The City of Rialto, Profiled in 'Strong Cities/Strong State' Campaign by Jim Steinberg

Rialto profiled in 'Strong Cities/Strong State' Campaign

Jim Steinberg, Staff Writer

Posted: 08/30/2011 05:31:12 PM PDT

RIALTO - This city joined the ranks of those

profiled as part of the "Strong Cities/Strong

State" campaign highlighting local government

success across the state.

The project, a joint venture of the League of

California Cities and the California City

Management Foundation, will eventually

highlight all California cities.

"We are glad the League asked our city to

participate in the Strong Cities/Strong State

campaign," said Rialto Mayor Grace Vargas. "It is

important to show what communities like Rialto

are doing to improve their communities, promote

economic development and create jobs in these

tough economic times."

The city's profile details projects that promote

sustainable economic development including its

award-winning Downtown Vision and Strategic

Plan and the proposed development of the Rialto

Eco-Industrial Energy Park.

The Eco-Industrial Park, which will occupy 9

acres at the city's wastewater treatment plant,

will create a "green collar" job sector, while

helping to improve the environment and increase

city revenues.

"Rialto is investing millions of dollars in the

community via its redevelopment agency. We are

expanding our library, making major

improvements in our parks, constructing a new

fire station and investing in large public

improvement projects that will make Rialto a

better place to live, work and play in the future,"

said City Administrator Mike Story.

The goal of the campaign is to promote the

innovation and experience of local officials in

delivering vital services at a time when this

expertise is needed by state leaders struggling

with fundamental issues of governance, said Eva

Spiegel, communications director, for the League

of California Cities.

"`Strong Cities/Strong State' seeks to position

cities as vital, necessary and equal partners in

building a better California," Spiegel said.

Woman in alleged Rialto Police Sex scandal to file lawsuit .. San Bernardino Sun 092310 by Josh Dulaney

Woman in alleged Rialto Police sex scandal to file lawsuit

Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer

Posted: 09/28/2010 05:10:16 PM PDT

RIALTO - The attorney for Nancy Holtgreve, a strip club worker at the center of an alleged sex scandal involving on-duty police officers, is moving forward with a lawsuit against the city after it recently rejected a $500,000 claim.

"I am going to go ahead and prepare a lawsuit on Nancy's behalf," said Danuta W. Tuszynska, the Riverside-based lawyer for Holtgreve. Tuszynska said the lawsuit may be filed by the end of October.

Holtgreve, a drink server at the Spearmint Rhino, alleged in her claim that several female employees of the club and police officers engaged in sex together at the Rialto Police Benefit Association's union hall. She named officers James Dobbs and Lamont Quarker in her claim, saying she had sex with each of them while they were on duty. Holtgreve alleges that she had sex with Quarker, a narcotics officer, in the Police Department's narcotics office. She also says Dobbs fathered a son she gave birth to in March.

According to Holtgreve, Dobbs, whose last day with the department was Aug. 12, intimidated and abused her after she demanded he pay child support.

The department won't say if Dobbs was fired or resigned, citing an internal investigation that has been completed and is under review.

Holtgreve alleges that Dobbs didn't want his relationship with her to hurt a custody battle with his ex-wife, or an alleged relationship with a woman who works in the department.

Dobbs and Quarker have not returned messages seeking comment.

Holtgreve alleges that the city fostered and perpetuated a culture of unwanted sexual harassment of women by male police officers, and that the department failed to protect her from Dobbs after she made authorities aware of the alleged intimidation and abuse.

In August, the city rejected much of Holtgreve's claim, saying it was not lawfully filed within six months of when many of the alleged incidents took place.

Tuszynska said the claim focused on the events which allegedly occurred after Holtgreve's son was born in March, but the city said that part of the claim didn't provide enough information to determine if there was a valid claim against the city, and it needed to be amended and re-submitted or no action would be taken.

While Tuszynska said the information provided in the claim was more than sufficient, she filed an amended claim.

The city has rejected the amended claim, which is why Tuszynska is preparing the lawsuit.

City Attorney Jimmy Gutierrez said there was very little added to the amended claim.

"I don't want to be insulting to this woman because she may have a valid claim," Gutierrez said. "(But) when I don't get a lot of vital information, that suggests to me that I don't have a valid claim."

Gutierrez outlined 42 issues in his initial response to Tuszynska.

He wrote, in part, that the claim failed to state the dates, times and places when Dobbs used his position as a peace officer to intimidate and threaten Holtgreve.

He also said the claim did not state the times, dates and places during which the city fostered and perpetuated a culture of unwanted sexual harassment of females by male police officers.

Gutierrez said the amended claim Tuszynska filed on behalf of Holtgreve failed to address the issues he brought up.

"She in no way came close to answering those questions or providing that information," Gutierrez said. "As I told her already, there is not enough information to evaluate if the city has any liability."

Tuszynska said the rejection is standard procedure and that most governmental entities reject "99 percent" of the claims that are filed against them.

"Our tort claim was more than sufficient to put this city on notice as to the various causes of action that Nancy has against the individual officers, as well as the city of Rialto," Tuszynska said. "Nonetheless, we will move forward with the lawsuit after the rejection."

Police Chief Mark Kling launched the internal investigation in May, which led to six officers. Four were placed on paid administrative leave.

Authorities have not named the officers on leave, citing the investigation under review.

Rialto Strip Club Linked to Policee Sex Probe. (by Josh Dulaney) San Bernardino County Sun

Rialto strip club linked to police sex probe
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Posted:

RIALTO - Internal investigators are probing claims that police officers were having sex on duty with employees of a popular strip club on Riverside Avenue, authorities said Monday.

"We've got confirmation that employees of the Spearmint Rhino were involved with officers in our department," Police Chief Mark Kling said.

Nancy Holtgreve, a 37-year-old server at the club, told the department in May that she had sex with Officer James Dobbs three times last year at the Rialto Police Benefit Association's union hall after she left work and while Dobbs was on duty.

Holtgreve said she and her co-workers after shifts frequently met Dobbs and other officers at a nearby 24-hour restaurant.

Neither police nor Holtgreve would confirm whether the other Spearmint Rhino employees were exotic dancers.

Holtgreve said she brought the allegations to the department because she feared for her safety when Dobbs allegedly abused and threatened her after she demanded he pay child support for their three-month-old son.

Phone messages to Dobbs though the union, at the police station and on his personal voicemail were not returned Monday.

"We know where Nancy works," Kling said. "We have talked to a number of people in this investigation and the investigation has taken us to a business and some homes."

Four officers have been placed on paid administrative leave while the department conducts an internal investigation.

Kling would not confirm the names of the officers on leave, citing the investigation.

Councilman Ed Scott, who owns a different downtown bar, said Monday he had heard rumors from his patrons that women who work at the Spearmint Rhino were involved with Rialto police officers.

