Bob Williams Chevrolet in Lemoore closed its doors on Friday, ending a 36-year run of selling autos in the community. Keller Motors in Hanford, another General Motors dealership that is doing relatively well, says it has agreed to temporarily lease the dealership property and help the company with its closure by purchasing some of its inventory. Keller has also recently bought out Valley Ford of Hanford. Bob Williams' store is located at 1356 W. Iona Ave., just south of Highway 198 and west of 19th Avenue.

Jon Keller, president of Keller Motors, said Bob Williams Chevrolet's closure was part of General Motor's recent consolidation effort. Keller said the automaker has been sending out letters to smaller dealers for some time now telling them that their outlets may not be profitable and not in viable locations.

Bob Williams' dealership, founded in 1972, was a key business for Lemoore. But it is one of many dealerships that are disappearing. Amid this brutal economy, there are numerous news reports that indicate automakers like General Motors are turning more attention to weeding out weaker dealers.

"It is a hard economic time right now, and we are doing our part to help out in this difficult situation with Bob Williams' employees," Keller said in a written statement.

"It hits home for all of us," he said. "Our industry suffered like any other industry. It could happen to anybody."

Bob Williams declined to comment Friday. When reached for comment by The Sentinel, he hung up the phone.

Each dealer that is lost can be a blow to its community. Bob Williams Chevrolet -- the last new dealership in Lemoore -- is an example of that, city officials say.

"This is a very significant loss to our city in several ways," said Lemoore City Manager Jeff Briltz. "One, because it's a loss of employment. However, a positive thing is that many of the employees were able to pick up similar jobs. That's great."

About half of Bob Williams' employees, including Don Koelewyn, Williams' longtime business partner, have been promised jobs with the Hanford dealership, Keller said. Williams employed 16 people.

A job fair recently held at Bob Williams' dealership has helped most of the other employees to find new jobs, Briltz said.

Bob Williams Chevrolet was one of the top 25 employers and tax revenue generators for the city.

For a sales tax revenue-poor city like Lemoore, a car dealership is a "significant" sales tax provider, Briltz said.

"It's significant. It will be felt within the city in the long term, if it's not replaced," he said. "It's also damaging because Bob Williams was part of the small highway commercial area, where success of the businesses helped one another ... It's another sign of the time that causes concerns in people's minds."

For now, Keller plans to temporarily lease the property, close the dealership and look for a new tenant.

Meanwhile, the city of Lemoore, too, is actively seeking other tenants for the property.

There has been interest in the site, but nothing has been forthcoming so far, Britlz said. The city would like to see another car dealership but is open to other types of businesses that can utilize the highway visibility, he said. Keller says he has been in talks with West Hills College to possibly locate its automotive program training shop at the site.

There were indications earlier this year that Bob Williams' dealership might have been struggling to stay afloat as a business.

This March, the city agreed to guarantee a $250,000 subsidized business loan from the Kings Economic Development Corporation, giving the EDC an assurance that Williams has enough equity on his house to cover the loan amount.

"When a business comes to us looking for a loan, we make sure to do due diligence to make sure they have enough equity. At that time, we felt confident that he did," said Judy Holwell, Lemoore's redevelopment project manager. "We were doing our best to help out one of our local businesses."

Currently, Bob Williams' business assets have been out for bulk sale.

The city is hopeful that Williams will be able to continue making the loan payment. If he defaults, the city and Kings EDC will have to take possession of his residential property and put it up for sale to recover the loan amount, Holwell said.

"Hopefully, we won't have to do that route," Holwell said. "We hope there'll be enough money coming in from selling parts, equipment, cars and trucks. We'll just have to see how it plays out."

Finney is a reporter for The Lemoore Advance.