The Inequity of Stanislaus County's Invisible Lines

My public comments to the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors on July 12, 2016:

Good morning Gentlemen, 

A long time ago, Modesto's “Water, Wealth, Contentment, Health” arch marked the city's entrance. As we know, the city has grown way past the arch in all directions. Some of the city's limits are marked by signs, but for the most part, all the city limits really are, are lines drawn on paper indicating invisible lines on the ground. 

Salida has it's own invisible lines denoted on paper called the “Salida Community Plan”. But Salida's invisible lines are not as strong as city lines. Salida's community plan lines are consistently ignored by the City of Modesto. And while Salida's invisible lines are supposed to give credence to Salida as being a “Community of Interest”, there's no guarantee that any designation other than being a city will protect land within our lines from being taken away from us. Everything but a city's boundaries can be ignored.

I was discussing Salida with a Ripon resident last week and he said that he would've thought that Stanislaus County would care more about Salida than it appears you do because it's the first impression that people get when they cross the river into the county. If you look to the left, it's not too bad. The businesses along Pirrone are well kept, but on the right, there's a big ugly pile of dirt in the world's worst location for a drainage basin, then a nice firehouse, then an ugly patchwork painted wall (albeit a graffiti-free one) then a dilapidated fence surrounding an unsightly wrecking yard, then a bunch of billboards with trash and refuse all along the railroad tracks. That's the first impression people get as they enter the county if they look to the right.

You the County have many more big problems to tackle than the aesthetics of Salida. Spending money on the thousands of gallons of paint it would take to make our soundwalls all one color is not even on your list of things to fix in this county. But its on Salida's list. We hate that ugliness; of course we do, we see it every day of our lives. And if we were a city, we could do something about it. 

If Salida were a city, we could be like Escalon and install wayside horns to diminish the blaring train horns that pass through town around every 20 minutes. Again, not something that's even on your radar but is important to us and would improve the quality of life in Salida. 

The thing I consistently hear from You the County anytime I ask for anything to improve the quality of life in Salida is that “If we do it for you, we have to do it for everyone” or “If you want it, you have to pay for it yourselves”. If you want speedbumps, pay for it yourselves, if you want a traffic light, pay for it yourselves. After hearing those replies so many times, I feel pretty confident in saying that the majority of Salida's tax dollars are not spent in Salida. And while I won't delve into the politics behind this in the few seconds I have remaining of Public Comment, You the County and I both know that Salida is at the back of the line for any grant funding for many years to come.

The only way I can see to improve the quality of life in Salida is to incorporate as a city. The only way I know of where our tax dollars will be spent in our own community is to become a city. The only way I know of to improve the northern gateway to Stanislaus County is to become a city.

You the County can't protect our invisible lines from being taken from Salida, but you could help us change the status of our invisible lines so they can never be ignored again. Thank you for your consideration.

Tokyo Rose Russell's campaign against Modesto's Measure I

Modesto Chamber of Commerce
CEO, Cecil Russell left. Craig Lewis
and Jon Rodriguez seated behind at
June 2015 Modesto City Council
meeting.

In the last week of January 2013, I received a tip that the Modesto Chamber of Commerce was planning a mailer campaign to try and promote the Salida Annexation to Salida residents. The first thing I did was call the Modesto Chamber of Commerce to verify the tip. Modesto Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer, Cecil Russell, returned my call. I told him about the tip and asked whether it was accurate. His response was, "Well Ms. Borges, you have received a very unreliable tip. We are planning nothing of the sort." My reply to that was, "Oh good, because if you were, we would have to counter it."

Two months later at a Salida Annexation Ad Hoc Committee meeting, I relayed that story to a county official who responded, "Oh, I think Craig Lewis and the Chamber have been

Source: forejustice.org - Tokyo Rose was
later pardoned.

talked out of that now." That was the first time I had ever heard Craig Lewis' name but I must admit, I was a bit shocked that Cecil Russell had so blatantly lied to me. As the daughter of a WWII veteran who fought the Japanese in Leyte Gulf, this potential propaganda campaign by the Modesto Chamber of Commerce to manipulate the minds of Salidans reminded me of the famous WWII Japanese propagandists known as "Tokyo Rose." I began thinking of Cecil as "Tokyo Rose Russell".

