Council to discuss immigration issues

Zigler says residents have nothing to worry about

The Lindsay City Council will discuss today the stance the city is taking with regard to how it will handle immigration issues.

The topic has been on nearly everyone’s mind ever since President Donald Trump issued his executive order on immigration. With plans on Trump signing a revised version of his executive order on Wednesday, more residents, especially those who are only legal residents or have entered the country illegally, are terrified of what will happen.

However, City Manager Bill Zigler said no one in the City of Lindsay will be going out and looking to roundup and deport anyone. Zigler said, instead, Chris Hughes, the city’s director of public safety, will present a statement and address questions that will hopefully put everyone’s concerns to rest.

“He is going to make residents feel a little more comfortable about conducting business and going about their daily lives without walking around in fear,” Zigler said. “There has been great concern from immigrant populations throughout the nation about what is going to happen so it is important to get that word out.”

Council will also consider approving an application for First 5 Tulare County One-time Capital Proposals 201718 grant, which would, upon submittal, expand opportunities of growth in activity rates, gross motor skills, fine motor skills and parent and child education, said Clint Ashcraft, the director of Mcdermont, Wellness and Recreation, in a city staff report.

Ashcraft said the proposed project would focus upon children ages 0-5 and would also provide additional opportunities to children with disabilities in providing tactile stimulation opportunities, social interaction and parent support.

Additionally, the council will consider conveying a parcel of property to the Lindsay Hospital Board in order to enable the expansion of a parking lot for medical

office use, Zigler said in a staff report.

Zigler said the parcel is a triangle in shape and is approximately 5,236 square feet in area. He said its sole purpose to the city is to convey storm water to the Sequoia Pond via a storm drain pipe, for which an easement would be retained should council decide to approve the conveyance.

He added that the hospital district would pay nothing to the city for the property, but would be responsible for all costs related to surveying, document development and recordation, and any costs related to

improvements.

If council approves the request for conveyance, Zigler said a resolution and deed would be presented at a later date once all survey work is completed, legal descriptions developed and an easement drafted.

Zigler said council will engage in discussion with city staff to discuss possible operational improvements related to Highway 65. Zigler said some improvements would be near-term, while others would be considered long-term improvements. He added that staff recently met with Tulare County Association

of Governments (TCAG) and Caltrans where they discussed the same topics.

The council will also discuss the Hermosa and Westwood Roundabout Project.

Michael Camarena, the city’s services director, said the project is primarily focused on establishing a roundabout at the intersection, which he said will provide efficient movement of traffic through the area, while also significantly improving the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.

The council meeting will start at 6 p.m. today in the council chamber at Lindsay’s city hall.