" The articel states "Members of the council will also consider approving the hiring of Greg A. Gonzales Painting Co. of Visalia for exterior and interior painting of Fire Station No. 1 in the amount of $24,000".

Hey, great price for comm'l. painting.

No Hanford businesses could get this job?
Were their bids too high?

Based on the four pass per buck rule of thumb, Hanford biz community just lost out on several thousand dollars of shared business revenue. "

" WOW, I would have painted it for $20,000! Gee, did this go out to bid? Seems like an awful lot of money going out in these times of recession! "

" Once again our city council members demonstrate there lack of support for local business. Why can't a local company do these projects? All this talk about buying local and keeping our money for our community and the City Council wants to spend money on outside companies. They had no problem on over paying the city attorney’s contract when other law firms had lower bids and more experience. I would hold off on these pet projects until the economy bounces back. The money can be better spent on more urgent projects and city services. One last thing! I would thing twice about broadcasting City Council meetings on TV. That's a sure fire way to get voted out of office on the next election. Besides there is enough comedy shows on TV to watch! "

" Gee that 'Comcast thing seems like a novel idea, wonder where that idea came from??????? As if I didn't know?

Secondly,
Some volunteers + paint + ladders + + $24,000 is it going to be GOLD leaf painting?

Spruce it iup, make it look nice but don't forget the commitment to keep each and everyone informted also.?????

Doesn't anyone locally do any street improvements or infrastructure any longer?????

All these dollars escaping recirculation just doesn't make sense, in these hard times. "

" with the unemployment rate as high as it is, couldn't the council have gotten a crew through the JTO office? or the adult school? Seems like a win-win deal. Give some local folks a job, and it certainly wouldn't have cost $24,000. "

" To: americantaxpayer wrote on May 18, 2009 11:39 PM:

As for the Comcast Broadcast, I am fully in favor of it as it will enlighten many people who have chosen to close the window blinds, roll up partitions and distance themselves from the City Council and its' decision making abilities.

Please, let what will unfold, unfold as orator's such as Chin bring forth their personal plans and reasoning behind only building norhtern Hanford in the future. Let him explain as the infrastructure and south as well as east Hanford sinks into the sinkholes of deprivation and disrepair. I want his footnote on being the responsible party for the disappearance of 6th Street and beyond, never to be seen again at his able hand and assistance. He can design a handi-capped accessible park but can't get ruts and streets sluried to fill in the crevaces that trap wheel chair wheels, walker wheels and other aided walking devices. He can't accomplish that, but he can get $24k to paint the Civic Auditorium Council Chambers, let this be known far and wide throughout our faire land. "

" Hanford goes with the low guy. I have experienced this many times.

Here is an activity for those of you with lots of time on you hands: check and see if these out of town firms have a business license in hanford like us locals have. I doubt it so they don't pay business tax like us locals. "

" americantaxpayer said:

"That's a sure fire way to get voted out of office on the next election."

C'mon cablecasts!! Yeah! "

" To Watch Dog Fred! I fully support Comcast broadcasting the City Council meeting for all the public to see. You are correct that too many of our Hanford Citizens have turned a blind eye to the lack of performance and common sense that our City Council members have when performing in their elected offices. Comcast will show all who watch the meetings on our poor judgments of who we elect into public office. North Hanford receives all the benefits of the council’s attention while South Hanford is falling apart in decay and low income housing that's a homeowner's nightmare in the south. The two City Council members representing the South Hanford Districts should have been removed from office long ago for lack of performance and representation. I supported Dave Thomas because anyone else would have done a better job than Mrs. Dolores Gallegos. We are still feeling the years of neglect when she was in office. Nothing has changed since she was voted out of office. Hopefully this broadcasting will wake people up and show them what is really happening to there once thriving community! "

" To: Carl.Spackler wrote on May 19, 2009 9:59 PM:

Well you finally went and done it, you finally hit on a topic I know a little about that we agree upon.
Companies have been coming in this county for years now, companies even from let say as far away as Utah/Arizona/Nevada that kind of distance. Companies that brought their own outisde company vehicles, that didn't even require California Smog. Companies, that hired temporary employee contractors to avoid paying Workman's Compensation Insurance. Companies that put down a $10,000 dollar retainer to do million dollar expansion and building projects. Companies that provide all their supervisors from outside the state motel rrooms, so they don't have to pay the higher scale California prevailing wage. Companies that put their management employees up in motels and send them home once a month so they can't establish residence. Companies that circumvent and bypass laws that were put on our books, for a purpose. Companies who steal all the beef and leave local companies the hgher taxes and issues with government to deal with, is this the type of companies you are talking about Carl? "

" "is this the type of companies you are talking about Carl? "

No, not really. Just the small vendors and consultants that get beat out by Visalia and Fresno companies by a few hundred dollars.