Tokyo Rose Russell and Craig Lewis are at it again with their propaganda campaigns. Mailers hit homes on Friday, October 9, 2015 claiming "Your Modesto Police Officers & Firefighters Urge You Vote NO on Measure I - Measure I will Make Modesto Residents LESS Safe". So let's dissect that statement on the rationale of how urban limits could make Modesto residents "less safe". First off, they are trying to capitalize on a fear factor that Modesto residents might have because the city has high crime rates. That's something that the Modesto City Council has tried to sell Measure G (a sales tax hike) to the voters by calling

it "Safer Neighborhoods Initiative". But how can a measure that imposes urban limits on developers make Modesto "less safe"? The thinking may go something like this: if Modesto politicians and developers are restricted from being able to easily annex and build in the communities of Wood Colony and Salida, then that means less tax revenue for the city which is what funds their police and fire. Notice that I highlighted and emphasized the word "easily" - because technically, if Measure I passes, Modesto politicians and developers can still annex and develop in Wood Colony and Salida but not without first sending it to Modesto's registered voters for approval. 

Now let's address the mailer piece claim that Modesto police officers and firefighters urge a no vote. Do all Modesto police and firefighters really think this? No, it was a small number who voted for this on their union boards; the general membership wasn't polled. There are Modesto firefighters who live in Wood Colony and Salida. Do you think they think its better for Modesto's politicians to decide the fate of their communities as opposed to themselves and their neighbors? And I've had a Modesto policeman tell me personally he thought Salida should decide it's own future. Self-determination is all we want. But the money and power wrought against us by the Modesto City Council and Modesto Chamber of Commerce makes this difficult to achieve.

The most important thing to note on the mailer is the most innocuous, but definitely wordy: the return address. Tokyo Rose Russell and friends have gone to a lot of trouble to make it look like the entire population of Modesto is against Measure I. Even going so far

Easier just to write:
"All of Modesto"

as to double cover the bases by listing "Modesto Taxpayers" and "Residents" as if those are two separate groups. Ok, maybe you can count children as being residents and not taxpayers but its not like they can vote on it nor have any children's groups come out in opposition against Measure I. Additionally, the return address is either a misprint or the Modesto Chamber is using a criminal law attorney, Earl Carter, as a front for their organization. The chamber's address is listed on their original Form 410 filing.

The Modesto Chamber of Commerce is garnering some big donations from their members to fight Measure I. The Modesto Chamber's president, Dave Gianelli donated $1,000 and Craig Lewis, (former owner of Prudential Real Estate) has donated $3,000 under the guise of Sylvan Property Management. Tokyo Rose Russell donated $1,000 and the Modesto Chamber donated another $3,000.

Just as our G.I.'s saw through Tokyo Rose's propaganda, Salida and Wood Colony residents hope City of Modesto voters will see through this charade and vote 'Yes on Measure I'. Please help give the ability for your neighbors to the north and the west to decide our own futures.

Lending a voice for SB 25

2013 seems to be the pinnacle of the most recent battle against the annexation of Salida by the City of Modesto. That's when Salida resident, Nanette Spyksma, reached out to several newly incorporated cities in Riverside County to gather information on incorporation. In doing so, she established communication with Verne Lauritzen of Jurupa Valley. 

Jurupa Valley was the last of four new cities to incorporate in Riverside County between 2008 to 2011. The new city's incorporation took place just two days after SB 89 eliminated vehicle license fee revenues which had been allocated for newly incorporated cities. This stroke of fate put Jurupa Valley at risk for disincorporation.

We learned from Mr. Lauritzen that Riverside legislators were working on a bill to restore that funding source to the four new cities. Several Salida residents wrote letters in support of the legislation which passed in the state legislature but ended up being vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown. Several similar bills have since been introduced and all have failed to be enacted. The latest bill is SB 25 - VEHICLE LICENSE FEE ADJUSTMENT FOR CITY INCORPORATIONS authored by Senator Richard Roth.

