At the meeting
- West Park opposition formalized by 5-0 vote.
- Del Puerto Health Center will close for Christmas Day.
- Patterson District Ambulance director Barry Hurd reported 161 requests for ambulance service in October.
After a lively and sometimes-heated conversation, Del Puerto Health District’s board of directors formalized its opposition to the PCCP West Park project at its Tuesday meeting.
The board voted 5-0 to adopt a resolution opposing the development of the Crows Landing Air Facility beyond the base’s established boundaries. The board follows the Patterson Unified School District, West Stanislaus Fire Protection District and the Patterson and Newman city councils, which have all publicly opposed the project.
The proposed West Park industrial center would be built on 4,800 acres on and around the former 1,527-acre naval airfield that is owned by Stanislaus County. The proposed project, which is expected to be fully built out by the year 2030, would offer 37,000 jobs, project developer Gerry Kamilos has said.
It would include an inland rail hub for the Port of Oakland, as well as commercial development, a business park and possibilities for a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection airfield and a hospital.
West Park representative Mike Lynch told health board members he was the chief of staff for Rep. Gary Condit when the airbase was transferred to the county.
“I have a history not only with county issues but on the West Side,” Lynch told the board. “This is a great project — this is about jobs. There’s no housing here. We set aside in our plan land for a medical clinic.”
However, board members were not convinced.
“I really feel that if this project goes forward, we’ll be snowed under with mandates from the county,” said Ed Maring, the board’s president. “I really have my doubts about how this will affect the West Side in a positive way.”
Lynch said the county gave West Park a year to get extensive technical reports about the project’s impact on land, water use and traffic and asked the board to table the resolution until a later date.
“It’s really premature to have this kind of guerrilla warfare,” Lynch said.
Patterson City Manager Cleve Morris told the board the city would bring in jobs through its own industrial park. Morris was worried about the size of West Park’s proposal as well as increased car and train traffic.
“A concern is that to get to the airbase, the train crosses Highway 33,” Morris said.
Board member Evan Schut wanted to ensure that the Patterson District Ambulance Co., which the district runs, could get to the people when needed.
“What I’m concerned about is when we take an ambulance out, our issue is getting across the railroad track,” Schut said. “Our job is to bring health care to this community. We deal with wrecks, people being sick — seeing an influx of people, we’d overwhelm ourselves.”
Board members were concerned that a population increase would change the face of the community and that West Park’s proposal would wind up being its own new community between Patterson and Crows Landing.
Board member Betty Carlson, who has lived in Patterson for 61 years, said Stanislaus County has never addressed the needs of West Siders in all the years she has lived here. The closest hospital is in Turlock, now a drive of 45 minutes because of traffic and numerous stop signs, she said.
Carlson also wondered about jobs. She made reference to the two distribution centers in the Keystone Pacific Business Park where employees are commuting from cities other than Patterson.
“It really has not benefited our community to a great extent,” Carlson said. “I have eight children — all college grads who are not working here.”
Lynch said there would be minimum-wage to higher-wage jobs available at West Park.
“One of the most exciting parts is the job training program,” Lynch said. “People will get trained for businesses that are at the park. We don’t think people in Patterson and on the West Side of Central Valley are inferior to anyone else in the state.”
But Maring said there are already plenty of business parks in the county.
“Every community — every city — has a business park,” Maring said. “Why do we need this? … To bring this in and to bypass the local jurisdiction is unconscionable.”
To reach Maddy Houk at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail her at
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