Out of the developers' closet - Bill Lyons Jr.

Ahhhh Councilman John Gunderson, how I've missed you so! You've been so quiet lately and then you drop this Labor Day gift in our laps - you just outed Bill Lyons as one of the key drivers of the City of Modesto's Wood Colony annexation quest!

Former California Secretary of Agriculture
and local Modesto-area developer,
Bill Lyons Jr.
Photo source 

You see, it is already well known in Wood Colony that the former California State Secretary of AGRICULTURE is the largest landowner in the Beckwith Triangle area of Wood Colony and that he wants his land annexed into the city for development. Bill Lyons is already well established as a developer; he owns the shopping center on the southeast corner of Standiford and Sisk Roads and the Wood Colony shopping center at Pelandale and Sisk. But he's NEVER BEFORE been outed publicly or in print as being one of the key drivers and proponents of the City of Modesto's plans to annex Wood Colony. In fact, when asked directly by Modesto Bee reporter, Kevin Valine as to whether he was seeking annexation for his Wood Colony property, he denied it saying, "...not aware of any talks between his family and the city". (Quote from March 20, 2014 Modesto Bee article "Was microphone left on after Modesto City Council meeting?")

Not only did Councilman Gunderson out Bill Lyons as a fibber, but Mr. Lyons apparently wields all of the City of Modesto's annexation decision-making power as well. Councilman Gunderson wrote in the comments section of the September 7, 2015 Modesto Bee article "Wood Colony meeting on proposed urban growth limit", 

"... if the realignment was out of the picture and Bill Lyons wanted to withdraw the commercial color on the map for Beckwith Triangle I would totally support SOS."

So Bill Lyons gets to decide the colors on the city's General Plan map? Bill Lyons gets to decide what is zoned commercial or industrial for the City of Modesto? WOW! For not being a city employee, council member, city planner, or even on the planning commission, Mr. Lyons sure has a lot of power over the city!

How can Mr. Lyons deny it now? When a sitting Modesto City councilman names you in writing, it is pretty-much beyond the "not aware of talks" point. Whether inadvertently or not, Councilman Gunderson is the most transparent council member, I'll give him that.

Since Councilman Gunderson may edit or delete his post on the Bee, a screenshot is provided below:

Of Law and Land Grabs

I've had a couple of phone calls about the Modesto Bee article, "Modesto considers urban growth boundary, budget" and I can see why the callers are concerned. Some of the wording of the article sounds like Modesto has launched a fresh annexation attack. But its actually quite the opposite.

For those residents who lived in Salida in 2007, the acronym "SOS" or "Stamp Out Sprawl" should ring a bell. It was the same name for a residential urban limits growth initiative passed by voters that year known as Measure E. Same name, same author, which is former Modesto City Councilman, Denny Jackman. Well...one author is the same at least. The other, Garrad Marsh, is now the Mayor of Modesto. 

To give you a little background on just what a "residential urban limits" initiative is, its proponents gathered the required number of signatures to place it on the ballot. Once passed, it means that any time a developer wishes to build residential housing in the county (not cities, just county areas) that it goes to ballot for voter approval first. In all county areas...except Salida. The reason it doesn't apply to Salida is because the Salida Community Plan was placed on the same ballot, in the same year - BUT - the Board of Supervisors pulled the initiative off the ballot and passed it so it would supersede Measure E (aka SOS). 

But Modesto really blew it when they crossed Denny Jackman's ag line in the sand and went after Wood Colony. He capitalized on the huge public outcry against pushing generational farmers and a gentle non-political religious community from their lands to slap up commercial and industrial development on some of the best farmland in the county. So Denny decided to do for Modesto what he had already done for the county and introduce an urban limits initiative. This new SOS includes different boundaries for both residential and non-residential development. Proponents easily gathered the needed signatures for the initiative to be placed on the November 2015 ballot.

Modesto City Council voting on SOS initiative - June 2, 2015

And that is what the article was about in the Modesto Bee. Its all part of the process to place SOS on the ballot. BY LAW, the Modesto City Council HAS TO VOTE YES to place it on the ballot. They have NO CHOICE but to vote yes as they are required to do so by law. I witnessed this vote and the look on their faces pretty much says it all.

Now I will say that I do support SOS and I hope it passes. It will offer a layer of protection against Modesto's land grabs on Wood Colony and Salida. Except for one area: Denny carved out some land south of Pirrone, east of Sisk and west of Dale. This was in part to appease a developer, Dave Romano, because he did not want Romano to fight the SOS initiative. Of course I'm unhappy this area was excluded because its part of the Salida Community Plan. Being that the land is included in the Salida Community Plan, and being that Mr. Romano, along with other landowners who signed a development agreement for the Salida Community Plan, I think that if they want to develop it, they need to talk to Salida and not Modesto. Salida is done with Modesto's land grabs - no more!

The Modesto City Council's water extortion policies on Salida

It sounds unbelievable that the 18th largest city in California would resort to extortion tactics in 21st century America, but that is exactly what they do to their neighboring community of Salida. Water for land, is the name of Modesto's game.

I've written about Modesto's water extortion in the past, but it helps for you to see it in action for yourself to truly comprehend it. Because its not like if you decided to call Modesto City Hall and ask for their water extortion policy, they'd have a handout ready to give you.

City of Modesto Del Este map illustrating Modesto's
refusal to provide water connections in undeveloped
areas of Salida. See full map here.