Public comment on SB 25 with  Michael Kusiak.

A public hearing for the bill was held on Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 9:30 am before the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance at the California State Capitol building in Sacramento. I was invited to attend the hearing by Michael Kusiak and Michael Baldwin of Castro Valley. Michael Kusiak was the first public member to make a comment, and he was very eloquent. I hadn't planned to speak, but ended up jotting down a brief public comment on the back of the agenda copy. Following is a summary of my comments (not verbatim, but close):

"My name is Katherine Borges and I am the chair of the Salida Municipal Advisory Council in the beautiful agricultural county of Stanislaus. Salida is the largest unincorporated community in Stanislaus County with a population of nearly 14,000. It was founded the same year as the City of Modesto in 1870 by the railroad. Since Modesto has grown and sprawled to our borders, we have been under the threat of annexation by Modesto which the majority of Salida residents are against. We are hoping to incorporate the community as a city which would be greatly assisted and may even depend on the reinstatement of VLF fees. We ask for support of SB 25 to help Jurupa Valley and the other cities, and any future bills that help to reinstate VLF fees."

At the close of the hearing, we exited room 112 and Senator Richard Roth made a point of seeking us out to shake our hands and thank us for our comments. 

It's important to help other communities and newly incorporated cities in their self-governance efforts. Helping them can help Salida. 

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

Fun from Cat and Gundy -or- John Gunderson Salida Facebook post #4 and my reply

John Gunderson's new profile pic of "me". Which ironically
(and eerily) looks just like my cat.

Well folks, Modesto City Councilman John Gunderson is at it again. I must really crawl under that guy's skin because he can't seem to go a week without a Facebook post on Salida. This week, he regurgitated an e-mail I wrote to the council in June regarding a tip I received from a Salidan that Modesto had hired a consultant to help them annex Salida. 

My cat. Rescued as a kitten
from the intersection of
Woodland & Carpenter.

While both Mayor Marsh and city planner, Patrick Kelly replied that the city didn't hire Keith Bergthold as an annexation consultant, there's something still amiss here. Why would Bergthold tell his Fresnan friend that he had an eighteen month contract otherwise? Perhaps it was just being bandied about and was all verbal at that point? Either way, its DOA now because the city can't very well go and hire him after denying that they hadn't. And how effective would he be with any kind of collaboration building with Salida? (Yes, that's a rhetorical question.)

Councilman Gunderson can't help but crank up the old propaganda machine starting right in the second sentence with, "Think the Goodwin Study would have been enough, the annexation concept was proven to be a bad idea." First of all, anyone want to wager that Councilman Gunderson has NOT read nor thoroughly examined the Goodwin Study? Because if he had, he would know it shows that Modesto would stand to rake in $22.8 million a year in revenue in annexing Salida at full build out of the Salida Community Plan. How does that prove the annexation concept is a bad idea? And if it were proven to be a bad idea, then why is Modesto keeping Salida in their general plan? Councilman Gunderson wrote in his community column just two weeks ago that, "...the majority of the Modesto City Council feels (annexation) is still a possibility". And he says I have "nothing to worry about???"

And once again, the councilman nay says Salida incorporating, "Should stop worrying about incorporation for Salida as well because that can't happen either." I previously responded to his comment about whether or not Salida can be incorporated, but it apparently didn't register in his brain so I'll say it again, "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?"

Available land in
Beard Industrial Park

What he also doesn't seem to comprehend is only supplying water in exchange for land -IS- extortion when you supply water to other areas without forcing them to turn over their land! To put it into language he'll understand, its known as an "out-of-boundary service agreement" and the council approves them all the time. And once again, I'm going to call him out on his double standard for trying to justify water extortion by saying "Modesto ratepayers deserve better" when Beard Industrial's sweetheart deal costs ratepayers and the city millions upon millions each year. The city of Modesto supplies both water AND sewer to Beard without annexing the land. (Read more about Beard)

Lastly, Councilman Gunderson said, "Modesto's water should be leveraged for the best possible outcome that helps pay for services for residents of Modesto proper, not the surrounds." When the City of Modesto purchased the Del Este Water Company in the mid-1990's, they took over the existing wells and infrastructure in Waterford, Grayson, Del Rio, part of Turlock and Salida. So technically, they bought Salida's (et al) water so its not "Modesto's water" he wants to "leverage" to begin with. Our water comes primarily from wells in Salida so he wants to leverage our own water against us! Additionally, development occurs in all of those other former Del Este served communities and yet, Modesto does not "leverage" the water by extorting land from them; except in Salida.