"For about a week, that's what I had heard," Scott said.

Scott said he was very concerned about the allegations of officer misconduct.

"I'm concerned that a small group of them would be involved in any conduct like that with employees of any business," he said. "It certainly isn't the Spearmint Rhino's fault."

Kathy Vercher, the club's president and chief operating officer, said she was not aware of the investigation and did not want to comment.

The president of the Rialto police union said Monday he, too, was unaware of any misconduct at the union hall.

"I can unequivocally tell you that I've had no knowledge of that happening at the union hall," Sgt. Richard Royce said. "That's not what the hall is for. I do not condone and my membership doesn't condone that kind of activity."

Dobbs sometimes wanted to have sex at the union hall, where there were at least two beds, Holtgreve alleges.

Royce said there are beds in the hall, but those are for officers who need to rest after working double or graveyard shifts.

The hall, which is located near Ayala Drive and Base Line, is generally used by officers during off-shift activities and official union business, Royce said.

Royce said every union member has a key to the building, and "a lot" of city employees have one too.

But the union, in light of the allegations, has authorized funding for security upgrades that include new locks and potentially a surveillance system, he said.

"When this came to my attention, we took immediate steps to prevent it from happening," Royce said, but added: "I'm not saying it happened."

Only union members will continue to have a key or code to enter the building, Royce said.

"That's what they pay their dues for," he said.

Rialto scrambles to fund new pension costs
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/23/2010 07:05:05 PM PST

RIALTO - At a time when local governments are looking to cut spending every way they can, this city is preparing to spend up to $5 million a year on upgraded pension packages for police, firefighters and other employees.

Budget plans for the 2010-11 fiscal year will have to account for the new "3 at 50" pension plan, which allows firefighters and police officers with 30 years of service to retire as early as age 50 and collect up to 90 percent of their highest annual salaries for the rest of their lives.

A slightly less generous improvement is also kicking in for the city's 400 general employees.

The combined pensions will account for roughly 10 percent of Rialto's $52 million annual budget, when they take effect next year.

City Administrator Henry Garcia had no luck in recent weeks trying to convince the workers' unions to delay implementation of the new plan because of the tough economy. The unions already gave up about $4 million in concessions to close last year's budget gap.

It'll be up to the City Council to decide where the money comes from.

"We're going to use reserves and look for funding sources that can fund it," said Councilman Ed Scott, who was among a 3-2 council majority that voted to approve the pension two years ago.

He added: "I have some faith and belief that the economy is going to turn around and we're going to find some revenue sources to deal with it."

Officials with the union representing Rialto police officers said their members have already given up plenty to help the city cope with the recession.

"We have given up pay increases, holiday hours. . .We'd given up a lot in advance so it's not a hardship on the city," said Richard Royce, president of the Rialto Police Benefit Association.

Representatives of the fire and general employees' unions could not be reached Friday or Saturday.

In the short term, the city will rely on its $31 million in economic reserves, a pot set aside for a rainy day.

Rialto isn't alone. The 3 at 50 pensions for public safety employees are as common in San Bernardino County as the government officials who worry the pricey benefit is unsustainable.

"I think in general there's concern about the retirement system across the state, the retirement system that serves government as a whole," Fontana City Manager Ken Hunt said. "Fontana is a very good system and it's very expensive. The question becomes, can it be maintained."

Last week, Orange County culminated years of negotiations about 3 at 50 when sheriff's deputies agreed to reduce the pensions for new hires. The move helps the county, but doesn't solve the long-term pension funding problem.

The thought of more local governments adopting new 3 at 50 plans in the current economy should be of huge concern to taxpayers, said Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach, who has long fought to roll back that county's 3 at 50 pensions.

"The pension contribution will be an ulcer in the budget because it will always grow and then you will have to bump other things out," he said.

A divided council

The 2008 effort to approve Rialto's new pensions was not unlike the debate that follows 3 at 50 proposals everywhere.

Supporters argue that police officers and firefighters put their lives on the line for the residents they serve, often shortening their own lives through wear, tear and exposure to a wide range of hazards.

As a result, they deserve earlier retirements and financial security.

"We're getting guys at 25, 26, 27 and they don't last much past 50," said Royce, the police union president. "This is a very hard career."

Some police and fire departments also worry about losing good employees if they can't match the pensions being offered elsewhere.

"I supported it because it's a tool the police chief needs to recruit some talent into the city," Scott said. "We had a history of not good recruitment, and when you're surrounded by municipalities that have (it), it's hard to match that."

Mayor Grace Vargas and Councilman Joe Baca Jr., joined Scott to approve Rialto's 3 at 50 pensions by one vote.

Vargas did not return a message seeking comment but Baca said the city owes it to the workers.

"We need to take care of our employees," he said. "They do a good job in the city and they should be awarded with a good retirement."

But critics argue the plans are far too generous, given the much more modest pensions typically found in the private sector. Another criticism is that, rather than spending their 50s playing golf, many maxed-out "retirees" take new jobs at other departments, collecting consulting fees or full salaries in addition to their 90 percent pensions.

"In economic terms, these people are millionaires and that's paid for by the taxpayers," said Steven Frates, senior fellow at the Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College.

Councilwoman Deborah Robertson and former Councilwoman Winnie Hanson voted against Rialto's 3 at 50 plans.

"It was just a very expensive thing and I felt the city could not afford it and I think I was right," Hanson said last week.

But voting against the interests of the police and fire unions might have carried a political price. Hanson suspects the vote might have cost her a 2008 re-election bid against Ed Palmer months later.

Robertson did not return messages seeking her reasons for opposing the pensions.

It's the type of issue that can make city leaders feel as if they're in a no-win situation.

"Somewhere, the line between public safety, public good and public costs needs to be debated," said Garcia, the Rialto city administrator. "People want public safety. Here's the cost, you pay for it and that's the way it is."

Some seek to roll back pensions

In Montclair, city officials have trimmed services, frozen job vacancies, reduced overtime and benefits, and borrowed $2.5 million in General Fund money to ensure the retirement program is funded.

And even before the current recession, they sought concessions from the unions on 3 at 50.

"Every agency is struggling right now and we all do it in different ways," said Edward Starr, deputy city manager in Montclair. "You don't want to do it on the back of the employees, but you also don't want to do it on the back of the community."

Montclair went to a two-tier system in 2005. Safety personnel hired after June 29 of that year would have a "3 at 55" benefit, while those hired before then kept 3 at 50.

Montclair's experience also illustrates how pension costs can change dramatically with modest changes in the retirement age.

Starr said if all cops in Montclair were on 3 at 50, it would cost the city roughly $1.6 million a year. If all were at 3 at 55, the cost would be about $560,000 a year.