As a resident of Salida since 1993, I remember when Del Este was our water company. But I don't think that anyone in Salida realized how bad it would turn out for our community when the City of Modesto purchased the Del Este Water Company in the mid-1990's. Salida is the ONLY former Del Este community that the City of Modesto uses to leverage land in exchange for water. To put it more simply, Modesto will not supply water to any new development in Salida unless they can annex the land into the City of Modesto. The land that Costco, Save Mart, and Lowe's is on was formerly part of Salida's tax base. The land that Modesto Kaiser Permanente is on was formerly part of Salida's tax base. No one tried to stop them. No one in Salida knew what was happening until it too late.

That each new council member allows themselves to be indoctrinated to accept this hostile policy towards their neighboring community is outrageous, abhorrent and shameful! EVERY SINGLE CURRENT Modesto City Council member has cast their vote in FAVOR of continuing a policy of water extortion against Salida as recently as Tuesday, November 25, 2014. Item #6 on the consent agenda that day, was an amendment to allow the Modesto City Manager to approve water connections in former Del Este communities EXCEPT FOR SALIDA. Watch the video, beginning at 51:03 and you will see Councilman Bill Zoslocki request that land contained within the boundaries of the Salida Community Plan be removed from the area and sent to council for approval. This same man has announced that he's running for the 12th California State Assembly District seat in 2016. This same man has voted against removing Salida and Wood Colony from Modesto's General Plan despite a huge public outcry. And this same man would be REPRESENTING SALIDA in the 12th Assembly all the while he VOTES AGAINST SALIDA while serving on the Modesto City Council! I don't know about you my fellow Salidans, but I for one, certainly don't want someone who consistently votes against my community to represent it!

After Zoslocki's request, Mayor Garrard Marsh chimes in to ask if additional taxes like User Utility Tax and other taxes can be added to water connections in the undeveloped Salida area (59:19). Again, the ONLY DEL ESTE COMMUNITY THIS REQUEST IS FOR IS SALIDA.

And last, but not at all least, the councilman who would represent us if Salida were annexed into the City of Modesto, John Gunderson asks if all of the "purple area" can be removed (1:00:08). Brent Sinclair advises against this based on prior agreements made when Del Este was purchased. Councilman Gunderson has a particular fixation on Salida. He writes about Salida often as you can read in many of my 2014 posts. It just completely boggles my mind that for someone who would potentially represent us, to display such an utter disregard for what we think. But then again, we would be in that same situation too if Zoslocki wins the 12th Assembly so why should I be surprised?

As long as the Modesto City Council continues their water stranglehold, there's no hope for an independent Salida as long as Modesto is our only option for water.

Former Del Este communities service area map

Modesto Bee Op Ed: Modesto trying to take bite out of Salida

BY KATHERINE BORGES
11/24/2014 4:00 AM  UPDATED: 11/25/2014 1:55 PM

The first time Modesto City Councilman John Gunderson attended a Salida Municipal Advisory Council meeting back on Aug. 28, 2012, he was there to answer questions that Salidans had about the proposed annexation to Modesto.

If Salida were annexed, it would become part of Gunderson’s district.

Responding to a question regarding the annexation time frame, Gunderson said: “Nothing is going to happen for years anyway, other than maybe the nibble, nibble on your outskirts. That’s possible if the economy gets better.”

In the two years since, Salida residents have resoundingly decried Modesto’s annexation attempts.

A few weeks ago, in September, Gunderson appeared on the “Dave Bowman Show” on KFIV 1360 AM, and when asked whether Salida should be annexed, Gunderson replied he was against annexing “Salida proper.”

When Bowman pressed him to define “Salida proper,” Gunderson revealed there’s “a section being considered” and “the property owner seems to want to be with the city so he can develop.”

It appears the time for nibbling on Salida has arrived.

This proposed nibbling would occur on land Stanislaus County designated for Salida in the 2007 update of the Salida Community Plan. It’s north of Kiernan, west of Dale Road and east of Stoddard. Because this land isn’t within the current boundaries of Salida’s urbanized area, it might be more difficult for Salida residents to stop this raid.

Past annexations have put Costco and the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center into Modesto, nibbling away thousands of acres from Salida’s future tax base. Since purchasing the Del Este Water Co. in the mid-1990s, which supplied residents of Salida, Modesto has withheld supplying water to new development in Salida unless they get to annex the land into the city. Despite approving out-of-boundary water service agreements for other Del Este-served communities like Del Rio, Modesto’s quid pro quo is land-for-water from Salida.

If Modesto is once again allowed to extort land from Salida, will Modesto’s leap across Kiernan open Modesto to further legal ramifications? The encroachment north of Kiernan is Modesto’s effort to surround Salida, in effect an acre-by-acre creep toward turning Salida into an unincorporated county island. Not only is the creation of county islands prohibited by state law, the city of Modesto has already been sued with regard to county islands in the past for a practice known as “municipal underbounding.”

Coined by urban geographers, municipal underbounding describes annexation policies and practices in which cities grow around islands of low-income minority communities, often in favor of annexing predominantly white communities. Modesto holds the distinction of being one of the few cities in the United States to already have had a municipal underbounding lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed in 2004 on behalf of four neighborhoods which, unlike Salida, lack basic amenities such as sewer service. Granted, the city and county are slowly working toward annexing these communities into the city. But does “working toward” warrant a land grab on the tax base of a neighboring community?

It’s time for Modesto’s elected representatives to be held accountable. The unincorporated communities should be annexed first before the city casts beyond its borders. It’s time for Modesto to end its status quo abuse of Salida – end the water extortion, stop the annexations, no more nibbling.

Be a good neighbor, Modesto.

Comments made on the article via Facebook:

The Modesto Bee does not keep many of its articles nor opinion pieces online indefinitely so as the author of this piece, I am republishing it with thanks and credit to the Modesto Bee for its original publication.