In case you were wondering why Councilman Gunderson is so fixated on Salida its because if Salida were annexed, we would be assimilated into his district. That's right, we would be the constituents of a man who feels water extortion upon us is justified because the majority Modesto residents in his district "deserve better" than the Salidans.

"The propagandist's purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human." - Aldous Huxley

Stay tuned for more "fun" from Cat and Gundy...at some point in the next 7 days - -
________________________________________________________________

John Gunderson

2 hours ago near Modesto, CA · Edited

More fun from "Cat". Think the Goodwin Study would have been enough, the annexation concept was proven to be a bad idea. Catherine has nothing to worry about on that. Should stop worrying about incorporation for Salida as well because that can't happen either. Refusing City of Modesto water for new development within the Salida TPA... refusal is extortion? Modesto ratepayers deserve better than that. Modesto's water should be leveraged for the best possible outcome that helps pay for services for residents of Modesto proper, not the surrounds. Development outside of a city's limits is a losing proposition because of the State's mandated property tax distribution scheme. 

salidakat@
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2014 12:48 PM
To: COUNCIL; Brad Wall; Patrick Kelly; Terry Withrow; Vito Chiesa; Dick Monteith; Jim DeMartini; Bill O'Brien; Marjorie Blom; George Petrulakis
Subject: SALIDA ANNEXATION CONSULTANT
To the Modesto City Council:
I received the following from a Salidan today, "My father lives in Fresno and is friends with a man named Keith Bergthold. Keith told my dad he was hired by the city of Modesto to see what can be done about annexing Salida."
I've met Mr. Bergthold at the Carpenter's Church General Plan presentation in May and I also attended the April Stanislaus Community Foundation breakfast that was connected with Fresno Metro Ministries.
So you can fire Mr. Bergthold because HELL WILL FREEZE OVER before you ANNEX SALIDA or the Kiernan Corridor! Get that through your thick skulls!! How many different ways and from different people do you need to hear that before it sinks in?!? It doesn't appear that turning out hundreds of people to voice that works since both Salida and Wood Colony have done that!!
I've told you once if I've told you a thousand times, we are willing to work with you if you want to develop the Kiernan Corridor (although I don't know why since you are so IMPOSSIBLE, OBSTINATE and DYSFUNCTIONAL about our communities) BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO JUST TAKE SALIDA NO MATTER WHOM YOU HIRE!!! Your status quo land grab days are over!!! Get a clue!!!
Since you have a contract with Mr. Bergthold, why don't you have him use his remaining time in educating you about "build up, not out". Fresno has done well with that. Look around their Kaiser Hospital and then look around Modesto's. And in the meantime, LEAVE SALIDA and WOOD COLONY ALONE you greed-driven sellouts!!!
Very sincerely,
Katherine Borges

On Wed, Jun 4, 2014 at 1:53 PM, Garrad Marsh wrote:
Katherine,
You are wrong about Mr. Bergthold being hired by the city. Mr. Bergthold has not been hired (or to my knowledge even contacted) by any City of Modesto employee or elected.
Garrad

From: Katherine Borges [mailto:salidakat@
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2014 2:02 PM
To: Garrad Marsh
Cc: COUNCIL; Brad Wall; Patrick Kelly; Terry Withrow; Vito Chiesa; Dick Monteith; Jim DeMartini; Bill O'Brien; Marjorie Blom; George Petrulakis
Subject: Re: SALIDA ANNEXATION CONSULTANT
Mr. Mayor,
WHO hired him then? I was told he has an 18-month contract. Emerson has filed a public information request with the city. Even if it turns out that you're right and the city has nothing to do with it, then you need to find out who working to annex Salida on your behalf. I want nothing to do with this man and will not contact him. His e-mail is: Keith.Bergthold@
Katherine

