OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Visalia City Council Meeting - December 18, 2023

City Council — Monday, December 18, 2023
BodyVisalia, California
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, December 18, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:10:53

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Seeing all staff here, I'm gonna bring it back to council work session item number one.

0:05

West side farming operation, consideration of staff recommendations regarding the city owned orchard properties located at the water reclamation facility.

0:16

Thank you, members of council, Leslie Cavillia, city manager, and in some instances just the last person standing on this one.

0:23

So here we go.

0:25

We're going to talk about west side farming, and by that I mean the approximately 900 acres that the city owns out by the wastewater treatment plant.

0:35

In my estimation, it was a brilliant move many, many decades ago to purchase that land to protect the treatment plant for both changes in the regulations for growth and protecting it because everybody says they don't mind living next to treatment plant until they do, kind of like an airport, and then they do, and then it's very difficult.

0:56

So I do think it was a very wise decision.

0:59

Um we'll talk a little bit more about how other decisions came about.

1:05

So why did the city actually start farming there?

1:11

Um I was not directly involved in the um initial decisions.

1:16

I was sitting kind of with that back row gallery back there when the decision was made listening, and remember it seeming very reasonable and a well measured and thought out opportunity because they were looking for something that they could utilize that land for in a productive way.

1:34

They did, as I remember, engage with people in the industry as to what it might look like, and the decision was made to go from all one type of nut in a permanent planning into three different types walnuts, um, pecans, and pistachios.

1:52

We never planned the pistachios, but um you know there was a decision made to diversify that crop.

1:57

Um they went out for RFPs for the farm manager.

2:01

Uh it was it was uh like I said, uh what seemingly was a well thought out um process.

2:07

Uh but then life changed.

2:11

And so it was all before.

2:13

All before there were groundwater sustainability issues, uh, long before there was a drought, long before there was prevailing wage, which was then required to be utilized if we were farming as well, uh, long before COVID, um, long before the market dropped, long before varieties changes, it was just a different time.

2:34

And so what became what began as something that made sense, and it had originally been uh leased out ground, and they found that as the lease got to the end, the grower was not necessarily taking great care of the of the trees, and we ended up with something that wasn't productive and something we could continue with.

2:53

Um so they had gone with a fresh plant.

2:56

Um we have before us now a very different situation in the farming environment and agriculture in Tularie County.

3:03

And so we're gonna talk about some of that today.

3:09

Um that we often talk about two types of farming.

3:12

Um we had uh crops out on the east side, and we now have basins that are under construction out there, as well as there's well over a hundred acres that will become a park.

3:22

So that used to be all farmed, but when we began to build the basins, the way the irrigation system was uh designed, it was no longer feasible to farm any of the permanent crops that were out there.

3:34

Um so we no longer are farming on the east side.

3:37

On the west side, however, we do have over 900 acres, and you can see in the yellow here, it's the walnut.

3:47

The yellow off there on the upper left-hand corner is where the walnuts are.

3:52

You can see the plant that is south of there.

3:56

You see the walnuts were planted in 2015.

4:00

The pecans were planted in three stages, um uh 20 uh 13, 14, and 15.

4:08

And again, that's a that's a good strategy, so that they all don't end exactly at the same time.

4:13

And then where you do see the row crop land, um, as I remember all of that was gonna go into pistachios, but the pistachio market began to change somewhat.

4:21

Um, and again, I was not involved in the in the direct discussions, but the decision was made to hold off, especially uh in 2015 is when the groundwater sustainability agency came into being, and knowing that there was a great unknown in the ways of water and what was moving forward.

4:37

So we do have the acreage that is out there now in two types of permanent crops.

4:44

Hey, quick question on that.

4:46

How many leaves is it for a pecan before it turns full production and how many leaves for the walnuts?

4:51

Good question.

4:52

So walnuts tend to be at least seven, between seven and ten is what you know, and in researching with folks more recently.

5:02

It varies between seven and ten, but by seven, you've you're somewhat into the productive the full production.

5:08

Um but it will strengthen over the next couple of years as well.

5:12

Pecans tend to be 10 to 13.

5:14

Again, 10 is kind of generally where you get and say, okay, I'm probably starting to break even on them.

5:21

Um not the case now because of the downturn in the industry, but it is about that point.