Rialto officials hope to follow suit.

"We're looking at that," said Scott. "When we go to negotiations, we would ask the labor unions to consider a two-tiered system."

Others want to take the discretion away from local governments.

A group called California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility has crafted an initiative for the November ballot that would drastically reduce pension benefits for future public employees.

According to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office, the group's initiative would amend the state Constitution to limit defined-benefit pensions and retiree health benefits for state and local government employees hired on or after July 1, 2011.

The measure establishes minimum retirement ages, such as 58 for new cops and firefighters, and 60 for other public safety employees. All other new employees would submit to the full retirement age as defined by Congress, which is 67 for persons born in 1960 or after.

"It's sucking money out of our economy," said Marcia Fritz, who helped craft the initiative. "It's our money and then people start drawing on these investments and then they (retire out of state)."

Fritz estimates the measure would reduce costs statewide by $14 billion over the first six years and $533 billion over 33 years.

In the meantime, Rialto officials realize they need to increase revenue. There are high hopes for a San Bernardino County expansion of the landfill here. Also on the table is a plan to lease out the city's water department and save maintenance costs. Consolidations of city departments are also being considered.

"Right now we're going to have to make some tough decisions," Baca said.

Some officials worry it might already be too late for some cities.

Moorlach, the Orange County supervisor, pointed to the Northern California city of Vallejo, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008, in part, because of expensive retirement packages.

"We're all trying to figure out who files for Chapter 9 bankruptcy first," he said, "whether it's in Orange County or San Bernardino County."

______________________________________________________________

BS Ranch Perspective:

I know this reference the retirement system that the city is claiming problems paying for, and that is that the RPBA took a 10% reduction in their pay, they have lost seven days of Holiday Time for the year, also they cannot build up more then Two Weeks of Comp. Time. They also are working on a very strict Schedule that doesn't allow Overtime Pay, they are asked to take Compensation time off, a thing that has been capped, to the point that it is only approx 80 hours cap, so if they work overtime and put in the compensation time as requested by the Management, & they start to exceed the cap, they are then asking for more trouble at work!

I know that this sounds weird since they are not paying now, they are paying the Officer with Time off, but if they don't have the manpower on the schedule they cannot allow anyone time off, that is where the Comp. Time reaches the cap fast and cannot be reduced as there is not enough Officers to make up a safe shift.

The pay cut, Holiday Time cap Reduction and Holiday Time reduction was done so that in the 1.5 years in the future they might be able to keep the Retirement Package, Rialto after all was working without this retirement package for three years before it was to come into existence.

Now that the time is Nearing, and they have asked the Police Department to take a Cut in Pay, and they agreed and complied, it has been really hard for a great deal of Officers to work through this cut in pay. I see it first hand Knowing Many of the Officers and their Families, the struggle has been difficult.

The City of Rialto has paid for the retirement Plan on the books for more then Thirty years, Paying the 9% of pay for the Current Retirement System, and now that they have agreed to new plan, a Plan that over 90% of all law enforcement currently have with the exception of the new hires for Orange County Sheriffs Department. Even the lower priced Departments have it, Departments such as San Bernardino Sheriff's Department, The Sheriff's department for the most part has a lower budget for their Deputies, and this you would think would make it harder for the SBSD to afford such a Retirement Plan, but they have had this said plan for close to Ten Years now.

Surly the Rialto Police Department can pay for this plan, by doing one simple thing, and this simple thing was forced upon the Police Department already and that is to tighten their belts. The Police Department Employee's have done this and they have not lost any of the officers to bankruptcy etc etc...

I am sure that the City of Rialto will be Okay, they have been Okay in the past and this is not anything to worry about, Unless the City Council Members make it hard for the Police Department. a thing that seems to be Par for the Course, since they made it such a big Headline and are attempting to make their own Employee's the bad guys like they did back in 2003 with the Contract Battle to close the Police Department and offered the job to the Sheriff of San Bernardino County!

That ended in a very embarrassing Loss to the City Council, Look at those council members that were against the Police Department, at that time, why even the Council Members that voted against the Retirement Package.. OOH THAT'S RIGHT, YOU CAN'T, THEY HAVE BEEN VOTED OFF THE CITY COUNCIL TODAY!!

BS Ranch

*Not being a Retired Employee, I am not positive on the Pay Cuts that were approved by the RPBA, especially in regards to the Holiday Time/Comp. Time. However I know that the Police Department took a TEN PERCENT cut in pay, and this was devastating for many to adjust to. This I do know first hand being friends with all my past work mates..

Economic stimulus

This was an article from the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper on Sunday.
The Business Section asked readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix the Economy?"
I thought this was the BEST idea....
I think this guy nailed it!

What a Great Economic stimulus Idea, that will work.


Dear Mr. President,
Patriotic retirement:
There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force - Pay them $1 million apiece severance with the following stipulations:
1) They leave their jobs. Forty-million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They buy NEW American cars. Forty-million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.
3) They either buy a house/pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.
It can't get any easier than that!
PS If more money is needed, have all members in Congress and cabinet members pay their taxes for change........

---

A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps!

Rialto City Council gives chilly reception to fuel pipeline proposal (Press Enterprise May 6, 2008)

BS Ranch Perspective:

My feelings on this is that the Gas Line should have been proposed thought as a closed session and not such a public affair, now there is a problem of a terror situation where some Nimrod wants to make a name for himself and blow up the line etc, But, we cannot go back and re-light the candle. To reroute the pipe line only thought an Industrial area, would only move the pipeline approximately fifteen hundred feet to Locust Ave. If there was an accidental Explosion of that pipeline the street of Linden would be effected, it might not be as much, but it would still be effected, especially of the falling waist that is unburned from the gas the spouts from the pipeline. Then in the more then thirty years that they have had these pipe lines they have had only one, ONE, incident, where the pipe burst, & that was caused because of a derailed Train!!

BS Ranch

Rialto City Council gives chilly reception to fuel pipeline proposal

		Download story podcast

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, May 6, 2008

By MARY BENDER
The Press-Enterprise

RIALTO - The Texas company that wants to expand its 233-mile, Rialto-to-Las Vegas fuel pipeline should choose a route far from residential neighborhoods and must guarantee the safety of the drinking water supply, city leaders said Tuesday night.

A representative of Houston-based Kinder Morgan Energy Partners came to the Rialto City Council meeting to outline the company's plan to add a 16-inch-diameter underground pipeline to its existing system, called the CalNev Pipeline.

Currently, Kinder Morgan owns and operates a 14-inch-diameter and an 8-inch-diameter pipeline, both of which originate at a tank farm at 2359 S. Riverside Ave., south of Interstate 10. The pipelines transport "refined petroleum products," including jet fuel, diesel and gasoline, said Allan Campbell, the company's director of project permitting.