On Jun 4, 2014, at 2:47 PM, "Patrick Kelly" wrote:
This is to confirm that the City did not hire Keith Bergthold. Keith represents Fresno Metro Ministries and has volunteered his time to work with Stanislaus Community Foundation to look at asset based community development. At Keith’s request, the City presented the General Plan Amendment proposal at a community workshop (hosted by Metro Ministries) held on May 8, 2014, intended to inform the public about Modesto’s General Plan Amendment currently underway. At Keith’s request, the workshop also included a presentation by Carlos Yamzon, Executive Director with StanCOG about the 2014 Regional Transportation Plan / Sustainable Communities Strategy. The intent of the presentation format was to share with the public Modesto’s General Plan Amendment proposal in context of StanCOG’s regional plan.
Patrick Kelly, AICP

From: Keith <Keith@
Date: June 4, 2014 at 3:37:17 PM PDT
To: Patrick Kelly < >
Cc: Katherine Borges <salidakat@ Garrad Marsh < >, COUNCIL < >, Brad Wall < >, Terry Withrow < >, Vito Chiesa" < >, Dick Monteith < >, Jim DeMartini < >, "Bill O'Brien" < >, Marjorie Blom < >, George Petrulakis < >, "Brent Sinclair" <>, "kberg@ <kberg@>
Subject: Re: SALIDA ANNEXATION CONSULTANT

Thank you Patrick. I have no idea where such false assertions mentioned below with respect to the City of Modesto and Salida or contracts with the City might originate. I have been volunteering with various groups in Modesto, Fresno, Madera, and Kern around community building for healthy people and healthy places - which is a regional initiative and goal of Fresno Metro Ministry. Please have people contact me directly to confirm my activities and intent. Thank you again for sharing this information. Regards, keith

Dave Lopez: The truth behind his spin

Modesto City Councilman Dave Lopez, who is running for Stanislaus County Supervisor Dick Monteith's seat in District 4, is the latest to join the political spin club with talking points on why Modesto should annex Salida. 

He first revealed his three supposed annexation-justified talking points in an April 22, 2014 interview on The Dave Bowman Show. The second public forum where he used the three again nearly verbatim was the League of Women Voters candidate debate as reported in the Modesto Bee.  

At 9:56 on the Dave Bowman Show recording, Dave Lopez says, "We essentially subsidize their fire department" and he proceeds to quote figures on what he thinks it takes to run the fire authority. First off, all Salidans and any other property owners that are within the boundaries of the Salida Fire District pay a yearly assessment for fire coverage on our property tax bills. Salida brought equipment and several trucks into the Modesto Regional Fire Authority (MRFA) along with the fact that Modesto is underfunding their employee benefits and workers comp contributions while Salida is not. AND, if that isn't bad enough, Modesto cut half a million dollars and with the goal of cutting one million from MRFA. So who is subsidizing who here?

Source: City of Modesto Water Department

At 10:14 in the interview, Lopez resorts to outright lying with, "We're subsidizing their water and Modestoans are paying more for their water than Salidans are." This was quite an easy one to disprove by paying a trip down to the City of Modesto Water Department. The chart at the right was provided by the department showing that Modestoans and Salidans pay EXACTLY THE SAME RATES for water!

One minute later, Lopez claims, "We are also subsidizing the bus transportation system" and this is perhaps the biggest whopper of a lie of them all! NO GENERAL FUND monies from the City of Modesto goes into providing bus service to Salida. Transit funding is provided via a highly complex assortment of taxes and grants with some of that being part of the Transportation Development Act. Because the funding goes through the County and NOT Modesto, even when Salida incorporates into its own city, absolutely nothing will change about the bus service.

Now you might be wondering why Mr. Lopez would go and throw Salida under a figurative MAX bus like that, but he says why in his concluding statement, "I live on a two-way street, and they want no part of us. I'm sorry, but that's where development needs to go, up on the Kiernan corridor." And all you need to do is follow the money. Two of the largest landowners on the Kiernan Corridor who are within the Salida Community Plan area were contributors to Dave Lopez's campaign: Stephen Endsley (pg 7) and Dave Romano (pg 19). They are among a plethora of other developers and development related businesses who donated to Lopez's campaign and who would stand to benefit by a potential Modesto land grab on Salida.

