Hanford, county leaders express different perspectives
The Kings County Grand jury has issued a
report criticizing Kings County supervisors and staff for their hard-line
stance against the California High-Speed Rail Authority and its plans to put
tracks, a station and other infrastructure on Kings County soil.
The report accuses county supervisors of the
following:
•
Failing to hold study
sessions to gain public input before filing lawsuits against the authority
•
Refusing to apply for
funds available through the authority to help affected businesses relocate
•
Filing lawsuits against
the authority “involving privately owned lands.” The grand jury stated that “it
does not appear that the county owns any affected land … with the exception of
roadways that would be crossed.”
Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard Fagundes
wrote an official response stating that the board “strongly disagrees” with all
three allegations.
Responding to the claim that the county
refused to apply for business relocation funds, Fagundes wrote that the grand
jury “completely misunderstood the board’s action on this issue.”
He argued that the authority is obligated by
law to compensate property owners for their losses, regardless of what the
county does.
Fagundes went on to argue that County Fire
Station #4, located on Houston Avenue, is threatened by the rail alignment.
Fagundes called the jury’s claim that no county property is affected “yet
another indication that the grand jury did wholly inadequate research when
deciding to pursue the release of [its] report.”
“What the grand jury did was appalling and
absurd,” said County Supervisor Doug Verboon. “They didn’t do their due
diligence.”
Nick Kinney, foreman of the grand jury,
declined to comment, saying it would be “against the law” for him to do so.
While criticizing supervisors for allegedly
refusing to apply for available money, the report stated that the city of
Hanford “decided to accept a grant of $129,300 from the High Speed Rail
Authority to be used for infrastructure relating to the High Speed Rail
Project.”
Hanford City Manager Darrel Pyle said the
money in question was simply a reimbursement for staff time and other expenses
the city incurred supplying information to bidders on the construction package
for the 65-mile section from American Avenue south through Kings County to the
Tulare-Kern County line.
A $1.4 billion contract to build the stretch
was awarded by the authority in January. Pyle said that companies submitting
bids came to city employees asking for engineering and other information.
He said the authority paid the city’s costs.
“We didn’t get a grant,” Pyle said.
Pyle said the upcoming Hanford City Council
meeting on Tuesday will include a discussion of whether the city should apply
for a planning grant to help decide on design and infrastructure upgrades
associated with the authority’s plans to put a high-speed rail station in east
Hanford.
The discussion could get interesting, since
there seems to be some daylight developing between the county’s stance and
Hanford’s position.
Pyle said he’ll ask council members on Tuesday
for direction on whether they want to participate in the station planning
process by applying for a grant available from the authority.
He said the consequences of the city’s
non-cooperation with the Authority would be that there “won’t be a [Hanford]
voice at the table, and when construction begins, the contractor is going to
build what they design.”
Pyle is referring to the fact that
Dragados/Flatiron/Shimmick, the group with the winning $1.4 billion bid, will
both design and build all aspects of the Kings County rail section, including
the station.
“I can’t foresee whether [high-speed rail]
will ever get finished, but I can tell you that the part that runs from Fresno
to Bakersfield, it’s absolutely going to get built,” Pyle said. “Those dollars
are already allocated.”
“There’s no firm language in the document that
we will be getting a station,” Doug Verboon said. “We could start fighting
among ourselves, if that’s what [Pyle] wants. I don’t think that’s good for our
community.”
“The Kings-Tulare station [in east Hanford] is
going to be built,” said Lisa Marie Alley, authority spokeswoman. “[Cities] can
get grants to help them do the community planning around it.”
“I don’t know what [the station] will look
like yet,” she added.” That’s part of the conversation.”
Alley said the authority’s goal is to have the
station open when passenger services starts. The earliest the authority thinks
that will happen is 2022, when service between Merced and Burbank is slated to
begin.
“I think [Hanford] will come to the table
because they’re going to see the benefit it provides,” Alley said.
July
16, 2015
The
Hanford Sentinel
By
Seth Nidever
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