Once the largest pipeline is built, the smallest would be taken out of service, Campbell told the City Council. Kinder Morgan wants to expand CalNev's capacity to supply more aviation fuel to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, based on projections that passenger travel will increase significantly in the next 20 years.

Rialto council members gave the proposal a rather chilly reception.

"I'm adamantly opposed to your project," Councilman Ed Scott said. "Your (company's) maintenance and safety record is less than stellar."

The CalNev Pipeline exploded in May 1989 along Duffy Street in San Bernardino, about two weeks after it was damaged in a train derailment. Two people were killed and 31 injured in that accident. Kinder Morgan didn't own the pipeline then.

Scott outlined his fears that any leak of fuel from the pipeline could pollute Rialto's drinking water supply, which already is tainted with the chemical perchlorate.

The city has spent millions of dollars over the years outfitting its wells with equipment that removes perchlorate -- and Rialto is trying to get the businesses and governments that allegedly polluted the water decades ago to help pay for the cleanup.

"You have the potential for contaminating the drinking water for 100,000 residents of our community," Scott said.

Further, the councilman told Campbell that Kinder Morgan's franchise agreement with Rialto is "old and archaic," and that the company ought to be a good corporate citizen and renegotiate it.

The pact, believed to have been executed in the 1960s, pays Rialto $193 per year to run the fuel pipeline several miles through town, Mike Story, the city's director of development services, told the council. Outside the meeting, Story said the franchise agreement expires in 2018.

The current pipeline runs near some homes and schools. Its route along Linden Avenue goes directly past Wilmer Amina Carter High School. Scott wondered aloud how the Rialto Unified School District received permission to build the school next to the pipeline.

Rialto resident Patty Salas has lived on Linden Avenue, directly across the street from Carter High, for 35 years. She told the council that the city should insist on the 16-inch pipeline being built only through industrial areas, away from residential neighborhoods.

Reach Mary Bender at 909-806-3056 or mbender@PE.com

Rialto Airport Land Valued at $77 Million (REDORBIT March, 25, 2008)

BS Ranch Perspective:

 

We don't want to be in the way of the Christmas Season come 2010, for Target Supercenter, after all that is the only Store that drew any interest in the Rialto Renaissance when it was proposed to the Business world in their little Business fair! Why I am still wondering where the In~N~Out Burger is that was supposed to be Built at the Intersection of Riverside Ave. @ Galloway Ave. (Galloway Ave was closed and In~N~Out Burger was going to be built on the E/Curb of Riverside just N/of the 210 W/B Off ramp). According to the talks by the City Planning the Construction of the Restaurant would have started shortly after the I-210 Freeway was opened! Well? The Freeway has opened, yet NO CONSTRUCTION!!

 

Now they are just talking about the Sale of the land for the development of the Airport, I have to say that Lewis and or the other Companies that are doing this in this market just might find themselves filing for Bankrupts!! Before it is all over

 

BS Ranch

 

 

 

Airport Land Value: $77M

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 March 2008, 02:00 CDT

By Jason Pesick

RIALTO - The city and the Federal Aviation Administration appear close to reaching an agreement on the value of the Rialto Municipal Airport property.

On March 18, interim City Attorney Rahsaan Tilford reported that the City Council determined $77.4 million was an appropriate dollar figure for the property.

That value coincides with what FAA officials indicated they were comfortable with, said Rialto Economic Development Director Robb Steel.

"We have approved it in concept, and we are certainly aware of the action that is going before the Rialto City Council," said San Bernardino International Airport Authority Commission Vice President and Loma Linda Mayor Robert Christman.

A significant portion of Rialto's airport tenants and about $50 million will be headed to San Bernardino International Airport roughly 13 miles to the east.

Rialto's March 18 move, which the council could approve in open session on April 1, is another step in the complex process of turning a working municipal airport into a commercial, industrial and residential development known as Renaissance Rialto.

Renaissance, which will be developed by a partnership between Upland-based Lewis Group and Texas-based Hillwood, will be located along the newly extended 210 Freeway.

Rialto's own appraisal put the value of the airport at about $67 million before taking into account the costs of preparing the land for development, but FAA officials thought the value should be higher.

According to legislation passed by Congress in 2005, 45 percent of the value of the airport property must be paid to SBIA.

That amount - $49.5 million - will be governed by a separate value of about $110 million for the property. The new value of $77 million will be used to determine how much of the $49.5 million goes to accommodating new tenants and how much goes to improvements at SBIA, Steel said.

"There's no set guidebook for how this closure works," said Mike Burrows, SBIA's assistant director.

He said no matter how the money is supposed to be spent by SBIA, he's elated that all of it will be invested in the airport.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor was unable to comment for this story.

Steel said he hopes City Council approves plans for Renaissance by the end of this year, especially since the first payment to SBIA is due in September.

After the plans are approved, the Lewis-Hillwood consortium will start purchasing the 441 acres of airport property, which will be the heart of the 1,500-acre Renaissance Rialto development.

Rialto's airport would close by the end of 2009, after new facilities are built at SBIA and other airports to house Rialto's tenants.

Rialto also needs to regain control of state land so it can move Easton Street and finalize an airport-closure plan with the FAA.

After all the details are worked out, the Super Target-anchored retail center could open in time for Christmas 2010, Steel said. "That's still pretty tight," he said.

(c) 2008 The Sun, San Bernardino, Calif.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: The Sun, San Bernardino, Calif.

More News in this Category

 

Rialto Hanging on to Results of Audit (SB Sun Feb. 25, 2008)

BS Ranch Perspective

It appears that Rialto has been looking for what Owen did with the money that he appropriated for the Perchlorate Case! The problem is that Owen asked the City Council to fight the Perchlorate without telling them how much it would cost for the battle against the Businesses that are reportedly to be to blame by Owens. Now come to find out it can only be found that the Businesses purchased the businesses that were found to be responsible without being the business that was the actual owner at the time that the Perchlorate was put on the ground!

I have to say this, that Owen, the then Rialto City Attorney, was trying to apply today's Hazardous Waist Laws to a Chemical Spill that very well didn't have any, ANY, Regulations against it at the time that they took the Perchlorate and just dumped it onto the ground, when they were done using it.

Owen was taking a Business that either was responsible or was the new owners of a business that dumped Perchlorate with Water onto the ground, Now for all I know that the way that Perchlorate was destroyed was that it was just dumped onto the ground, because Rialto is not the only city that has had Perchlorate Contamination to their Ground Water Supply this last few years. There was contamination in the ground water in the San Gabriel Valley, Rancho Cordova, near Sacramento, and Simi Valley. So, it was not just in the Inland Empire of Southern California

The Court Case that Owen was fighting his case on, was not in violation of any hazardous Materials Laws until July of 2006, so his law suit was more of a he said she said Law Suit, I guess your basic Civil Suit!!

