After spending thirty-five years teaching at local schools, Jim Fixel decided to enter the local political arena just this past election cycle. Winning one of the closest races in Reedley’s recent elections, Fixel’s campaign tallied 63 votes more than the incumbent in the final results last November.
Since first filing to run for Sierra Kings Health Care District, he has exemplified the steadfast commitment he made to voters during the election season. “Before I was sworn in, I knew what my mission was, which is selling off the hospital and paying off the bond", Fixel said.
During the campaign and currently, as a board member, He works to ensure that the community knows the different sources of income that Sierra Kings receive and manages. That is the tier of income including the $500,000 on average received every year from the County of Fresno’s property tax and the $1,200,000 received from Adventist Health’s yearly lease of the Reedley hospital property. These sources of income fund the district’s operations which consist of three staff members who facilitate grants the board votes to provide to community groups.
Recently, Sierra Kings awarded monetary grants to numerous community organizations and government entities that demonstrated funds will address the district's priorities of behavioral health, diabetes, and obesity. Fixel highlighted that many of the votes the board took to award these grants came down to 3–2 which he believes emphasizes how “the board is made up of diverse opinions”.
“Some grants didn’t get passed that I wanted to be passed, and some that passed I didn’t want to pass”, noted Fixel as he expressed his goal is to “appropriately spend taxpayer money and hospital rental income” when it comes to grants.
A major grant, of over $30,000, issued by Sierra Kings funds the Farmer’s Market at Reedley College, an event that historically took place along G Street in downtown Reedley. Fixel recalled the traditional Farmers Market during Reedley’s summer season saw the sale of fruits and vegetables from local producers whereas the current market sees an entirely different set of vendors. “I showed up and there was very little produce” it’s not supposed to be “pizza trucks and junk food”, Fixel detailed.
However, Fixel wants the community to know that providing grants is not a distraction to the other goals he holds for the district.
Separately, the district holds authority on the bond voters passed years ago to improve the Reedley hospital facility it now leases out. The obligations of that bond are seen in yearly property taxes and can be paid off in 2024 or 2025 according to Fixel, explaining that if the bond was paid off, voters would see their property taxes decrease. However, paying it off demands income that would realistically only be acquired if an entity, such as Adventist Health, bought the hospital property it now leases.
Fixel hopes that Adventist Health will seek to purchase the property as soon as possible so Sierra Kings can work to pay off the bond. Yet, Sierra Kings selling an asset would likely need to come before the voters as a ballot measure. Something he says it would be “[his] job to get the word out on why this should happen”. He claims “we could have it all on the 2024 ballot if things move fast enough and it’s dependent on Adventist Health.”
He believes there is a consensus of the board to sell the hospital and highlighted the proactive style of governing he has attempted to bring to the board as he and another political newcomer, Rikki Shaw, are both new faces to the district.
“We could’ve sold off the hospital yesterday if Adventist Health was ready to buy yesterday”, noted Fixel while adding that “it’s not Sierra Kings dragging its feet, we’re ready to sell”.
Fixel hopes the public will understand that if the bond were to be paid off, Sierra Kings could still be sustained and continue to make its investments in the health of the community. “If we want Sierra Kings to continue after the hospital is sold, we’d have to work on self-sustainability, if not, we’ll have to scale back”, he added.
While some have called for an entire end to the district, Fixel detailed that the County of Fresno’s property tax that gets allocated to the district would not go away, continue to be collected but redirected away from the Reedley-Parlier region if Sierra Kings ceased to exist, citing his call “find sustainability” from other present sources.
The tax assessed by the county is different from the tax that pays the bond. “The county tax continues no matter what and it’s the tax tied to the bond that goes away if we pay it off with the sale of the hospital", Fixel added.
In addition to the input he’s received from constituents and community stakeholders, another reason remains why Fixel thinks the hospital should be sold sooner than later is a state mandate that’d require Sierra Kings to modify the building by 2030 to withstand an earthquake - something that would cost the district millions of dollars if it continues to own the property.
Fixel underscored this being his first time being elected to public office and how important it is for concerned citizens to get involved. “You have to have good people making decisions for your town and if you don’t think that’s happening, then you need to run for local office”, he said.
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