Just browse his campaign statement and you'll see that Dave Lopez is a bought man. If he wins the District 4 supervisor seat, it could end up not only being highly detrimental for Salida, but also for Wood Colony. As it stands right now, all five Stanislaus County Supervisors support Salida against being annexed to Modesto. But if for some reason, Modesto were to triumph from Lopez's posturing, then its just a matter of time until Wood Colony will fall. 

"If Salida falls, Wood Colony will follow. And if Wood Colony falls, Salida will follow" 

-Jake Wenger in 2013

Help to save Salida and Wood Colony! Ask your friends in District 4 to vote for Dick Monteith

And The Rest of the Open Mic Story is...

THE MODESTO BEE - March 30, 2014
"Was microphone left on after Modesto City Council meeting?"

"Is this thing on?" (Photo credit: Fly'n Dutchman Signs)

Why yes, yes it was...
I listened to Greg Nyhoff talk for just over an hour, the streaming conversation being broadcast over the internet ended at 1:05:53. The most concerning part of the conversation was Mr. Nyhoff's comments regarding Salida and Wood Colony which I quoted during the public comment period at the Modesto City Council meeting on March 25, 2014:

"Now there's a very good reason why I feel that further abuses could be forthcoming and that's because after the last council meeting, I had left after public comment, but then regretted not staying for another one of the agenda items so I turned the meeting on at home. The screen said the meeting was over, but I could still hear streaming audio come through from about an hour long conversation between Greg Nyhoff, Jenny Kenoyer, and Stephanie Lopez. Mr. Nyhoff was giving Ms. Kenoyer sort of a history lesson on Wood Colony and Salida. He said that Bill Lyons had come to the city asking for his land in Wood Colony to be annexed and that Salida wasn't going anywhere, “...because we have their fire department, their water, and their sewer.” Pretty much saying that Modesto has Salida over a barrel."

My mouth was agape listening to this and when I snapped out of my shock, I started contacting friends in Salida and Wood Colony to turn on their computers and listen. At least one person in Wood Colony also heard it along with the Spyksmas who taped it. While I wasn't able to tape it myself, I did take notes.

Mr. Nyhoff was quite the Chatty Cathy. He lamented how Modesto, "Can't get off the Top 10 lists, heck, we can't even fix the sidewalks!" He spoke about the unions and the failure of Measure X, saying, "We have no cops, we watch the criminals zip through."

But another jaw-dropper was his comments regarding city planners, Brent Sinclair and Josh Bridegroom: "Brent won't bring anything to us and Josh is following in his footsteps. This isn't the Josh Show."

I didn't seek out the Bee to do an article on the open mic, but I'm glad they decided to do one because of the revealing interviews Kevin Valine conducted. First off, Mr. Nyhoff claims temporary amnesia for an hour-long conversation. Perhaps reading my blog post will refresh his memory. That, or he can listen to the recording.  And Bill Lyons is, "...not aware of any talks between his family and the city" regarding developing his land in Wood Colony. Can we take that to mean he is counting himself among "his family"?  Bill Lyons owns the largest parcel of land in the proposed annexation zone under the name "Beckwith-Dakota LLC" so that's GREAT news for Wood Colony if he and his family have NOT been talking to the City of Modesto about developing their land there. Guess Mr. Nyhoff was mistaken when he named him.

Source: Salida MAC Facebook page

I've been told that there's a backroom behind the dais where the council can have private conversations so perhaps they'll make an effort to use this room next time instead of risk having their conversation streamed over the internet via a live mic. Marco Moreno posted that its happened before and he's tried reporting it but to no avail. The upside if they choose to ignore the issue further is potentially more "what do they really think" streaming conversations.

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2014/03/29/3266418/was-microphone-left-on-after-council.html#storylink=cpy

The People's Republic of Modesto?