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency Should have been contacted Right away instead of Rushing to the Court Room! Then Owen would see that he wasn't so far ahead of himself and into such a loss of a case!! The Case that he was fighting at the Christmas Break was reported at $23 Million then, now they are just looking for a missing $20 Million!!

I certainty hope that there isn't $20 Million dollars that are filling Owen's briefcase and now that he is not working at Rialto he is having the last laugh with the missing money. I figure that the Money that is gone has ether been spent on the case and or lost or it is in the briefcase, but where ever it might be, It was all the money that was from the Utility Tax money that was Voted on and approved by the Citizens of the City of Rialto!! That Utility Tax is killing me on my Cellular Phones alone, now I don't know about you, but when your Electrical Bill is in the three figures and they are $300 to $900 a month it is a bit out of hand especially when a large portion of that is the Utility Tax, all because it is a Percentage of what they wanted.

I am sickened by the news that Owen took the City for a Ride like this Especially For Some $20 Million, when that money could have been used for the Police Department's Raises, or over all the 3% at 50 Retirement, this could be passed on to the Fire Department for their Retirement. However, now that the $20 Million was wasted on this case instead of cooling their Jets and looking to the Environmental Protection Agency rather then the Court Room. I know that a large portion of the Money was charged to the city as "Fee's" to pay for the Lawyer's court time and his time to research and be on the phone etc etc...

BS Ranch

5:06 p.m.: Rialto hanging on to results of audit

By Jason Pesick, Staff Writer

Article Launched: 02/25/2008 05:06:40 PM PST

RIALTO - The city has not yet released the results of an audit conducted last year to account for at least $20 million in perchlorate-related expenses. Though the city is not under any legal obligation to release the audit at this time, members of the council have been saying for said they intend to release the results.

The council members have not voted on a date to release the report and have explained the delay in releasing the results by saying the city has been busy.

"I'm in favor of releasing it the way it is," Councilman Ed Scott said, arguing that the audit should not be edited before it is released. Scott is a member of the council's perchlorate subcommittee.

In April, the City Council hired an auditor to examine the city's expenses related to the perchlorate contaminating the local water supply. The Reith Co., a Pasadena-based forensic accountant, conducted the audit last year. A forensic accountant's work can be used in court in fraud cases. Perchlorate is the primary contaminant flowing from industrial sites on the city's north end. The city has filed a federal lawsuit and has pursued regulatory action against dozens of parties it suspects are responsible for the contamination. The cost of that battle and the cost of treatment to date is likely at least $20 million, city officials say.

After The Sun filed a request for a copy of the audit under the California Public Records Act, City Attorney Bob Owen, who was later fired by the City Council, wrote

that the audit did not have to be released because it was still in draft form and because it was connected to the city's federal lawsuit. Its ties to the lawsuit mean it is exempt from disclosure. The council, he wrote, could decide to release it anyway.

It's true that the city doesn't have to release the audit until the litigation comes to an end, said Terry Francke, general counsel of the nonprofit open-government organization CalAware.

A court in Ventura County, though, has ruled in another case that the total amount spent and the general ways in which money related to lawsuits was used does have to be released, Francke said.

In October, Owen released a general breakdown of how $18 million had been spent over a four-year period. But the city has continued to spend more money since spring of 2007, when Owen's breakdown stops counting.

Firing Owen probably delayed the release of the audit, said Councilwoman Winnie Hanson, the other member of the perchlorate subcommittee.

The city is trying to figure out how to release the information without jeopardizing the lawsuit by revealing its legal strategy, she said.

Transitioning between city attorneys has distracted the city from the audit, Scott said. But he said he intends to refocus on the issue when he returns from a city trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with officials.

(909) 386-3861

Rialto Crime is Still Down (SB Sun Feb. 20, 2008) City Continues to add Officers, even without a 3% at 50 Contract!!

BS Ranch Perspective

It looks like The City of Rialto is in great hands with Mark Kling at the lead Position, and the area Management in a good position, there is one thing that is a problem that I can see is that the great experienced people that left, took off and the people that are here now are people out of the academy. The main reason that they left was the Police Department was sold out, and was being traded to the County & The Sheriff's Department! The other reason that they went to other agencies was that they were able to get what Rialto has promised twice and never delivered on, Garcia, Rialto's City Administrator, along with Owen, the then City's Attorney promised the RPBA (Rialto Police Benefit Association) that the 3% at 50 Retirement plan was going to added to the next contract if the Utility Tax was voted in, they at the time felt that the 3% at 50 would be a great incentive to gain employment and keep Officer's on the Beat working a long time, rather then keeping them at the 2% @ 55 Retirement Package!

Sadly there are a whole lot of Officers that will be leaving Rialto as soon as they realize that they are not going to get the 3% at 50 Retirement added to their Contract, and if that is not done then they will be looking to go to a department that does have that retirement package!!

There are a great number of Cities that are Expanding and looking for Police Officers to field because of the growing City Limits that most cities have!! Therefore if Rialto doesn't change their Retirement Package, there isn't a Raise that will make up for the Retirement that they are loosing out on, when they are stuck at a department where they don't even get a full retirement at the age of 55!!

Most other department's get a Retirement at the age of 50, and they have the prerogative to stay longer but they mostly will either change or go, but they most stay.

BS Ranch

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Rialto crime is still down

City continues adding officers

Jason Pesick, Staff Writer

Article Launched: 02/20/2008 10:27:21 PM PST

RIALTO - Crime continued its downward trend in the city last year despite increases in some areas.

There was a 11.4percent decrease in the most serious crimes, known as Part 1 violent and property crimes.

Violent crime taken alone, though, saw a 4.8percent increase. That increase came after a violent crime decrease of 16percent for the first five months of the year.

"As a police chief in a community for 18 months ... I'm pleased with the fact that, overall, our Part 1 crimes are down, but I think that we have a lot more work to do, especially with what we're about to be faced with," said Police Chief Mark Kling.

He said he's concerned the weak economy and a possible release of state prisoners due to state budget problems could lead to a rise in crime.

The marked decline in crime in Rialto was not altogether unexpected.

The Police Department continued to add officers throughout the year and continued to rebuild after near collapse only a few years ago.

In 2005, the City Council voted to eliminate the Police Department and replace it with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

That decision didn't stand, and the city hired Kling, who has implemented a number of new strategies to rebuild the Police Department.

When Kling took over, so many officers had left that the department only had 87 officers. It now has 112.

The centerpiece of Kling's vision for his department is the development

of the area command program. Kling's immediate predecessor, Frank Scialdone, who was brought in to stabilize the department during the chaos, decided the program was a good fit for Rialto.

