Terms of Fair loan up for nod
The City Council on Tuesday night will consider loaning up to $2 million in public funds to the Porterville Fair and the Junior Livestock Show.
As a part of the approval, the Council must vote on the proposed terms, which include an annual interest rate between 5 and 7 percent, that the money comes from the City’s investment portfolio, and if defaulted, the City will take possession of the fairgrounds.
The Porterville Fair Board asked the City to be a co-signer on a loan from the Bank of Sierra during a special meeting Aug. 23, saying it needed the money to finish construction of its new site near the Porterville Municipal Airport by January. The Council decided that night it preferred direct assistance so that it could collect the interest and ultimately take less of a risk.
Additionally, the City is staged to drive forward a menu of existing training and vocational programs that would benefit from using a shared facility.
Along with the City, Porterville College, the Chamber of Commerce, Fresno State University, the Tulare Economic Development Corporation and others are using a $50,000 grant from Southern California Edison to study options for a building a training space, likely to be constructed near the municipal airport, to potentially house a police academy or industrial kitchen. The City Council is scheduled to approve the partnership at its meeting Tuesday night.
“Partners will work cooperatively to identify space requirements that would satisfy demand for current and future training needs,” a staff report to the Council states. “Training opportunities would benefit southeaster Tulare County’s underserved population by establishing a pipeline of skilled workers in the core regional industry sectors to support economic development efforts to attract new business and assist existing businesses to compete in the global marketplace.”
Also on the agenda, Porterville resident Luis Barraza is seeking $462.95 in damages from the City to repair a door he said was broken when police served a search warrant at his home.
He has filed a claim dated July 30, which the City Council is likely to reject during its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night. Once his claim is rejected, Barraza may proceed in filing a lawsuit.
In his claim, Barraza states that “peace officers had a search warrant, the house was empty” and the “broken main entry front door and also the front security door was broken.”
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall, 291 N. Main St. To access the entire agenda, visit www.ci.porterville.ca.us or the City Clerk’s Office in City Hall.
Contact Jenna Chandler at 784-5000, Ext. 1050, or jchandler@portervillerecorder.com.