On Tuesday, January 28, 2014, the Modesto City Council voted against their Planning Commission's recommendation (September 16, 2013) that Salida be removed from Modesto's General Plan update.  Additionally, the council voted to add in approximately 2,300 acres in Wood Colony to the General Plan.

These two votes have resulted in a backlash the likes that Stanislaus County has never before seen. 

And now the back-pedaling begins...

On Tuesday, February 25, 2014, Coucilwoman Jenny Kenoyer motioned that the General Plan be brought back before the city council on Tuesday, March 25, 2014. Behind the scenes, the council are meeting with people in Wood Colony. For what reason? A compromise? The residents of Wood Colony don't want a "compromise". Like Salida, they just want Modesto to leave them alone and stop trying to take their land. But as far as Modesto goes, they will use whatever underhanded tactics they have in their arsenal to accomplish their means to an end, and that includes gerrymandering, revisionist history, and just flat out ignoring the wishes of the people who live in Salida and Wood Colony.

Gerrymandering

Gerrymandered Beckwith Map

The first blantant exhibit of gerrymandering occurred with the approval of the "Mayor's Alternative" map for Wood Colony which contains a "notch" that cuts out 34 homes along Beckwith Road. When questioned about the gerrymander notch at the February 15th Hart-Ransom meeting, Mayor Marsh replied that the houses were cut out to "prevent eminent domain". Audience members were quick to point out that there wasn't anything that would stop eminent domain from being declared on Beckwith to run needed infrastucture or widen the road for commercial development.

Furthermore at the Hart-Ransom meeting, Marsh indicated that the City may remove the 1,254 acres designated as "ag". This move will also gerrymander out more votes from having the ability to vote down any land annexations in the Beckwith-Dakota area.

Salida does not escape Modesto's gerrymandering swath unscathed either. Modesto City Councilman, John Gunderson, contacted a member of Salida's Municipal Advisory Council on February 18th saying a "surprise" is in store for Salida. He did not reveal just what the "surprise" is but other sources have confirmed that the city council is planning to remove the existing town of Salida from the General Plan update and just keep in the Salida Community Plan land that is north and south of Kiernan Avenue. AKA "The land around Gregori" as Marsh refers to it in trying to negate Stanislaus County's designation of that land for Salida. By removing the existing residents' from the General Plan update, this gerrymanders out Salida's votes from the Salida Community Plan land grab. If this comes to pass, it will be up to Salida residents to make the case to LAFCO to preserve this land for Salida as its now designated.

Revisionist History
Talk Radio Commentator, Dave Bowman, was the first to call it like it is when Marsh tried to say that the area north of Beckwith and east of Dakota "isn't part of Wood Colony" as a justification for leaving in the red "commercial" area on the general plan. This same view was expressed

Wood Colony Cemetery entrance

by Councilman Bill Zoslocki as reported by Wood Colony residents who attended the meeting at Kristin Olsen's office. Modesto is adamant about leaving the area in the plan update and Wood Colony residents are adamant about it coming it out; because IT IS a part of Wood Colony. How ludicrous a thing to try and promote that THE LAND DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE WOOD COLONY CEMETERY IS NOT A PART OF WOOD COLONY?!? 

Socialism
Some of the comments that have been coming out of city council and from Modesto Chamber of Commerce members are: "Modesto needs a win", "There has to be a compromise", "Modesto needs to save face", "the intention is to come up with viable solutions". Now why they feel that Salida and Wood Colony residents should and would agree to a compromise that sacrifices the futures of our communities for Modesto to "save face" is unfathomable! This isn't the "People's Republic of Modesto" where socialism reigns and our communities must sacrifice for Modesto's greater good! Or is it? By virtue of our location along 99, does Salida have to pay yet another price of losing our tax base to Modesto because of 144 years of Modesto's bad planning? Salida has already lost the land that Kaiser is on, along with Costco, Lowe's, Save Mart, etc. How much more municipal lifeblood does Salida have to lose to quench Modesto's thirst? And why does Salida have to even talk about losing it in the first place? Is it because its the status quo in Stanislaus County? Modesto's status quo is that they are used to always getting what they want.