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Employment office to leave Turlock
Landlord surprised by EDD closure, willing to negotiate lease
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After 60 years of serving the Turlock community, the Employment Development Department will soon close the doors at its Broadway location and move to Modesto.

While the move was made to save operation costs, many are displeased with the decision to consolidate the two offices.

“People will have issues trying to get there,” said Turlock resident Lisa Andrade as she left the Turlock EDD office. “They might have problems getting money for buses since many of the people who use the services here are only on unemployment or even homeless. It’s going to be an issue.”

The EDD Modesto Cluster Manager Eva Rios said that although department staff do not wish to leave the Turlock office, the cost of operating there was no longer justifiable.

“The decision was made as an effort to save money,” said Rios. “The cost of operations did not justify the cost of the building. There’s also just not enough staff, and we have not been able to fill those positions due to hiring restrictions. We don’t want to leave, but we’re down to four people, so the operation itself makes it kind of difficult.”

While the EDD lease contractor could not be reached for comment on the actual amount of savings expected to result from the consolidation, the current landlord of the building, Bill Youngdale, said that he was willing to negotiate the rent and lease had he been given the chance.

“Last Monday, an employee asked if I'd be interested in selling the refrigerator in the break room,” explained Youngdale. “I said ‘Why would I do that?’ And that’s when I found out that they were planning to close.”

According to Youngdale, who has leased his building to the EDD for the past 34 years, the first discussion about the lease came in June when Bill Walker from the Properties Division called him saying that the Governor wanted to reduce costs. Walker told Youngdale that he would be receiving a call about negotiating the rent and lease for the Turlock EDD building.

“Mr. Walker said he would get back to me at 10 a.m. on July 2 to negotiate the rent and lease,” said Youngdale. “I waited all morning on July 2 for his call and when he didn’t call I assumed that other plans had been made.”

Youngdale explained that it was not until Sept. 20 that he finally spoke with Walker, saying that he hadn’t heard anything about abandoning Turlock until he heard it from the staff at the office that week. According to Youngdale, Walker claimed that Youngdale never called him back about the negotiation.

“I reminded him that he had promised to call me,” said Youngdale. “He apparently looked in his date book for July 2 and had a notation about something to do with his son…He further said that the EDD notified him on Aug. 30 to cease negotiations and prepare new plans for the Turlock office. I don’t know how he could cease negotiations that never started.”

In a final attempt, Youngdale has written a letter explaining the predicament to Governor Jerry Brown stating that he is still willing to negotiate the lease and rent as he feels the loss of the EDD Turlock office would be detrimental to the city and those who use the office.

“It seems to me that whatever money the State would save by moving would be transferred to Turlock citizens because the cost of commuting to Modesto to transact business would cost at least $10 per visit,” said Youngdale “Many of these visitors, about 100 per day, don’t have transportation.”

The lease for the Turlock EDD office was set to expire in December 2014, however a clause in the lease says that the State may leave anytime with a 30 day notice. Youngdale says he has yet to receive an official notice from the EDD regarding its decision to relocate.

“It's like they're trying to sneak out of Turlock,” said Youngdale. “We're not a small town anymore. We're a big city. We have a need for an EDD office."

 

Alliance to stay in Turlock

Although the Turlock EDD office is set to move to the existing Modesto location by Oct. 15, the Turlock branch of the Stanislaus Alliance Worknet, currently located in the same building, is looking to stay in town.

“As the second biggest city in the county, it’s essential to keep a resource center in Turlock,” said Jeff Rowe, CEO of the Stanislaus Alliance. “We’re currently looking for a new location, and looking to see if there is room with an existing organization in town. We’re also working with the City, because we believe it is really important to stay in Turlock.”

The Turlock EDD office will be moving to the Modesto location at 629 12th St. on Oct. 15.

 

Modesto Irrigation District director accused of water theft, board will investigate
MID
Modesto Irrigation District Director Larry Byrd (left) attends a regular board meeting on Aug. 12 (GARTH STAPLEY/The Modesto Focus).

By GARTH STAPLEY

CV Journalism Collaborative

The Modesto Irrigation District will look into accusations that one of its top elected leaders has stolen water, the lifeblood of the public utility.

Speculation that longtime Director Larry Byrd has used MID water to nourish almond trees outside district boundaries near La Grange has spilled into the agency’s boardroom in two recent meetings, including last week.

MID Board President Robert Frobose, whose position gives him authority to commission investigations, cited hopes of shoring up public trust in confirming that the accusation is being taken seriously.

