Shuklian: Confident County is strong
Tulare County Board of Supervisors chair Amy Shuklian saved what she thought was the state of the county toward the end of her address on Tuesday.
“What is the state of Tulare County?” Shuklian said. “I can say with confidence the state of our county is strong.”
Shuklian made the remarks during her State of the County speech during Tuesday’s Tulare County Board of Supervisors meeting.
Of course how Tulare County has dealt with COVID-19 was a major part of Shuklian’s address. “2020 didn’t go as we had planned,” she said. “We faced unprecedented challenges with COVID-19. COVID-10 is still the county’s immediate priority.”
She said the county has allocated $48 million in CARES act funding to deal with the pandemic. She said $5.2 million was allocated in grants to more than 1,000 small businesses. She added $8.6 million went to public health, $1.1 million went to rental and housing assistance and $3.4 million went to food assistance.
“I’m hoping the worst is behind us,” Shuklian said. She added she’s looking forward to the time when the county can get back to our PRECOVID lives.”
That included all students being able to return to the classroom, Shuklian said, adding the impact on children who haven’t been able to go to school has been “devastating.”
Shuklian also mentioned the 776 deaths due to COVID-19 that have happened in Tulare County and paused during her speech to hold a moment of silence for those who have died.
She also stressed residents should remain diligent even with the situation improving. “Now is not the time to become complacent,” she said.
And she also noted the obvious COVID-19 wasn’t the only adversity the county has had to deal with. There was also the Sequoia Complex, the largest wildfire in Tulare County history that burned more than 175,000 acres and destroyed 232 structures.
As far as accomplishments, Shuklian noted the county’s first fire station, Fire Station 1 which will provide services for the Visalia-tulare area, was the first fire station built by the county since 1996. She added will add a ladder truck at the cost of $1.8 million.
She also noted the new consolidated dispatch center for the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and fire. And she noted Tulare County’s $7.5 billion agricultural industry, which includes the No. 1 dairy industry in the country.
When it came to COVID-19 again, Shuklian noted the Healthy Harvest program which provided hotel rooms for farmworkers who had tested positive for COVID-19.
She said the Resource Management Agency remained busy with 53 road construction projects. And there’s the $16 million federal grant which will help complete the $53 million Highway 99 project in Tulare.
Shuklian added the restoration of the Williamson Act will save taxpayer’s money for property owners. She also noted the reopening of Visalia’s Darling Hotel.
And she noted the Sequoia Gateway Project in Visalia which will provide health services from Valley Children’s Hospital and Kaweah Delta Hospital and will also include commercial businesses. There was also a major upgrade at Balch Park, Shuklian said.
Tulare County’s budget grew to $1.45 billion in 2020 but Shuklian said the board remains committed to being fiscally conservative. She added “Tulare County remains on solid financial ground.”
She continued to talk about how the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to have an impact and added the county will need to be prepared for the impact of when the minimum wage is raised to $15 an hour.
Shuklian also said the county will need to address the issue of homelessness. She noted a report there are 992 homeless in Tulare County but added she has no doubt that number could be twice as much.
She did not Project Roomkey which provided temporary shelter for the homeless affected by COVID-19 and that program grew into Project Homekey that provides more permament housing for the homeless. She said the county has received $5.2 million for Project Homekey projects at the Sequoia Lodge Motel and 99 Palms at Tagus Ranch.