The article's original link:
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article4059497.html#storylink=cpy

John Gunderson Facebook post #6 and my reply - Lovin' those Facebook nuggets!

John Gunderson is my favorite current sitting member of the Modesto City Council! Now before you start making inquiries into my mental state and shopping around for hospitals to have me committed to, allow me to explain that statement: He's the only one talking about Salida and Wood Colony. Sure, the others will talk about it, but only when a question is directly asked of them. But the Facebook-addicted councilman not only talks about Salida and Wood Colony without being asked to, he drops little nuggets of info along the way that we'd never learn otherwise from his tight-lipped peers. For instance, in his last post, he mentioned that a Wood Colony landowner wants $250K per acre. We wouldn't have known that if it wasn't for Councilman Gunderson!

In his October 4, 2014 reply to a post by Lina Allredge on the Salida CA News Facebook page, the councilman drops two intriguing tidbits:

Modesto General Plan map approved January 28, 2014

"As this topic evolves there is muttering that we will go back to the map adopted by Council January 28th (another chance to remove Salida from the plan) with the possibility of a statement of acquiescence from County."

Soooooo...the council is discussing (or to use his word "muttering") about going back to the original land grab map that was voted and approved on January 28, 2014. That would be delightful on so many levels! Particularly because it would put back in so many of the "No" votes needed to vote down annexation! And they had worked so hard to be accommodating sell-outs with gerrymandering those votes out. Tsk-tsk, what a shame...  Equally intriguing is "...possibility of a statement of acquiescence from County". Just who is he talking to and what are they saying? From everything we've heard from the County and/or Supervisor Terry Withrow up to this point, they've essentially told the city to go pound sand. Perhaps he considers the county's "No Growth Pledge" a "statement of acquiescence"? One could hope.

Now I know that its rather unlike me to bypass an opportunity to counter the councilman's propaganda about his opinions on whether Salida's residential housing is "poor planning" on the county's part, but being that he doesn't have a say in the county's planning outside the city limits, its really a moot point. So I'll just cut to the chase and comment on an end statement:

"Stanislaus County and Modesto has done some very poor planning in the past. If civil discourse can proceed perhaps something reasonable can be worked out."

If Councilman Gunderson and the rest of Modesto City Council REALLY WANT "civil discourse" they can start it by taking ALL of (county-defined) Salida and Wood Colony out of their general plan (and that includes the land within the Salida Community Plan). Salida and Wood Colony are not inanimate objects. People do live here and that's what even puts each community on a map in the first place. Both communities have made it loud and resoundingly clear that the vast majority of residents do not want to be annexed into the City of Modesto. Listening to the people is where civil discourse really begins and not with those who have "hidden agendas all over this topic".

“Where wise actions are the fruit of life, wise discourse is the pollination.” ― Bryant McGill

John Gunderson Facebook post #5 and my reply

Modesto City Councilman John Gunderson made it about a month and a half without posting about Salida, but like any other greed driven politician, he just couldn't stay away from salivating over the county's crown jewels - Salida and Wood Colony. He posted the following on his own Facebook page on September 28, 2014 as well as a few other spots on Facebook.


In his first few remarks, he states:

"Many do not understand who is responsible for the sprawl surrounding Modesto and resultant loss of property tax revenues. If County truly was the entity that is supposed to help Stanislaus County cities it would not support development in the unincorporated tracts adjacent to cities. We all lose when development occurs outside city limits."

First of all, "...sprawl surrounding Modesto"? Just who's sprawl is he referring to? There's no sprawl surrounding Modesto, but there's a city at its southern end - Ceres, and the community of Salida which the City of Modesto has sprawled seven miles right up to Salida's boundaries in the last 100 years. And "resultant loss of property tax revenues"? There's no loss of property tax revenues, the county receives 100% of Salida's and Wood Colony's property tax revenues. Its only a "loss" if you are greedy and think your city should be receiving those taxes. As for "If County truly was the entity that is supposed to help Stanislaus County cities it would not support development in the unincorporated tracts adjacent to cities." Salida is a planned town, laid out by David Curtis in 1908. Just because it hasn't incorporated doesn't mean that Modesto gets to call the shots on whether Salida grows or not. Especially since its Modesto's sprawl which has reached Salida's borders, not the other way around. 

"Development in Wood Colony? Land owner wants $250k an acre and developer wants to develop?, do it using Modesto's system... the other way puts more strain on all of us."

Maybe the councilman has missed the news for the last nine months and experienced bouts of narcolepsy at the council meetings because the last I heard, the resounding and vocal majority of Wood Colony residents do NOT want development in Wood Colony. But its a telling sentence because it shows that the city is obviously in talks with SOMEBODY who owns land in Wood Colony who wants to sell for development. A landowner has quoted a price to him of $250K an acre. And his greed rears its ugly head again with, "the other way puts more strain on all of us." There is no "strain" for Modesto if the county were to develop in Wood Colony without it being annexed into the city. The only "strain" for them is losing out on additional tax base because Modesto is broke. 

In trying to justify the claim of strain, the councilman throws Salida under the bus with something unrelated to Salida:

"Salida is a good example of poor planning on County's part. Noticed something in a housing tract behind the mall... saw a neighborhood with two story houses. The windows overlooking back yards on the upper floors are clear, not opaque so neighbors can look down at the pool where I attended a child's birthday party. This is just one example of the lax building codes County has. There was a significant amount of housing behind the mall that was annexed into the City after it was already facilitated by the County."

The mall was built in the 1970's and does not border Salida nor do any housing tracts that surround the mall. There is nothing but commercial properties between the "housing tract behind the mall" and Salida. Housing tracts that are NOT even in Salida do not qualify as "a good example of poor planning on County's part".

