Turlock council moves forward with Sacred Heart street closure

Citing safety concerns for youngsters attending Sacred Heart Catholic School, Turlock City Council members have voted unanimously to move forward on a request to permanently close the block of Cooper Avenue that splits the campus.

The procedural votes Tuesday clear the way for a public hearing on the issue April 12, when the council will weigh in on the merits of the request.

“We have a huge problem with strangers walking through our campus in the evening,” Principal Linda Murphy-Lopes told the panel.

Some 2,000 children attend Sacred Heart Catholic Church’s religious studies programs on weeknights​. More than 200 children attend the parish school and another 130 youngsters attend its preschool during the day.

Cooper Avenue splits the campus, with classrooms on one side of the street and the playground and preschool on the other. From 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on school days, the road is closed by large gates, but pedestrians can still go through.

“We have people going back and forth. It is a significant safety issue,” said the Rev. Salvador Ledesuna of Sacred Heart.

Before little ones arrive each morning, preschool director Debra Cannella said she and her colleagues regularly chase out suspicious characters in the playground area beside the preschool.

“This is not a private versus public school issue; this is about keeping kids safe,” said Sacred Heart schoolteacher and parent Kevin Crivelli. He said that over the years the street area itself has proven a hazard, with broken bones and concussions to those who tripped on curbs or landed on pavement.

The alternative, Murphy-Lopes said, is a landscaped campus that brings a park-like atmosphere to the neighborhood. “I think it will bring the price of homes up when we beautify it,” she said.

No one spoke against the proposal Tuesday, but at an earlier Planning Commission hearing, neighbors said the change would disrupt traffic flow and delay emergency vehicles.

A permanent closure would give the street to Sacred Heart as part of its school property, a point of contention for speakers at the Planning Commission meeting. But the city carved the right-of-way out of existing properties years ago, City Engineer Mike Pitcock said, and cannot ask the church to buy land it already owns.

The older neighborhood, where many small homes lack garage space, competes for parking space with Sacred Heart functions, Turlock High School stadium traffic and the Turlock Unified School District office just a few blocks to the east.

A rough draft of planned improvements was presented to the council by Sacred Heart speakers, showing a drop-off lane carved around the preschool providing off-street parking for the campus.

Pitcock said his office did not believe closing the street would cause significant traffic problems or emergency response delays. “It's closed all day anyway. The firemen know to drive around it,” he said.

“Safety for our children certainly comes first,” said Councilman Bill DeHart Jr. before joining his colleagues in voting to go ahead with the hearing.

In other business, the council voted unanimously to sign off on a pact to close the books on inadequate accounting of money spent by the Turlock Chamber of Commerce under a city Convention & Visitors Bureau contract. Auditors documented $340,820 from 2009 until the city ended the 24-year arrangement in May 2015.

Under the settlement, the Chamber of Commerce will pay the city $675 a month for 25 years and grant the city free membership, roughly a $250,000 payback.

That’s not the full amount, but it was as much as the chamber could pay, said Councilwoman Amy Bublak.

“It’s time for us to turn the page and move on,” said Councilman Steve Nascimento.

The council also got a report from City Attorney Phaedra Norton on a diversion program that began in April linking municipal code violators, primarily homeless, with social services. Offenders can keep their infraction from becoming a court case by performing community service and getting their lives on track. It appears to have cut infractions by more than half, Norton’s figures showed.

“While it is reducing incarceration, the primary goal is restoration,” Norton said. The program is looking at ways to incorporate education and training options, as well as medical and dental services.

The council approved selling the former Youth Center on East Avenue to Turlock Columbian Properties for $245,000. It also gave a thumbs-up to the Turlock Gospel Mission buying a home for its Homeless Assistance Ministry at 432 S. Broadway, a few blocks south of City Hall. The city will provide a $120,000 loan that can be forgiven if the center continues to provide the services.

In the public comment section of the meeting, former Mayor Brad Bates threatened to involve the California Fair Political Practices Commission if no council members recused themselves from considering proposals to run the town’s increasingly popular farmers market on March 15.

Every council member has received donations from businesses, associates and extended family members of the Cipponeri enterprise expected to bid for the event. Bates mentioned no names, but Mayor Gary Soiseth received the most and was the presumptive target of his remarks.

It was not clear how directly the political contributions are tied to the Golden State Market Association founded by Peter Cipponeri. For the earlier vote to create the farmers market bid process, City Attorney Norton said there was no conflict of interest in that matter.

The controversy began when Cipponeri put in for the permit to run a farmers market Saturday mornings on Main Street. The application was for the same place and time used for six years by the nonprofit Turlock Certified Farmers Market, which had not taken out necessary permits for 2016. Bids are due March 8.

The council will discuss adopting a Tin Cup ordinance, the acronym for Time Is Now, Clean Up Politics, at a future date, Soiseth said at the close of the meeting.

This story was originally published March 2, 2016 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Turlock council moves forward with Sacred Heart street closure."