Of course if the council went with local guys then people like you would yap about cronyism. "

" To:: americantaxpayer wrote on May 20, 2009 8:00 PM:

I couldn't have said it better, however just to reiterate our infrastructure continues to decline, our water still is not drinkable, rents continue to increase and incomes continue to decline. Unemployment is up everywhere you look, Centinenial Park is currently the only project I see working in south Hanford and it is a water feature for the park. is this in preparation for taking away the plunge when the economy turns around again. Now, I read where the fire house is gonna get a new coat of paint, finally after how long? Let me ask you this, do you think there is an organization who might provide the labor to paint the fire station, in return for its' use? How much could a few buckets of 5 gallon paint cost? Yet the taxpayers are gonna pay $24k for a paint job, snow job what ever you want to call it. Come on Comcast, you are rally missing too much. Now when the next elections come around, open your blinds, lift up the curtains, send off for that absentee ballot changing this. "

" To: americantaxpayer wrote on May 20, 2009 8:00 PM:

As long as we are making that wish list let me run some thngs by you, that I think South Hanford is way over due.

How about our very own sub-police station?
How about our very own fire house complete with firemen?
How about citizens on patrol being extended to this area of town?
How about city business offices that stay open later than 6:00 p.m. when most working people can donduct business?
How about using up some of the local non-used property before building new construction in this city?
How about a South Hanford Business/Merchants Association with the full support of the City Council and city of Hanford?
How about affordable daycare in convenient locations for working parents?
How about Gonzales' and some of these others get off their comfortqble seats at the City Council and get out into their districts and actually do something?

These are just some of the How Abouts, I think are long overdue in our community. "

" Just a thought, but does COS still have a building trades program? If so, this might have been a great
class project. They are partners with the city in other ventures, so why not this too? Perhaps I'm thinking too far out of the box for some, but this sure seems to make economic sense. "

" To: Carl.Spackler wrote on May 21, 2009 5:03 PM:

"Of course if the council went with local guys then people like you would yap about cronyism".

Carl, when did you trade serious comment to become a comedian? "Cronyism in Hanford", all you have to do is look at our City Attorney, City Council and Unqualified City Manager to see that it is alive, well and thriving.

But you are wrong, I think that entirely too much business, goes oout to bid to other city businesses, that could be performed locally. For instance do we not have road work crews capable of street repair within the City Labor Pool? Perhaps, the additional work would keep them busy and looking forward to a long career. Do we not have paint contractors capable of painting a fire station or better yet volunteers capable of doing it in return for its' use? I recall when the Firemen at the station maintained that building and did a phenomenal job doing so. I know for a fact this town has Gardners, HVAC, Painters, who would jump at the chance for a city job. (Continued) "

" To: Carl.Spackler wrote on May 21, 2009 5:03 PM:

"Of course if the council went with local guys then people like you would yap about cronyism".

(Continued) It is not I who continually keeps the small business community here from getting contracts. If it were up to me, even if the bid was on the high side I would prefer utilizing local talent and circulating the collars here instead of Visalia, Fresno or Bakersfield or worse yet the Bay Area, like there isn't enough work up there?

The more we circulate the city dollars the more it stimulates our own economy. The more work we provide locally the smaller our unemployment rate will become. Less unemployment means better living conditions for the entire community. That is how you prosper and build gated communities with it's very own church and convenience store. That might not even be a bad idea for south or east Hanford. Where there is less retail than in any other part of town. I've said it before and I'll say it again we are all in this economy together, emphasis on together. "

" Alihandero - Carl and whoever wants to listen: Don't you find it ironic, that we can afford the most expensive City Attorney in Hanford's history, can promote a man to the position of City Manager without qualification. But when it comes to planting flowers down 11th Avenue, we have to hire a company outside the area for the landscaping? When we want infrastructure, we must outsouce it to the Bay Area or Sacramento area. There are projects too numerous to mention that could and should have been awarded locally to stimulate our own stimulus package. I think more emphasis should be on creating local jobs rather than couponing for the cheapest work of the land. As many have said on here previously, you usually get what you pay for, except in certain local positions of government.