The last couple of paragraphs of Councilman Gunderson's post is about what he thinks Modesto is "losing" in property tax revenues by annexing county areas AFTER they've been developed. His cherry on top is a final jab at Salida referring to Mayor Marsh's September 20, 2014 Town Hall meeting, "Liked the part where Mayor Marsh declared the BOS imposed Salida TPA a joke." 

But ironically, the last joke is on Councilman Gunderson and was done by Councilman Gunderson himself!  As he continues to try to reiterate his point-of-view to the commenters

Snippet of Gunderson's repost

on the post, he reposts what he thinks is justification for it all made by a Salida resident on the "Salida Bitch&Moan" Facebook page. He either didn't notice and/or is hoping others don't notice that the Salida Bitch&Moan page is for the city of Salida, COLORADO. 

I noticed.

A good week for Wood Colony

The good week for Wood Colony began at the Saturday, September 20, 2014 Town Hall meeting held by Mayor Garrad Marsh at 1010 Tenth Street's basement chambers. Of the 20 citizens who attended the town hall, half were county residents from Salida and Wood Colony. During the question and answer period, Wood Colony resident, Lisa Braden, brought up Modesto's annexation plans for Wood Colony to which the mayor responded, "We don't want to annex Wood

Mayor Marsh's sparsely attended Town Hall - Sep 20, 2014
The left side of the room was nearly all county residents with the
exceptions of Councilmembers John Gunderson and Jenny Kenoyer
seated in the front row with Marsh's assistant, Kathy Espinoza.

Colony. But we need to protect you from the County." This followed with Marsh claiming that the county was irresponsible in its commercial and industrial development in Wood Colony citing examples of Salida Hulling and Beckwith Veterinary Hospital. But the Wood Colony residents weren't buying it. When Marsh tried to say that the huller should be in Beard Industrial Park, Wood Colony residents responded, "How is an almond huller not compatible with almond growers?"

Then Marsh threw down the gauntlet by saying that if the County would sign an agreement saying they would not develop in Wood Colony, that Modesto would do the same. Stanislaus County was swift to take the mayor up on his proposal, and within five days of Marsh's statement, the county CEO, Stan Risen, sent a letter to the city saying they would agree to his proposal and wished to discuss it further, perhaps at a City-County Liaison meeting.

The good week for Wood Colony was topped off with an NPR story airing on KQED public radio's "California Report" titled "California Foodways: The Story Behind Stanislaus County's Top Crop" by Lisa Morehouse. As one Wood Colony resident noted, the story is about nuts,"Those we grow and those we are working to fend off." While more of the focus of the story is on the ag element, it does cover the aspect of the City of Modesto trying to push the Old German Baptist Brethren community and other long-time farming families off of their lands to further their own development plans.

Read more about Mayor Marsh's Town Hall meeting in Kevin Valine's Modesto Bee articles:
"Mayor says Modesto fire station will stay open for now"

"Stanislaus County answers Modesto mayor’s offer for Wood Colony pledge"

Setting spin straight Sesame Street style

Remember the old Sesame Street skit, "One of these things is not like the others" and then Cookie Monster eats the plate of cookies that's not the same? (And then all the cookies because he's Cookie Monster.) Modesto City Councilwoman, Jenny Kenoyer must have missed those episodes of Sesame Street because she's still trying to gobble up the wrong plate of cookies - Wood Colony.

The Modesto City Council propaganda machine is still cranking them out, and Councilwoman Kenoyer is the latest to spread the spin. In the August 6, 2014 Modesto Bee article, "Recall effort against Modesto councilwoman revived", Councilwoman Kenoyer is quoted as saying, "...the land the city is setting aside in the general plan is not part of

On Beckwith Road

the colony, an assertion colony residents dispute". Now why do you suppose Wood Colony residents dispute it? Maybe because its true? Stanislaus County placed "Welcome to Wood Colony" signs on the very land in question. Does Councilwoman Kenoyer want to dispute with the county that the land is not really Wood Colony where they've placed "Welcome to Wood Colony" signs? 

And the spin doesn't end there, but continues on in the very next sentence, "Kenoyer said that as part of the general plan update she voted to return hundreds of acres of land designated for development elsewhere back to agriculture." Now this is where the sage lesson that Cookie Monster taught us as youngsters really comes into play. The land "elsewhere" that Councilwoman Kenoyer claims to have voted to "return" to agriculture belongs to the Gallo family and is not located within Wood Colony. Yes, that's right, "Gallo" as in Gallo wine. So when Councilwoman Kenoyer claims to preserve the farmland of the local area billionaires, is that really equal to not saving farmland in Wood Colony? Is there anyone who believes for one second that the City of Modesto would actually develop land owned by the Gallos? Needless to say, if the Gallos want any of their land developed, they do the decision making on it. 

St. Gundy the Ignorance Slayer?

Is St. Gundy slaying "ignorance"?

Just a mere three years ago, I doubt I could have produced the name of any politician on the Modesto City Council. As a Salida resident, it wasn't necessary that I know who they were (or so I thought). I would hazard to guess that the vast majority of my fellow Salidans couldn't name a Modesto City Council member either. But that all changed for us when Mayor Garrad Marsh uttered those fateful words in March 2012 regarding his plans to annex Salida.

The first time I recall seeing Modesto City Councilman, John Gunderson, was when he attended and spoke at the August 28, 2012 Salida Municipal Advisory Council meeting. Referring to the annexation timeframe, Councilman Gunderson said, "Nothing is going to happen for years anyway, other than maybe the nibble nibble on your outskirts. That's possible if the economy gets better."