Launched during the past year, the area command program divides the city into three areas, with a lieutenant in charge of monitoring each one and taking on problems as they arise.

Rialto seems to have fared better than some other areal cities. Part 1 crimes were up 4percent in San Bernardino, where violent crimes were up 7percent. In Fontana, violent crime was up 4percent, and property crime was up 20percent. But in 2007 both of those cities' populations grew, which often leads to an increase in crime.

Kling, who said rebuilding the Police Department is a seven-year process, said Rialto's numbers were consistent with what's going on around the region and the country.

"I think there's some trend information in the stats the region should be concerned with," he said.

One of the stats that pleased Kling was that his department responded to 543 fewer traffic collisions.

He also said he thinks response times are still too high.

Kling said people who don't live in Rialto often commit the crimes in the city.

"I think we have to continue to work with our neighboring police agencies," Councilman Joe Baca Jr. said.

He also said faith-based and nonprofit organizations in the city need to work together to take on crime.

The Police Department has provided the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office with the information necessary to write a gang injunction, which could limit where gang members can congregate in the city, Baca said.

For now, Kling said his next goal is to have his department fully staffed with 115 officers - three more than it has now - and then determine the impact on crime. He said he won't ask for an increase in that number from the City Council for the next budget cycle even though the officer-to-resident ratio is lower in Rialto than in a number of other area cities.

"What you're seeing is the dedication knowing that the employees in this Police Department continually have to do more with less," Kling said.

Rialto Accepts Suit Deal (SB Sun Feb. 19, 2008) SB County Would pay $4Million over Perchlorate!

BS Ranch Perspective

Rialto's acceptance of the suit Deal was a good one over all, however the City is still out $19 Million in total battling the County, and the other Businesses to clean up the Perchlorate mess to begin with. However having said that the city was reported to be in the hole at $23 million at last printed report that I had read via the SB Sun, and the case was then placed on hold. then Owen was Fired (Thank God) and now they have decided to somewhat close the case with the county by receiving a payment of $4 Million and now I am left wondering what happened to the rest of the money, that would be $19 Million, that was spent on the whole mess and it is missing that would have been used on the Police Departments 3% at 50 Retirement Package or maybe they could have, used that money more importantly to build a Brand New POLICE DEPARTMENT! TO QUIT PIECING TOGETHER AN OLD OUTGROWN BUILDING THAT IS THE POLICE BUILDING NOW. THE CITY OF RIALTO WAS GOING TO BUILD A POLICE BUILDING BACK IN 1991!! However there was a claim that there was never enough money to build it!! Now there was $23 Million to spend on a Law Suit for Perchlorate, and Now they are $19 Million at Loss in the deal and I venture to state that the new Police Building would only cost the city some 10 Million or more to build I am not sure but I am one to say that the City of Rialto is at the short end of the stick.

All because of miss management by the Management of the City of Rialto, and the City Council of Rialto City!!

BS Ranch

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Rialto accepts suit deal

SB County would pay $4M over perchlorate

Jason Pesick, Staff Writer

Article Launched: 02/19/2008 10:04:34 PM PST

RIALTO - The City Council voted in closed session on Tuesday night to settle its lawsuits against San Bernardino County regarding perchlorate contaminating groundwater.

Under the terms of the agreement, which the council unanimously approved, the county would pay Rialto $4 million and clean up the western portion of the contamination.

That cleanup could costs tens of millions of dollars.

"They are really the only responsible party that has stepped forward," Councilman Ed Scott said.

The county's contamination is flowing from the county-owned Mid-Valley Sanitary Landfill in Rialto's north end.

The county Board of Supervisors still has to approve the deal.

Perchlorate, used to produce explosives, is flowing through local drinking water, but officials say it is not being served to residents.

The city filed a federal lawsuit against dozens of parties, including the county, that it suspects of contaminating the water.

The city has also filed a separate lawsuit against the county in state court.

Also during the closed session, the council voted to have one of its outside attorneys, Susan Trager, manage its perchlorate-related legal battle.

Former City Attorney Bob Owen had served in that role until the council fired him in January.

Rialto Police Officer Cleared in Taser Firing of a Man (San Bernardino Sun Feb, 14, 2008)

BS Ranch Perspective

 

Just what I have read in this News Story of the events makes me believe that Corporal Black was Justified in the Use of Force taken to protect himself, his partners, and any other Civilians that might have been in close proximity to what was going on to any  possible further injury from this guys action. The Taser then made it possible to effect way to take the Suicidal man into safe custody without him further harming even himself!!

 

GREAT JOB, Corporal Black, & Corporal Haynie! I would have loved to have worked with you, it is this kind of life Prevention use of Force, that is great to read about I don't know why it got taken so far that it was a story in the Local News Paper.

 

BS Ranch

 

 

11:40 a.m.: Rialto police officer cleared in taser firing of man

By Stacia Glenn, Staff Writer

Article Launched: 02/14/2008 11:39:16 AM PST

RIALTO - A police detective was justified in shooting the leg of a drunk, suicidal man who swung a pickaxe at officers, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Gilberto Moreno Garcia's wife and daughters found him drinking and threatening to cut his throat in front of them on June 11, prosecutors wrote, so they called 9-1-1.

When two Rialto officers arrived, Garcia approached them with a four-foot pickaxe above his head. Cpl. John Black fired several Taser darts at Garcia, who picked them out of his arm, according to the report.

Detective Jacqueline Haynie fired at Garcia after he refused to drop the weapon, hitting him above the left knee.

No charges will be filed against Haynie or Black because "they feared for their lives," according to the report.

stacia.glenn@sbsun.com

Rialto School Board Warns 300 Teachers Layoffs Possible (SB Sun/via Associated Press Feb. 14, 2008)

BS Ranch Perspective

Well it looks like all the money that has been made, is taken in and is supposed to go to the California Schools from the State Lottery is not doing any good, or it just isn't making it to the Schools Budget!! Being a little skeptical of Political Budgets and how they work, I venture to say that the money from the California State Lottery is not making it to the California Schools and it is terrible to know that it isn't even making a dent!! What is funny is that nobody questions why, the Lottery takes in Millions each day, and a percentage of that goes to the State Schools and well I venture to say that it isn't going there it is going to the very large budget to protect the Super Star Governor & his moderately Royal Wife and Kids Security Detail!!

So Purchase those Tickets to pay for this security Detail After all his plan to get the State on board is to demolish a self Sufficient Retirement plan paid for by the Employee's that work for the State of California, and Law Enforcement that pay into the System, Arnold wants to just take the more then 1 Billion that has been saved up that he cannot touch and put it in the States General Fund and save the day, but That money is paid for by the Employee's for their Retirement and medical programs!!

BS Ranch!!