When you use local companies they hire local talent, they spend their money on food, rent and livlihood which in turn creates even more jobs locally. They aren't living out of motels or a trailer they pull from job site to job site across California. The locals raise their kids where they work. "

" "As long as we are making that wish list let me run some thngs by you, that I think South Hanford is way over due."

Fred, there is a fire station coming to south Hanford at 12th/Hanford-Armona. The site has been acquired.

Fred, i'm just pulling your chain a bit on the cronyism comment. I agree with you that Hanford businesses should get first shot if they are close to other firms in cost. For some reason the competetive bid process in Hanford often runs amock. "

" We are in the middle of a recession and these people are mulling over aesthetic improvements?
Poor timing to say the least! Why not focus on items that may make a difference in this community? Where is the outrage? "

" To: Carl.Spackler wrote on May 24, 2009 11:36 AM

Thanks for the information, but let me reiterate, everything for south and east Hanford always seems to be in the planning stages. It is time for action, breaking ground, putting service back into the community. Since the property is already purchased wouldn't it be wonderful if the Architect could design a sub- police station, like the county did at Houston and Hwy. 43?

i can't believe since they relocated the old fire station & moved it to Grangeville Blvd. where the firemen must drive from one side of town to the other that this hasn't been a concern, long before now? Response times could be increased, a traffic problem avoided and accidents reduced in an investment in our future.

To say when you look at my list Carl, that South and East Hanford have not been ignored would be an injustice to the word TRUTH. Why shouldn't there be a permanent police presence on this side of town, look at the crime sheets, it doesn't take a scientific genius to figure it out. Simply look at the addresses and crime levels. "

" To: Carl.Spackler wrote on May 24, 2009 11:36 AM

As I sit here this Memorial Weekend I recall a Thanksgiving, many years ago. When I lived south of 10th Avenue on East Myrtle Street, when a fire broke out in the oven of our home. My Uncle from out of town called the City Fire Department to report the fire, the dispatcher kept telling him, he was calling the wrong number. That the City didn't service that area, the County fire department did. How many people during a crisis thinks about zones and regions and who fights what fires, especially if they aren't from here?

So in the hesitation of the dispatcher, when he/she could have simply called the county fire department the fire grew, the smoke damage increased and a simple oven fire became much more expensive. When the County Fire Department arrived instead of putting the blanket out that my uncle through into the oven hoping to contain the fire. He grabbed it up ran directly over the brand new carpet my mom and dad had just installed and burning embers began to appear and smolder. (Continued) "

" To: Carl.Spackler wrote on May 24, 2009 11:36 AM

(Continued) Thank God the fire insurance paid for the damage. Oh and shortly after my mom and dad were stomping on the carpet to put out the fire the fireman from the county caused. The (City of Hanford) Fire Department showed up. One thing I will say; is that is an experience that is repeated from family member to family member at every Thanksgiving in our family. I can't begin to wonder what made me think of it than earlier today I was thinking of my mom dad and uncle who now have all passed on.

But if anyone has the answer, I am curious do those boundaries still exist and do fire departments ignore calls out of their area still today? Perhaps there is a volunteer or firemen who has the answer to that question? Happy Memorial Day. "

" To: hanfordian wrote on May 24, 2009 12:33 PM:

"Where is the outrage? "

Have I been typing my fingers to the bone this weekend for nothing? Have you not read my blogs this weekend but maybe scrolled passed them? Of course, I feel outrage, discust and pure sick to my stomach with the way City Hall is ran.

Perhaps instead of more comfy furniture they should be looking at gettiing out into their districts and seeing what isn't going on? Remember that candidate that didn't get elected, who wore out three pair of tennis shoes, don't you wish he were on the Council now? The Council hasn't just lost touch, they have lost focus, caring and the ability to do the cities business. Do it publicly in front of cameras documenting their decisions. I agree with the broadcasts, but not so much about the total revamp. Are they ever really in session long enough for furniture, to be an issue? I say stand up walk out the door and do a little precinct walking during a non-election year and "see what folks have to say"! "