"Nibble nibble on your outskirts"? What are we supposed to say to that? "Oh ok, if its just a 'nibble nibble' on more of our tax base making it more difficult to incorporate. Go right ahead?"

Aside from this institutionalized brainwashed rhetoric, I had hope for Councilman Gunderson. He is one of the few, if not the only, council member who is not bought and paid for by the Modesto Chamber of Commerce or other lobby. He has the freedom to vote the way he wants to. With that came the chance to "be the hero" which he has blown on more than one occasion. Most recently with his votes to include Wood Colony in Modesto's sphere of influence.

However, I'm very much a believer in "giving credit where credit is due" and he did cast a vote to take Salida out of Modesto's general plan update. And he did try to put Salida back on the agenda in March 2014 (to vote to remove it) but it still went nowhere (remember, most of the council is owned). But somewhere along the way, things began to spiral downward between Councilman Gunderson and the citizens of Salida and Wood Colony. I'm not sure why; maybe because he let Wood Colony down. Or maybe because some of us used the "R" word (recall). Whatever his reasons, Councilman Gunderson began blocking residents of Salida, Wood Colony, and even his Modesto constituents on Facebook. Just to be clear, I was never Facebook "friends" with Councilman Gunderson but I did communicate with him via Facebook messaging. I was very cordial and amiable too, nothing untowards. But one day, I could no longer see his posts as he had blocked me. No reason was offered as to why. In fact, he's blocked so many people on Facebook now, that a Facebook group was formed called: Banned by Gundy

Being blocked on Facebook presents the minor inconvenience that you cannot view any posts by the person blocking you. This can usually be remedied by signing out of Facebook. But while signed in, not only can you not view their posts, they cannot view yours as well. And this presents an interesting dynamic when commenting on Modesto Bee articles which use Facebook accounts as the comment means. I've found that if I sign out of Facebook, and reply to a comment made by John Gunderson on a Bee article, that it will post the reply. But unless he signs out, or he uses his other Facebook account, "Lane Gunderson", he won't be able to view my reply. 

Since being blocked by Councilman Gunderson, he has written three "notes" on Facebook about Salida, and the last one was submitted and published in the Modesto Bee. I find it slightly annoying that I cannot directly reply to his Facebook notes due to the blocking, and in the past, I have e-mailed him my response via his city council e-mail address. I am grateful to the Modesto Bee for allowing me to respond to his last note in the same method that his was published in, the Sunday edition. Because Councilman Gunderson has misquoted my private e-mails to him, even in the Bee article, I will no longer respond to his notes about Salida via e-mail. Instead, I will respond on this blog so the public can see for themselves whether he is taking my words out of context or not.

I'm also going to call him on the mat for being a hypocrite. He complained on Facebook about censorship, and how many people has he blocked because he doesn't want to hear their "free speech"? He wrote, "...no need to interrupt free speech. Stifling different views seems to be a favorite past time these days." He should know! "Stifling different views" should be on his Facebook "hobbies" list.

And while he's adding "censorship" to his hobbies list, Councilman Gunderson can additionally add "propagandist" for his latest hobby on writing Facebook notes about Salida. Correcting his propaganda doesn't sit too well with him either as he thinks he's on a crusade to correct "ignorance". On the Sunday that my reply to his community column appeared, he changed his Facebook profile pic to "St. George slaying the dragon" and posted a reply to my op ed underneath it. 

The irony of this is that when it comes to Salida, he's the one propagating ignorance. For instance, he posted just below his updated profile pic, "... there is a tract between Kiernan and Gregori HS that is to be allowed sewer service because of a Measure M vote." which is not true.

No Measure M nor Measure A vote has been passed allowing a sewer extension north of Kiernan avenue. (See Map - courtesy of the City of Modesto) There was a Measure A vote on the Kiernan Corridor in 2009 but it was defeated. 

Unless of course, he's implying a Measure M vote on this area is headed for an upcoming ballot. But its more than a little presumptuous to speak as though its already been passed by the voters. Either way, the time may have come for Modesto's attempt to "nibble nibble on our outskirts."

John Gunderson Salida Facebook post #3 and my reply

Read first: John Gunderson Salida Facebook post #2 and my reply

Modesto City Councilman John Gunderson sent the following message to his Facebook friends along with a link to his latest note on Salida:

• Conversation started Saturday
• 

  8/2, 12:05am
  

  John Gunderson
  

  
  

  
  

  The following article was in last Sunday's Bee. After so much angst, misinformation and misunderstanding I felt that some truths need to be brought out. Modesto's and surrounds problems are because of poor planning and previous board of supervisors' lack of understanding of what the future may bring. https://www.facebook.com/notes/john-gunderson/clear-thinking-on-salida-needed/696004827136112

• Clear Thinking on Salida Needed

  July 25, 2014 at 8:52am

  Now that we are past the recall effort, a chance for a real understanding may be possible.  I would like to mull over the "annexation" issue of Salida as it seems to be persistent and not clearly thought out by many.  Can only address it with the notes I have gathered, but some accuracy of the situation has been acquired.
  
  First off, the City of Modesto is not the enemy.  True there has been some discussion between County and City about annexation with County offering ~$2 million per annum to be reduced over time.  Appears to be conceptual as no progress has been made in that direction.  The majority of Council feels that it is still a possibility.  I don't like it because of the gambling notion that development will occur as County payments are reduced.  Sweet deal for County but not so certain for Modesto.  I will never support annexation unless that basic concern was addressed properly and revenues realistically support services.  Development will not occur anyway unless the numbers work for the investors, not there yet.  Annexation cannot happen without a vote by Salidans, hasn't been any talk about that yet.
  
