What happened?
The Visalia City Council heard from supporters of the Rawhide baseball club and the Visalia Farmer's Market.
At its Jan. 16 meeting, the Visalia City Council let a motion die from Council member Emmanual Hernandez Soto that would have added an item to discuss the limit of 12 street closures in a year in the newly adopted special events ordinance to a future agenda.
The ordinance, which was approved at the council’s Dec. 18 meeting in a 3-1 vote, added a section to the city’s municipal code limiting events that are consistently held on public streets or property and are determined to affect traffic patterns to be held just 12 times a year.
April Treano Lancaster, director of the Downtown Visalia Certified Farmers Market (DTV-CFM), asked for the council to consider rescinding the section of the ordinance that included the 12-week limit because the DTV-CFM has a limited impact on traffic patterns.
Lancaster said that when the market, which is usually located on the corners of Church and East Main streets, is held, only 17 parking spots are being used by the market, and there is a parking lot right next to them that remains accessible while the market is open.
Multiple people brought up their concerns about how the DTV-CFM has been affected. Lisa Alvarado, who worked at the Visalia Farmers Market for a few years, said that in her time at the Visalia Farmers Market, they were never watched by the code enforcement department. She asked if the DTV-CFM is being watched so closely because it is primarily people who look like her, a woman of color.
Vanessa Gonzalez, a DTV-CFM customer, brought up Council member Steve Nelsen’s previous comment on the clientele of the market and his suggestion of moving the market to Recreation Park. Gonzalez asked what Nelsen meant when calling market customers “clientele,” and why they aren’t good enough to be downtown.
Soto said he requested the discussion item be added to a future agenda because during the first work session for the ordinance, all five council members agreed that they should have a stakeholder meeting. The staff report for the ordinance showed that a majority of stakeholders did not want the 12-week limit. Soto said the stakeholders had spoken, so he doesn’t understand why the city isn’t moving forward with what the stakeholders wanted.
Council member Liz Wynn asked how many people were at the stakeholder’s meeting.
Tracy Robertshaw, the city’s neighborhood preservation manager, said 18 people attended that meeting.
Vice Mayor Brett Taylor said that the ordinance had been discussed at least three times already, and he doesn’t think it is good governance to continue hashing out items because you don’t like how the vote went previously.
Soto motioned to approve his request to add an item to discuss the 12-week limit to a future agenda, but with no second, the motion died.
Litigation with owners of Visalia Rawhide
The council heard comments from Visalia residents about the litigation between the City of Visalia and First Pitch Entertainment, the owners of the Visalia Rawhide.
According to the city, when Major League Baseball (MLB) took over Minor League Baseball in 2021, the MLB required all minor league teams to enter into a Professional Development License Agreement, which required the Rawhide team and stadium to meet MLB standards. The city says it was not involved in this agreement, and when presented with First Pitch Entertainment’s proposed stadium renovations with an estimated cost of $10 million, the city replied with a letter saying the details of its lease with First Pitch Entertainment limited city contributions for improvements to $200,000 a year.
After multiple years of mediation sessions failing to find a solution, a lawsuit for declaratory relief being filed by the city and a cross-complaint for declaratory relief being filed by First Pitch Entertainment, on Dec. 22, 2023, Tulare County Judge David Mathias declined to give declaratory relief for either party. The city says it has since reached out to First Pitch Entertainment to reenter mediation.
With news about Mathias’ decision and the city’s response circulating through Visalia, many people came to share their thoughts with the council even though the litigation was not an agenda item.
Amanda Pichurko, a Visalia resident who has been a Rawhide season ticket holder since 2011, said she has toured the ballpark to see what renovations would be required, and the updates are not extravagant. She said the clubhouse facilities don’t have enough room, and the facility for female coaching staff is just a bathroom with cubby holes. Pichurko said the nails in the outfield wall have had to be hammered in before games because they are coming loose.
Representatives from Able Inc., Enchanted Playhouse Theater Co. and West Visalia Kiwanis said that they and other community organizations receive fiscal contributions from Rawhide, use the ballpark as a venue and have partnered with Rawhide to host events or job training.
Many Visalia residents recalled memories of growing up going to baseball games in Visalia and told stories about the community bonds they have formed at the ballpark.
Council members could not comment on the issue, as it was not an item on the agenda and is pending litigation.
The Visalia City Council will meet again on Feb. 5.