Rialto school board warns 300 teachers layoffs possible

The Associated Press

Article Launched: 02/14/2008 08:36:31 AM PST

RIALTO, Calif.—The Rialto Unified School District is warning 300 teachers and counselors they might not have a job in the next school year because of budget woes.

The school board voted 3-1 late Wednesday to send notices that the jobs could be eliminated starting in July. Teachers must be notified of layoffs by March 15.

The district is facing a midyear cut in funding, and school officials also expect to lose $8.5 million in the coming fiscal year if the Legislature approves Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget.

Schwarzenegger has proposed cutting $4.4 billion out of education in next year's budget and $400 million in this year's budget.

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Information from: The Sun, http://www.sbsun.com

WANTED: NEW POLICE DEPARTMENT "DIGS" (San Bernardino County Sun March 9, 2007) Rialto needs to get Rid of their Temperary Offices and build a new Poli

BS Ranch Perspective

Back on March 9, 2007, there was an Article Written about the Rialto Police Department Actually wanting New "Digs"!! What I want to know is that the City got the Utility Tax Renewed, with a wider amount or range of or Area of TAXATION, Namely the Cellular Phones, Home phones, etc etc...all are billed an extra Percentage for our Police Department to get a Raise? No, wait they haven't really gotten that, so wait I know They got the larger sum of money so that they can have a Brand New Police Building, however I don't think that the plans that the last plans that were drawn up for the police Station should be used, The Plan was modeled after the Brand New Fontana Police Station that was built Downtown, No Wait? I guess I was hit on the head...Because I think that the Fontana Police Station was built in the Late 1980's and they moved into their Brand New Police Facility in 1989, or was it 1990?

I don't know I get so confused? I know that the plans that were drawn up for the PLANNED BRAND NEW POLICE FACILITY that was going to be built for the Rialto Police Department, they were going to try to start the construction in the Year of um, let me see it was OH, Yes, the Construction was planned for 1992-95, with a completion date 12 to 18 months later, However for some reason the Rialto City Council lost sight of the new Station, I believe it was because of money!! Now at the time that these discussions were going on, there was approximatly 12 Officers that were dressing in the Hallway to get ready for our shift for a great Eight hours of work (Back then we worked a Five Eight hour shift schedule).

The City Tried to get a Grant that was to be elected in by the Citizens of Rialto however there was not enough interest in the Station to get the Grants past by a 2/3 Vote, so the station was going by the way side once again, and we were still going to dress in the hall for another few years.

To fix this the Command Staff decided to go without the Debriefing Conference Room, and so the table and chairs were taken from that room and the lockers that we were using to dress from were assembled inside this room and made into a second Locker Room. This Second Locer room was forever dubbed the "Junior Locker Room" and all the Senior personel rotated into the bigger locker room because it had a bathroom and a shower. The Junior Locker room had a Chalk Board, and well Lockers, sombody brought a Radio, and that made it nice, but other then that there was no other fringe benefits, they were all reserved for that Senior Locker room.

The City Council and The City of Rialto Really Needs a New Police Station to go with their New Police Chief. It would only make the city that much more inviting for people that are looking for a place to work. I really wish the City Council saw what I am talking about!! They would get more people interested in the POlICE STATION if the STATION WAS ACTUALLY a NEW STATION!!!

BS Ranch
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Wanted: New PD digs

Jason Pesick, Staff Writer San Bernardino County Sun

Article Launched:03/09/2007 12:00:00 AM PST

RIALTO - The Police Department is a sight to behold. Boxes and old filing cabinets sit throughout the hallways. Records are kept in outdoor bunkers. Much of the staff works out of trailers. Mousetraps dot the dingy hallways. "We've seriously outgrown this facility," police Capt. Raul Martinez said on a tour of the station Thursday. That sentiment, which seemed to be shared by everyone Martinez ran into as he walked the police grounds, is not surprising coming from members of the rank and file. But now the City Council agrees - only a year and a half after it voted to disband the Police Department and contract with the Sheriff's Department, a decision it later reversed - it's time for a new building. At Tuesday night's council meeting, when Chief Mark Kling received approval for new vehicles, equipment and new paint and flooring for the current building, the council overwhelmingly declared support for a new building. Councilman Ed Scott, who was among those who had voted to eliminate the Police Department, said he wants the council to decide to build a new station this year - prompting a chorus of support for the idea. The current station was built about 35 years ago, when Rialto was a much smaller city. In the next 25 years, the city is expected to grow by 65 percent, to about 165,000 residents. Records Supervisor Glenda Montgomery said records employees have to keep files under their desks. She also pointed out a number of makeshift records-storage areas, including a packed closet and a storage bunker in the parking lot employees have to run back and forth to. "We do that every day," she said. Rooms that used to be closets now serve as offices. Police Cpl. Steven Mastaler said that in the winter he needs to install a floor heater in his office. "I like it cold, but sometimes it's just too cold," he said. The building also has leaks. Noretta Barker, a law-enforcement technician working in dispatch, said that when the holding cells upstairs flood, the water leaks into the dispatch area in the basement. The drab facility also makes recruitment a challenge, Martinez said, and the Police Department is hiring both sworn and non-sworn employees. The city is planning to raise money for a police facility. A study from October estimates the city will need $15million for an expansion of the police station, said Chief Financial Officer June Overholt. Much of that money will come from increasing development-impact fees, she said. At a recent community meeting at the Rialto Senior Center, Kling, who started as chief a little more than six months ago, said he found the police facilities to be subpar when he took the post. "If you're going to expect a professional department, then, you know what? It starts at home." Contact writer Jason Pesick at (909) 386-3861 or via e-mail at jason.pesick@sbsun.com.

City Plans for Water Unclear (Daily Bulletin Jan. 27. 2008) Owen led aggressive legal effort, however he was LET GO, for poor performance!.

BS Ranch Perspective

I am thinking that now that Owen is gone, they should look to get another attorney and look to what has worked for the other Municipalities & Counties and if they had a Law Suit work then stay with a Suit, however if they went directly to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) that they should look to get out of the suits as soon as possible and then go to the EPA and get the Reverse Osmosis Filters that are needed to remove the Perchlorate from the water supply that is brought up from the ground water Supply. However to just take the existing road without looking to what worked the easiest and most inexpensive for the other Municipalities and Counties would be Stupid!!

BS Ranch

City plans for water unclear

Owen led aggressive legal effort

Jason Pesick, Staff Write

Article Created: 01/27/2008 09:52:51 PM PST

RIALTO - City Attorney Bob Owen was the quarterback of the city's high-profile battle to pursue the parties charged with contaminating the city's drinking water.

But last week, the City Council fired him. What's not clear is if they want to send his cleanup strategy out the door with him.