  There are numbers that must be considered by the public entities as well.  The Salida MAC (municipal advisory council) is trying for incorporation.  A City of Salida conceptually would be subsidized at 34% of the County's share of property tax for the existing Salida TPA (town planning area).  County normally keeps approxamately 9.13% of property taxes collected by my calculations.  I do not know how long this "subsidy" would last or how the existing services would be funded.  Regardless, development would be necessary for Salida to have any degree of independence.  Development around Salida means encroachment on farmland.  By the way, Modesto received 50% of what would be a city's share from County when we annexed Shackleford. This is insufficient and should not be the formula for future annexations.
  
  Much of our property tax (59.14%) goes towards education versus 41.685% for San Joaquin County.  This is State mandated and not at all flexible unless the State wants it to be (not happening).  I think it would be helpful if County posted online very clearly where our tax dollars go, with expandable pie charts and detailed explanation clear enough for anyone to understand.  This would be a good move for transparency and I think we as taxpayers deserve that.
  
  Our County has some serious issues with property tax distribution that hinders meaningful progress.  First off, the shares of the property tax "pie" for Stanislaus County and the cities within are among the lowest in the state.  I had gathered property tax info from the State and County and came up with the 9.13% for County that was already mentioned and there is a 5.26% share for the cities (14.39% total).  Compare that to San Joaquin's 14.88% and their cities' 8.18% (23.06%) and one can see some disparity.  This is one factor that works against Salida and works against the County islands within Modesto as well.  Another problem is that new or existing development within any unincorporated tracts will never be able to collect a city share of the property taxes unless County gives up some of its share.  This applies to Salida as well as Modesto's County islands.  If these impediments could be changed, a lot could be done to put our house in order and I definitely would not want it being done at our County's expense.  May be the only way forward though.  Change the percentages to something realistic and remove the exclusion for a city's share in newly annexed/incorporated areas and you would see a realistically viable City of Salida.  A rennaisance would be very possible, something worth dreaming about.
  
  As things are with the mantra being "nothing with the State will change", I would much prefer resources going towards solving the County islands within Modesto issue rather than using them for incorporating Salida.  Has much to do with health, public safety and quality of life for the people living in those County pockets.  Salida looks fine as it is, however if they wish to organize busloads to protest the situation at the Capitol steps I would gladly go along and add my voice along with a picket sign.  Beats turning on each other and placing the blame where it belongs makes much more sense than what we have been going through.
  
  I think Stanislaus County and Modesto deserves better.  If we tried, put some effort into it... the revenue issue could improve.  It's about what's fair.  Stanislaus County isn't what it was in 1978 (negative bailout, AB 8) and the contribution we make for education proportionally is 17.46% more than what San Joaquin County has to bear. Make the wheel squeaky enough and maybe something can be done.                    
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  • Jim Christiansen and 11 others like this.
  • 

    Eric Caine Thank you John. Nice addition to the dialogue and much appreciated.

    July 25 at 1:27pm · Like · 1
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    John Gunderson I'm serious about bus loads going to the Capitol steps. We can cry in our beer or get out and do something.

    July 25 at 1:32pm · Like · 2
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    Marco Moreno Nice to hear a factual "clear thinking" Don't want to go into details since I don't want to be demonize. However, Salida can't incorporate right now for the lack of fiscal income per resident. Some members of the Salida MAC know that.

    July 25 at 2:51pm · Like · 3
  • 

    John Gunderson Got Print! http://www.modbee.com/.../john-gunderson-clear-thinking...
    

    
    

    John Gunderson: Clear thinking needed on Salida annexation issue | Community Columns | Modesto Bee

    www.modbee.com
    

    Now that we are past the effort to recall two members of the Modesto City Counci...See More

    July 26 at 12:10am · Like · 2
  • 

    Mark A. Carter I appreciate your call for working together to make positive change. However, you are in error regarding the recall effort being behind us. As long as our leaders act irresponsibly, refuse to listen to constituents or flat out demonstrate arrogant be...See More

    July 27 at 10:38am · Like
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    John Gunderson You only focused on a tiny piece of the article. Surely you have deeper thoughts than just that.

    July 27 at 11:32am · Like
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    Timothy M. Moran Salida is a cautionary tale of why county government shouldn't be involved in urban development. If they don't want to be annexed, the county will just have to keep paying for services that Salida itself can't support.

    August 2 at 8:35am · Like · 1

  
  

_____________________________________________________________

My reply which was published in the Modesto Bee on Sunday, August 3, 2014, titled:

"Katherine Borges: Not Salida's enemy? Funny way of showing it"

Just after taking office, Modesto Mayor Garrad Marsh announced his intent to annex Salida. Something baffling then and to this day, is why Salida residents weren’t asked first whether they wanted to be annexed to Modesto?

Unlike other unincorporated county areas such as Shackleford, Salida residents have never asked to be annexed into Modesto. On the contrary, Salida fought off Modesto’s last annexation attempt in 1996.

Why would Mayor Marsh think the situation had changed in the ensuing 16 years?

Councilman John Gunderson’s opinion piece in last Sunday’s Bee (“Clear thinking needed on Salida annexation,” Page D3) does nothing but add to the agenda-driven propaganda espoused by Modesto council members about Salida. He opens with “First, the city of Modesto is not Salida’s enemy,” then in the same paragraph says “but the majority of the Modesto City Council feels (annexation) is still a possibility.”

Over the past 2 1/2 years, Salidans have resoundingly spoken against annexation at public meetings and in the media. The Salida Municipal Advisory Council voted against annexation in February 2013. This position is supported by the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors. Regardless, the city council voted against its own planning commission’s recommendation to remove Salida from the general plan.