5:28

Thank you.

5:30

So let's talk financials, and it's not fun.

5:34

So when you look at it, we're gonna look over the last four years.

5:38

Now, you know, you probably know I do come from a farming background.

5:42

Um we do farm and we plant citrus, we know that we it is going to be red ink for us for 10 years.

5:49

That's a given.

5:50

So while that's very different from a lot of industries, that tends to be in farming, something, especially when you're planting permanent crops that you kind of go into knowing.

5:58

So the same would be true.

6:00

Come with walnuts.

6:01

Um you would expect that at least the first seven years it's going to be red ink as you those are growing.

6:06

The first years you're it's gonna be no production.

6:09

You might start to get some the fifth and sixth year, and that's kind of what you're seeing here.

6:14

Um pecans would be a little later after they were planted, um, and you'd begin to see some production, but not high levels of volume.

6:23

Unfortunately, we're kind of in a uh uh triple uh negative here because we've got um that we had plant gro uh groves are uh yeah, groves of trees under production.

6:36

We ended up with a the pandemic which completely changed the industry and how um the whole kind of global marketplace for nuts and and other comp countries started planting their own as well, and um the prices just dropped dramatically.

6:53

The other thing about fire means is it it is all cyclic, right?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement██████████████████18%
Housing█████████████████17%
Agriculture Management█████████████13%
Procedural█████████████13%
Special Event Regulation█████████9%
Community Engagement███████7%
Water And Wastewater Management█████5%
Youth Programs█████5%
Personnel Matters██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Visalia City Council Meeting - December 18, 2023

The Visalia City Council met on Monday, December 18, 2023, beginning with a work session at 5:00 PM to discuss city-owned orchard operations, followed by a closed session at 6:00 PM, reconvening for special presentations at 6:30 PM, and the regular session at 7:00 PM. All council members were present except Vice Mayor Brett Taylor. The meeting included work session discussions, consent calendar items (with three items pulled for separate consideration), public hearings on annexations and the Housing Element update, and multiple special recognitions.

Consent Calendar

  • Item 2 (Environmental Impact Report Consultant): Authorized contract with Dudek for $654,085 for Storm and Sewer Master Plan EIRs.
  • Item 3 (Traffic Grant): Authorized application for STEP grant up to $200,000.
  • Item 4 (Baker Tilly Contract): Approved contract for Consolidated Plan preparation.
  • Item 5 (Fire Line Repair): Authorized $20,000 from Golf Fund for fire line repair at Valley Oaks Golf Course.
  • Item 7 (Solar Lighting for Parks): Awarded contract to Power Design Electric for $95,600.
  • Item 8 (Impact Fee Report): Received and filed the 2022/23 Impact Fee Report.
  • Item 10 (Fleet Software): Authorized 5-year contract with AssetWorks for $124,044.84.
  • Item 11 (Fleet Paint/Repair): Awarded contract to Dura-Glo Paint and Body Inc., not to exceed $250,000 per year.
  • Item 12 (Water Conservation Letter): Confirmed letter of support for Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District.
  • Item 13 (Wastewater Treatment Engineering): Awarded emergency contract to Carollo for $887,200.
  • Item 14 (Goshen Sewer Discharge): Approved increased sewer discharge capacity for Goshen Community Services District.
  • Item 15 (Public Opinion Survey): Authorized contract with Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates for up to $50,000.
  • Items 6 (Youth Non-Profit Grants), 9 (Special Events Ordinance), and 16 (Assistant City Manager Appointment) were pulled from consent and debated separately.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • On Consent Calendar Items (Item 6): A speaker (Dr. Lucia Vasquez) expressed support for youth-led projects and recommended changes to grant application timing, allowing student clubs to apply directly, and raising the age limit from 18 to 20 or 21. Another speaker (former mayor) thanked the council for continuing the grant program.
  • On Special Events Ordinance (Item 9): Multiple speakers opposed the 12-week limit for street events, arguing it would harm the farmers market. One speaker claimed Councilmember Nelson orchestrated the changes and had a conflict of interest. Another speaker (Janine Robbins, downtown merchant/property owner) supported the ordinance, emphasizing the need for rules to protect downtown businesses. A speaker questioned if changes were made since first reading and urged the council to consider exceptions for popular markets.
  • On Assistant City Manager Appointment (Item 16): Barry Kaplan objected to the appointment, citing alleged Brown Act violations and criticizing John Lollis’s record on transparency and public records access. He requested a poll and recusal discussion, but the city attorney dismissed the claims as meritless.
  • On Belissa Subdivision Annexation: No public comments beyond procedural questions from Barry Kaplan about agenda formatting.
  • On County Island Annexation: Barry Kaplan raised concerns about agenda clarity and compliance with the Brown Act.
  • On Housing Element: Barry Kaplan asked about trend data in fair housing maps and transportation assumptions for transit proximity.

