penny for every dollar spent on taxable items, and I know during the RMC time, we were given a list of 25 businesses that were tax generators for our city, and that would be Costco, of course, keller Motors, target, walmart, all of those. So, like Nancy Howes, one of our District C Hanford City Council candidates, said in a recent town hall, it's the fairest way to do it, and I get that. I get what she means. It's us citizens, when we're out shopping at these local stores or when people are visiting or working here in our city. We should be able to get this penny for every taxable dollar, and I'm very happy that our city officials and city council decided on doing this approach for the struggles that we have with our budget, instead of just jumping to increase our property tax or increase other fees that residents may have, like water, garbage, and that could be a big thing for families that struggle financially. So part of my why, too, is I learned during the RMC that Hanford has for years deferred capital projects that total over $60 million, and that's because they're operating on a very tight budget that doesn't allow for any wiggle room or abilities for improvements or needs that our city has to operate this 1% sales tax. The data is showing that our city could generate $19 million annually that could go into the budget so that the city of Hanford can address what we haven't been able to address for years. So once Measure H is approved by our voters, there is a detailed expenditure plan that allocates just how they are going to use the money that this 1% sales tax could generate for our city. So now what I've learned as being part of the RMC was. Hanford is only one out of about 30 cities that are still at the 7.25% sales tax, but really what that means is the city doesn't even get a penny for every dollar that is spent. Currently, the majority of the revenue from the 7.25 sales tax goes to the state and the one great thing about Measure H all of that money will go to our city and stay local. Also, what I learned and what I think is important for our citizens to know is, if Measure H is approved, it does not affect groceries, because groceries aren't taxable items. It doesn't affect our prescription, drugs or rent and utilities and mortgage payments. Those are not taxable.
Speaker 9:With my involvement with the RMC, we as a committee made recommendations on funding priorities to the city council and that is how the expenditure plan was developed. This includes additional police and patrol vehicles, additional firefighters, fire engines, even a public safety building that's been put on hold for many, many years because, again, we have no wiggle room and this Measure H could help with this public safety building to come through for our town. We've had the police department there since I could, that's all I remember is our police department growing up here in Hanford we have a new fire station that is being allocated. Road repairs we have tremendous need for our roads. We as a committee recognized additional maintenance and improvements on our existing parks were needed and we need more park employees. We don't have enough employees to handle our parks for the size of this town. Also, a big topic within the RMC was code enforcement and property abatement, and again there's no wiggle room to really address that right now and this Measure H can help with that as well.
Speaker 2:Christine, I understand that you were actually pretty hesitant about the Revenue Measure Committee and the sales tax increase. What have you learned and how has your opinion been shaped?
Speaker 9:Well, I was very hesitant to jump into fully supporting Measure H and I say that, but I say it and I supported it like 90%, 10% was like my hesitancy, that little thing on my shoulder telling me no, no, no. But what it has to do with is some of the decisions that the cities made in the past and maybe how I felt, and maybe others felt, that our city council wasn't listening to us and I live close to the North Star. I even addressed the council to address the homeless issue and their drug use outside of our downtown businesses. But I had to let all that go and realize that's in the past and we've got to think ahead for the future of Hanford and the needs of Hanford moving forward.
Speaker 2:If the city council doesn't follow the recommendations of the RMC and the oversight committee is not pleased with the way that things are going, what repercussions does the City Council have when it comes to Measure H?
Speaker 9:Well, God forbid that this becomes an issue of not following the expenditure plan. That would be the issue. Our mayor himself, Travis Payton, stood firm at this recent town hall meeting on city leadership following the expenditure plan. He even showed a slide that I want to quote, and it states Hanford will have the right to overturn the revenue measure by a majority vote of its constituents. Again, God forbid if they don't follow that expenditure plan. I would lead a committee. If that became an issue, I would be a part of this committee. But I also want to stress that they have fiscal accountability, they're going to have an oversight committee and that make recommendations with regards to making sure that the expenditure plan is being held to, and then they'll have auditors that audit making sure that the expenditure plan is being followed.
Speaker 2:Christine and Valerie, thank you so much for coming on the show, thank you for your service on the Revenue Measure Committee and we hope that the community has learned a lot about Revenue Measure H on the ballot.
Speaker 8:Well, thank you very much.
Speaker 9:Rob.
Speaker 2:Well, I just want to conclude that we, as citizens of Hanford, need to trust and have faith that our city leadership will follow that expenditure plan and I just want to let the citizens know that this is our city and I want them to know that we need to vote for the future we want for our city. Please be sure to get your votes in by Tuesday, november 5th. If you have any questions about your ballot, be sure to contact the Kings County Elections Department. Join me next week for a special Pastors Appreciation Month episode. If you'd like to show your favorite pastor some love, please go to my website at hanfordinsidercom and click on the microphone to record a shout out. These messages will be played on next week's episode. If you enjoyed this podcast and you'd like to show your support, you can go to buymeacoffeecom slash Hanford Insider to make a donation.
Speaker 2:If you'd like to join the Hanford Insider email list, stop by my website at hanfordinsidercom to sign up for updates. You'll also get an exclusive copy of my newsletter in your inbox each week. You can send me feedback by voicemail through the website by clicking on the microphone icon. I'd love to hear from you. Your comments may even be shared on the show. I also need your help getting the word out about the show by liking and sharing on social media or telling a friend For more information about the show. You can find this podcast on Facebook, instagram, threads X and YouTube at Hanford Insider. If you have a show idea, be sure to email me at hanfordinsider at gmailcom and I'll look into it. Thanks for listening. Have a great week, thank you.