How does voting in favor of an opposed annexation say Modesto is not Salida’s enemy?

When the city of Modesto purchased the Del Este water system, which serviced Salida in the mid-1990s, it issued a “will not serve” notice for new development in Salida, except on one condition: they will supply water if they get to annex the land. That’s right, Modesto uses water as extortion to annex Salida’s land. The Kaiser and Costco parcels used to be part of Salida’s tax base. Modesto even refused to supply water to a Modesto City Schools campus on land designated for Salida: Gregori High School. The school district was forced to dig its own well.

How does water extortion say Modesto is not Salida’s enemy?

Several statements in Councilman Gunderson’s piece require correction: The county has not offered $2 million per year for Modesto to annex Salida. As far as the county is concerned, Salida is off the table. Councilman Gunderson has also been corrected before on the property tax sharing numbers; the future city of Salida would get 30 percent, not 34 percent. Thirty percent is what the other nine cities in the county receive. The reason Modesto received 50 percent in the Shackleford annexation is due to it being a residential area without a retail tax base to offset the city’s costs for infrastructure. Yet Councilman Gunderson refers to 50 percent as “insufficient and should not be the formula for future annexations.”

How does asking for more of Salida’s property tax pie say Modesto is not Salida’s enemy?

Keep in mind that no one has ever applied to incorporate Salida as a city. If no one has ever tried, how does anyone know whether or not it can be done?

Despite this, Councilman Gunderson states “development would be necessary for Salida to have any degree of independence” which is not necessarily the case, since there are cities such as Waterford that operate on a smaller tax base than Salida’s. As for “development around Salida means encroachment on farmland,” why do you think Salida ended up in Modesto’s annexation cross-hairs to begin with? Modesto wants to develop the farmland on the Kiernan Corridor.

How does the hypocrisy of saying Modesto should develop the land but Salida would be “encroaching” say Modesto is not Salida’s enemy?

In the annals of Stanislaus County, its unlikely that a city has treated a neighboring community as shabbily as Modesto has treated Salida (with the exception of Wood Colony, perhaps) in just the past 20 years.

Modesto’s first step toward “clear thinking” on Salida should not be an offer to organize a tax protest at the Capitol. Removing Salida from Modesto’s general plan, stopping further annexation attempts, and ending water extortion would truly say Modesto is not Salida’s enemy.

 

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  Emerson Drake ·  Top Commenter · Modesto, California
  

  Fantastic article Katherine. Hit them with Salida's best weapon, the TRUTH.

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   · 9 · August 2 at 3:28pm
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  Sarah Cromwell
  

  Great job Katherine Borges!

  
  

   · 6 · August 2 at 3:30pm
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  Duane Spyksma
  

  Nothing says it better than the truth. The past reflects the future. Modesto is upset because they don't know what to do when people stand for the truth and see through the smoke screen they are trying to put up. Remember the Mayor Marsh saying " We don't have all of the facts." That is ok for them to think that. We have more facts than Modesto Mayor thinks we have. Just another attempted Smoke Screen. The Mayor and the rest of the council needs to know that people are smarter than the council gives credit.

   · 8 · August 2 at 3:55pm
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  Amanda Sorenson ·  Top Commenter
  

  Modesto thinks it is Russia and Salida is Crimea and they can just come in and try to annex us. They are wrong. Salida will continue to fight annexation. Remember, councilman Gunderson had a painting made of him in the likeness of Joseph Stalin and said he would have no problem putting it up in his classroom. Is this the kind of person we should allow to teach children and make important decisions for Modesto?

   · 5 · August 2 at 4:19pm
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  John Walker ·  Top Commenter · Software Engineer Air Traffic Management Research and Development at UCSC
  

  Great piece of writing Katherine. As it always be the case with our City Council and Mayor, decisions seem to be about how to take what is our economic base that is Agriculture and turn it into a warehouse district. We do not need Salida or Wood Colony to make our city better. What we need is more organic growth based on small and medium business. The idea that a $9 - $12 an hour warehouse job fixes our problems is ridiculous. That implies there is something to do in a warehouse which is also a red herring argument. Will they listen? Have not seen any proof of that. Council Member Gunderson still thinks he is the smartest guy in the room, and the Mayor is hopefully going back to running a bowling alley in the near future.

   · 4 · August 2 at 6:57pm
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  John Gunderson ·  Top Commenter · Councilman at City of Modesto - City Hall
  

  #1 Catherine Borges own email said she was expecting 34% from the County #2 there was talk early on when I joined Council of County offering $2 mil if Modesto were to annex Salida. It was just talk. #3 Modesto is not obligated to supply water and sewer to new development in Salida, that water needs to go to development within Modesto. That makes Modesto an enemy? Salida could remain as is under the County much like Denair. Mayor Marsh voted to take Salida out of the General Plan as did I. Believe it was Jenny Kenoyer who did as well. The vote was the same when I moved for another attempt to remove. For Ms Borges to say the Mayor wants to annex Salida is not true. There has been no Salida residents' vote on annexation for Salida, so Ms Borges is correct in saying they were never asked. No annexation or moving it into the sphere of influence has been attempted with a ballot measure. Never got that far, it's just a conceptual color on a map. Not enough to get excited about. All this energy being expended by Borges & Co. would be better spent trying to correct the property tax distribution formulas at the State level. That would be of benefit to all of the County and cities. I stand firmly on my statement "fix the County islands (within Modesto) before incorporating Salida". I am hopeful that Modestans will contact our supervisors and remind them that some issues are more urgent than others.