Discussion Items

Work Session: Westside Farming Operations

City Manager Leslie Cavillia presented a detailed analysis of the city’s 900+ acres of orchard properties at the Water Reclamation Facility. The city currently farms 131 acres of walnuts (variety Tulare, planted 2015), 443 acres of pecans (planted 2013-2015), and 408 acres of row crop land (formerly intended for pistachios). Financial data showed substantial losses: walnuts cost ~$4,000/acre with revenue recently as low as $0.20/lb; pecans cost ~$3,500/acre; net losses ranged from $2,300 to $3,300 per acre over the past four years. Walnut trees suffer from crown gall disease and poor market prospects, while pecan trees are healthy and increasing production (expected $1.35–$1.65/lb in 2024 but still not breaking even). Staff recommended:

  1. Cease farming walnuts and issue a long-term lease for the land (with water restrictions and tree removal by lessee).
  2. Continue farming pecans under current contract for 2024, then issue an RFP for a farm manager or lessee; assess wells and recycled water delivery; no long-term lease due to water uncertainty.
  3. Issue a year-to-year lease for the row crop land with restrictions on city groundwater use.
  4. Authorize staff to study alternative uses (solar, recreation, storage) for the land. Council members expressed support: Councilmember Nelsen (who sits on the GSA) agreed on water uncertainties and supported the pecan gamble; Councilmember Wynn questioned the large cumulative loss (~$5 million) but saw value in continuing pecans for a few years; Councilmember Hernandez Soto supported getting out of farming but willing to keep pecans. The motion to adopt staff recommendations passed 4-0.

Regular Items & Public Hearings

  • Belissa Subdivision Annexation: A proposal to annex 59.84 acres for a 309 single-family lots plus 168 multifamily units and neighborhood commercial. The project includes parks, a trail along Modoc Ditch, and requires extensive infrastructure. Planning commission recommended approval. Council unanimously approved the resolutions (2023-62, 2023-63) and authorized the pre-annexation agreement.
  • County Island Annexation: City-initiated annexation of two county islands (35.76 acres) along Akers and Linwood. Staff held a community meeting on Dec. 7. Council approved Resolution 2023-61 to initiate proceedings and detachment from County Service Area No. 1. Vote 4-0.
  • Housing Element Adoption: Consultant Ryan Lester presented the 6th Cycle Housing Element update covering 2023-2031. Key points: The city must plan for a regional housing needs allocation (RHNA) with 56% of units for lower-income households. The inventory identified a surplus of 736 lower-income units through vacant/underutilized sites and six annexation sites, without requiring rezones. New state requirements include an affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFH) analysis, which reveals disparities between the western (affluent) and central/eastern (higher poverty, higher pollution) parts of the city. Programs include increasing the conditional use permit threshold from 80 to 200 units, annual engagement events, reducing parking for affordable units, and a transit needs study by 2027. Planning commission recommended adoption with minor edits. Council approved Resolution 2023-64 unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • Westside Farming: Motion to adopt staff recommendations passed 4-0. Staff directed to stop farming walnuts, continue pecans with RFP, lease row crop land, and study alternative uses.
  • Youth Non-Profit Grant Awards: Motion to approve recommendations as presented (Table 2) passed 4-0. Councilmember Hernandez Soto requested a future agenda item to consider increasing funding.
  • Special Events Ordinance (Second Reading): Ordinance 2023-12 adopted 3-1 (Councilmember Hernandez Soto dissented over the 12-week limit). Councilmember Nelson recused himself from conflict discussions; city attorney confirmed no conflict. Councilmember Soto’s request to revisit the 12-week limit will be considered at the next meeting.
  • Assistant City Manager Appointment: John Lollis appointed at a salary of $204,000. Motion passed 4-0.
  • Belissa and County Island Annexations: Approved unanimously. City will file with Tulare LAFCO.
  • Housing Element: Adopted unanimously. Document will be posted for seven days and resubmitted to HCD for certification. Annual progress reports will continue.
  • Closed Session Report: City closed escrow on four right-of-way acquisitions for the Caldwell Widening Project (total payments: $305,760).