The water supply is contaminated with perchlorate, an ingredient in explosives, and the cleaning solvent trichloroethylene. Although an audit the council requested on the cost of the city's efforts has not yet been made public, the best estimate is that $20 million has been spent trying to hold dozens of suspected polluters responsible.

Only $3 million has been spent on treatment.

"I think we have to take a look at the strategy, what it's going to cost," Councilman Joe Baca Jr. said when asked if he wants to nix the specialized lawyers Owen brought in.

Baca, Mayor Grace Vargas and Councilman Ed Scott, a member of the council's perchlorate subcommittee, voted to give Owen 30 days' notice. Owen's contract states the city will have to pay $500,000 to end his contract early. Councilwoman Deborah Robertson and Councilwoman Winnie Hanson, the other member of the subcommittee, wanted to keep him.

"I'm hoping that this is not detrimental to our court case," Hanson said. A massive federal lawsuit to determine responsibility for the contamination is set to begin this year.

As costs have mounted and state regulators have failed to initiate

a widespread cleanup, the City Council reversed a long-held view and invited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to town to declare part of the source of the contamination a Superfund site.

The council decided to pursue the suspected polluters in court long ago, Robertson said.

"We did it with the understanding that we would pursue litigation and seek to recover as much as we can," she said.

She said she has noticed gradual changes in strategy as of late. The city has tried to reach settlements with the suspected polluters and has sought state and federal money.

"These exit strategies don't appear to do anything to return anything to the ratepayers," she said.

The ratepayers are the customers of Rialto's water department, which serves about half the city. The customers have funded the bulk of the city's efforts through a surcharge on their water bills.

Baca said residents should not pay a surcharge that funds lawyers and experts.

"It should go to treatment," he said.

Scott said the city can't eliminate the surcharge while the litigation continues.

But he said any money from a settlement or court order should reimburse ratepayers before going to the city.

He said he hopes the litigation can end soon.

"In fact, the olive branch is out there to settle the lawsuit," he said.

He also said the lawyers working on the case remain in place.

"Currently, we're steadfast on the existing strategy," said Scott. "There's been no change by the council on the lawsuit. That's not to say there won't be at some point."

jason.pesick@sbsun.com

(909) 386-3861

Trucks Keep Rolling (Daily Bulletin December 22, 2007) Job-Starved Rialto attracting distribution centers....

BS Ranch Perspective

Looks like the growth of the city isn't what the City Council of Rialto Wants, Ed Scott Threatening to NOT VOTE for the new Building of a Business in the City of which he claims to love. The original Plans of which he claims to have had some input on regarding the Renaissance, Most of that is now planning to be turned into Distribution Centers, Just think if they had kept the Airport, and Expanded the Runway, but closed Laural Ave., but keeping Alder expanded and running through from the I-210 S/to the I-10 Freeway On/Off Ramps.  to allow Trucks to go to the stores to deliver goods, but if the Rialto Airport was expanded to allow Jets they could bring in the goods via Jet aircraft and C-130 Airplanes, major shipping could be in and out directly from Rialto. I don't know if Rialto tried to have this done originally, but if they did without wanting to get their hands on the property taxes and close the businesses that are currently at the airport. They also made promises to the Sheriff of the County that they could not keep. When I say they I am talking of Certain Members of the Rialto City Council, excluding the Mayor, Grace had nothing to do with Selling Rialto Police Department to the County!! At least there wasn't any evidence to prove that she was involved.

BS Ranch

Trucks keep rolling

Job-starved Rialto attracting distribution centers

Jason Pesick, Staff Writer

Article Launched: 12/22/2007 06:35:01 PM PST

RIALTO - This was once a sleepy, orange-growing town.

Now, a few decades after it transformed into a bedroom community, Rialto is becoming a small distribution hub. This means a lot more trucks are rolling through town.

In the last five years, about 10 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space was built in Rialto. The city could see that same amount of space be built again in the next five to 10 years, estimated Economic Development Director Robb Steel.

"I think what you're seeing is that distribution and logistics is still having a heavy economic impact," said City Administrator Henry Garcia.

The new distribution centers bring jobs, something the city desperately needs. But they also bring trucks that clog and tear up the streets and pollute the air.

There are a few reasons why Rialto is seeing distribution centers sprout up.

One is that, like most areas in the Inland Empire, there is a lot of affordable land.

Rialto also wants to boost its economy with more jobs. Part of the pull, though, has to do with fluctuations in the real-estate market.

"At least at the moment, it's still healthy," Steel said of the industrial market.

A few years ago, cities were increasing the amount of housing in their development plans. Now, they're shifting housing to industrial.

In the south end of town, Panattoni Development is finishing work on a 1.4 million-square-foot distribution center.

Also on the south end, Oakmont Industrial purchased almost 200 acres that was supposed to become a housing project and turned it into 4 million square feet of industrial space. Target, which has a new 3.2 million-square-foot distribution center on the north end, is looking to expand by up to 400,000 square feet.

Instead of developing almost 4,000 homes along the 210 Freeway as part of the 1,500-acre Renaissance Rialto, 2,000 of those homes will become industrial development.

City Councilman Ed Scott, a member of the city's economic development committee, warns he won't vote to approve Renaissance if all the industrial space planned becomes low-paying distribution centers.

"I think with the size of the property up there, we can be sort of selective of what can come in up there," he said.

Before the housing market fell off, Garcia said he wanted Panattoni to be the last big-box project on the south end. He said there had to be a limit to the number of trucks in the area. That hope certainly won't be fulfilled. The Oakmont project will be many times larger than Panattoni's.

"I think my general concern is still that we're looking for that balance between industry and quality of life in terms of truck traffic," he said.

Garcia said trucks can be restricted to certain routes so they won't affect the interior of the city too significantly.

"You know, our market data has always said this community needs jobs," he said.

Rialto has a ratio of 0.8 jobs to each home, Steel said. He wants to boost that figure to 1.25 jobs per home - something that will be a lot easier with the new industrial plans and the change in Renaissance.

In San Bernardino and Riverside counties, salaries in the distribution sector average about $40,000 annually, said Redlands- based economist John Husing.

In November, voters in Redlands approved a distribution-center tax of 3.5 cents per square foot. That will rake in $245,000 a year.

Garcia said he may analyze the economics of a distribution tax in Rialto, but he said he suspects it wouldn't generate much money.

Steel said the city's utility tax brings in a lot of money from distribution centers because of their high utility bills.

The trend of building more giant distribution centers might be coming to an end.

The city is already running out of land and will feel tight for space within five years.

As developers slow their building of huge centers, they might look to smaller ones and even some small manufacturing centers, Husing said. If the western portion of San Bernardino, which is running out of industrial space, is a guide, office space will be the next trend, he said.

Staff writer Matt Wrye contributed to this report.