  Reply ·
  

   · August 2 at 10:32pm

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    Katherine Borges ·  Top Commenter · Salida, California
    

    Regarding #1: What my e-mail said was, "Also, if you're going to quote me, you should go back and re-read my e-mail so you get your facts straight because this is what I wrote to you:
    
    "If you read the 1996 Master Property Tax Sharing Agreement and its later amendments you will find that when a city annexes an island in, the property tax the city will receive is 34%. However, Salida is excluded in that agreement and thus, would be negotiated separately."
    
    #2: Its difficult to corroborate gossip, but I doubt the county would want to shaft themselves like that selling Salida down the river to Modesto for a mere $2 million per year when Salida currently brings in $4-5 million in tax revenue per year.
    
    #3: You're absolutely right that the city has no obligation to supply water to new development in Salida. But how about not extorting land and allow Salida to become a water customer? Its pretty darn irritating to sit in council meeting after council meeting watching the council approve "out-of-boundary water service agreements" for other areas but you use water to extort land from us. How about doing the right thing for once? And Steve Goldstein adequately addressed the mayoral part.

    
    If its just a "conceptual color on a map" then how about removing that concept? Why leave it if you're against it? Why are YOU expending energy by writing about Salida in the first place?
    
    If you have an issue with property tax distribution formulas, then have at it, but its not my calling.
    
    I agree that some county islands could use "fixing" but that's not dependent on whether or not Salida incorporates. And is irrelevant to Modesto annexing Salida because that will NEVER HAPPEN.

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     · 2 · August 2 at 11:30pm
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  Steve Goldstein · President at The Spa Doctor
  

  Really? You said, "For Ms. Borges to say the Mayor wants to annex Salida is not true.". what planet are you living on? Here, I will give you the quote from HIS mouth....... ""We need to explore the annexation of Salida,"........."The Salida Plan area holds the best long-term potential for quality job-producing business and industries."......"This is a vision that needs to begin now,".
  
  Here;s the link: http://www.modbee.com/2012/03/28/2133555/modesto-mayor-its-time-to-annex.html#storylink=cpy.
  
  Keep spinning.. keep deflecting... keep distracting people from the truth.

  
  

   · 4 · August 2 at 10:44pm

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    John Gunderson ·  Top Commenter · Councilman at City of Modesto - City Hall
    

    Apparently he changed his mind as he voted to take Salida out of the General Plan as did Councilmember Kenoyer and myself. It was a 4-3 vote.

    Reply ·
    

     · 1 · August 3 at 12:29pm
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  Athens Abell · Creator/Producer at Home Grown Highways
  

  This is what Mayor Marsh said *before* he was elected, while campaigning for the Mayoral seat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXTMIYJNgIo

  Reply ·
  

   · August 2 at 11:15pm

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    Katherine Borges ·  Top Commenter · Salida, California
    

    Thanks so much for posting that video! Marsh states right off from the get go that he wants to annex Salida. My "favorite" (NOT!) part is where he says they'd have to figure out how annexing Salida wouldn't hurt Modesto. Followed by he doesn't know what Salida thinks. I address some of his other annexation talking points here:
    http://salidaannex.blogspot.com/2012/10/politispeak-addressing-talking-points.html

     · August 3 at 7:33am
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  Helder Garcia ·  Top Commenter · 
  

  Great letter Katherine!

   · 2 · August 3 at 7:25am
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  Emerson Drake ·  Top Commenter · Modesto, California
  

  What we have that passes for City Councilpersons in Modesto is just pathetic. Gunderson doesn't represent his constituency in regards to Salida and Wood Colony. He went so far as to block individuals who disagreed with his political positions on facebook and then comes to the Bee figuring they would not only NOT see his rants but also wouldn't be able to call him out on his lies no matter how politely they do it. In his hubris he misrepresented what Katherine Borges had written and thought he could get away with it. Almost needless to say, she set him straight. If you want to be in control you should stick to your treehouse antics... Then again that didn't go so well for you did it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCtXOUCIz2U

   · 3 · August 3 at 8:10am
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  John Gunderson ·  Top Commenter · Councilman at City of Modesto - City Hall
  

  Catherine Borges sez: "When the city of Modesto purchased the Del Este water system, which serviced Salida in the mid-1990s, it issued a “will not serve” notice for new development in Salida, except on one condition: they will supply water if they get to annex the land. That’s right, Modesto uses water as extortion to annex Salida’s land." My question immediately was "What Modesto Council in their right minds would allow Modesto's water and sewer service to be used for new development in an unincorporated or municipal Salida?" It would be very illogical for a municipality to do this. Dream on Catherine Borges... Modesto's utilities are not the path to incorporation, believe the Board of Supervisors knows this.

   · August 3 at 12:27pm

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    Katherine Borges ·  Top Commenter · Salida, California
    

    You said it exactly right Mr. Gunderson, 'What council in their right minds.." because your council is obviously NOT in their 'right minds". Are you trying to say that when Turlock has new development, you deny them water service? Or Del Rio? Or Waterford? All are on the former Del Este system too. If you were in you're "right mind" you wouldn't view new water customers as an illogical prospect. And we don't need your sewer service, we have our own and its better than yours. Unlike yours, we don't have fines for sewage overflows. Your posts don't do anything to further prove "Modesto is not Salida's enemy" now do they?

    
     · 1 · August 3 at 2:29pm
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  Mary Kathryn Smalley ·  Top Commenter · Chabot College Hayward
  

  Great article Katherine. Bang, Bang, Bang, you hit the nail on the head with each paragraph.

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   · August 3 at 6:26pm

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2014/08/02/3466937/katherine-borges-not-salidas-enemy.html?sp=/99/1641/1642/#storylink=cpy