Meeting Transcript

Seeing all staff here, I'm gonna bring it back to council work session item number one. West side farming operation, consideration of staff recommendations regarding the city owned orchard properties located at the water reclamation facility. Thank you, members of council, Leslie Cavillia, city manager, and in some instances just the last person standing on this one. So here we go. We're going to talk about west side farming, and by that I mean the approximately 900 acres that the city owns out by the wastewater treatment plant. In my estimation, it was a brilliant move many, many decades ago to purchase that land to protect the treatment plant for both changes in the regulations for growth and protecting it because everybody says they don't mind living next to treatment plant until they do, kind of like an airport, and then they do, and then it's very difficult. So I do think it was a very wise decision. Um we'll talk a little bit more about how other decisions came about. So why did the city actually start farming there? Um I was not directly involved in the um initial decisions. I was sitting kind of with that back row gallery back there when the decision was made listening, and remember it seeming very reasonable and a well measured and thought out opportunity because they were looking for something that they could utilize that land for in a productive way. They did, as I remember, engage with people in the industry as to what it might look like, and the decision was made to go from all one type of nut in a permanent planning into three different types walnuts, um, pecans, and pistachios. We never planned the pistachios, but um you know there was a decision made to diversify that crop. Um they went out for RFPs for the farm manager. Uh it was it was uh like I said, uh what seemingly was a well thought out um process. Uh but then life changed. And so it was all before. All before there were groundwater sustainability issues, uh, long before there was a drought, long before there was prevailing wage, which was then required to be utilized if we were farming as well, uh, long before COVID, um, long before the market dropped, long before varieties changes, it was just a different time. And so what became what began as something that made sense, and it had originally been uh leased out ground, and they found that as the lease got to the end, the grower was not necessarily taking great care of the of the trees, and we ended up with something that wasn't productive and something we could continue with. Um so they had gone with a fresh plant. Um we have before us now a very different situation in the farming environment and agriculture in Tularie County. And so we're gonna talk about some of that today. Um that we often talk about two types of farming. Um we had uh crops out on the east side, and we now have basins that are under construction out there, as well as there's well over a hundred acres that will become a park. So that used to be all farmed, but when we began to build the basins, the way the irrigation system was uh designed, it was no longer feasible to farm any of the permanent crops that were out there. Um so we no longer are farming on the east side. On the west side, however, we do have over 900 acres, and you can see in the yellow here, it's the walnut. The yellow off there on the upper left-hand corner is where the walnuts are. You can see the plant that is south of there. You see the walnuts were planted in 2015. The pecans were planted in three stages, um uh 20 uh 13, 14, and 15. And again, that's a that's a good strategy, so that they all don't end exactly at the same time. And then where you do see the row crop land, um, as I remember all of that was gonna go into pistachios, but the pistachio market began to change somewhat. Um, and again, I was not involved in the in the direct discussions, but the decision was made to hold off, especially uh in 2015 is when the groundwater sustainability agency came into being, and knowing that there was a great unknown in the ways of water and what was moving forward. So we do have the acreage that is out there now in two types of permanent crops. Hey, quick question on that. How many leaves is it for a pecan before it turns full production and how many leaves for the walnuts? Good question. So walnuts tend to be at least seven, between seven and ten is what you know, and in researching with folks more recently. It varies between seven and ten, but by seven, you've you're somewhat into the productive the full production. Um but it will strengthen over the next couple of years as well. Pecans tend to be 10 to 13. Again, 10 is kind of generally where you get and say, okay, I'm probably starting to break even on them. Um not the case now because of the downturn in the industry, but it is about that point. Thank you. So let's talk financials, and it's not fun. So when you look at it, we're gonna look over the last four years. Now, you know, you probably know I do come from a farming background. Um we do farm and we plant citrus, we know that we it is going to be red ink for us for 10 years. That's a given.

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