“I expect the district will be conducting a thorough and independent examination of the allegations forthwith,” Frobose said Sept. 12 in response to a Modesto Focus inquiry. “We deeply care about ensuring public trust is maintained along with responsible water management, while also ensuring this is looked at independently and fairly.”

Byrd, a board director since 2011, did not respond to The Modesto Focus’ questions about the allegations or an investigation.

MID has vast impact on Valley life. The district provided farmwater to 2,300 growers with 66,000 acres, and also provides electricity to 133,000 customer accounts in Modesto, Salida, Waterford and Mountain House and parts of Ripon, Escalon, Oakdale, and Riverbank. About half of Modesto’s tap water comes from treated MID river water.

On Sept. 9, members of the audience publicly urged Byrd to address the accusations. Byrd stayed silent, as he did July 8 when an audience member, citing “satellite imaging” evidence, first raised the suspicion.

Since then, Byrd has denied wrongdoing in a series of six articles of the Valley Citizen online publication. They include interviews with a former longtime employee of Byrd casting doubt on Byrd’s version of the story.

Valley Citizen writer Eric Caine says Byrd, who also farms in the Waterford area, and his partners planted 500 acres of almond trees in 2015 on land where Byrd previously ran cattle near La Grange. 

 

Water theft allegations leave a stain on Modesto Irrigation District

Caine quoted two MID officials – Frobose and former board director Nick Blom – repeating the common perception that Byrd’s entire La Grange orchard was entitled to MID water. But more than 100 acres reportedly are outside district boundaries, the Valley Citizen says.

The allegations are “a blemish on MID,” said Bill Lyons, noting his own nine years on the board (1984 to 1993) during the public comment portion of the Sept. 9 board meeting. “There is an opportunity for you, Larry, to clear the record, and I urge you to do so.”

Anthony Ratto also rose to speak from the audience at the same meeting, suggesting that Byrd’s ardent support two years ago for selling surplus MID water to east Stanislaus growers outside district boundaries at a below-market price makes more sense in light of the recent allegations. When such sales were hotly debated in 2023, many assumed Byrd was advocating for his neighbors; now it seems it was for “personal benefit,” Ratto said.

Faced with the sober claims, the MID board has little choice but to investigate one of their own, said Ripon attorney Stacy Henderson. 

She noted MID’s history of holding others accountable when suspected of similar wrongdoing. 

“I don’t see any reason to take any different approach just because it’s a (board) director accused of misusing the district’s water,” she said.

Henderson for years has represented the interests of growers on the west end of MID boundaries in a long-running feud with those on the east, whose pumping of groundwater to sustain millions of nut trees is under scrutiny.

 

East Stanislaus aquifer in danger from overpumping

In 2023, east-side growers pumped a whopping 70,000 more acre-feet of groundwater than seeped into its underground aquifer, records show. By comparison, that’s about the same total amount pumped from wells each year, on average, by the cities of Modesto, Oakdale, Riverbank and Waterford plus MID and the Oakdale Irrigation District combined, according to west side attorneys. The deficit dropped a bit in 2024, to 58,500 acre-feet.

When they have surplus, both OID and MID have offered help to east-side growers in the form of surface water from the Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers, respectively, and some have taken OID water at $200 per acre-foot. But none has signed up for MID water offered at the same price, insisting – with Byrd leading the charge – that it be lowered to $60 an acre-foot, to encourage participation.

No other portion of the Modesto subbasin, stretching across much of Stanislaus County, is in danger of depleting the aquifer under it. But the entire area could face consequences for the crisis on the east end when new state groundwater regulations under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act kick in, in early 2027.

The region’s latest plan to address groundwater is being developed, with public hearings hosted by the Stanislaus and Tuolumne Rivers Groundwater Basin Association coming in the fall and a vote expected in January. Outcomes are likely to include pumping restrictions and may feature intrusion by state water officials.

Some observers say the entire area should participate in solving the problem on the east, citing agriculture as the backbone industry of the Stanislaus economy.

Others contend that farming is a business venture like any other, subject to risk. Speculators paid comparatively little for east-side property, much of it former low-value grazing land with no rights to surface water, and turned it into orchards, sometimes without a reliable water source. Why, west-side interests say, should people across the county bail out what they consider unwise investments in the east?

Heavy hitters in east v. west Stanislaus water debate

All three Sept. 9 speakers – Henderson, Ratto and Lyons – represent the west; the latter is a former state agriculture secretary. Advocates for the east include former Congressman John Duarte and his wife, Alexandra, an announced candidate for a state Senate seat in next year’s election.

The west has tried to link eastern interests to Stanislaus County Supervisor Terry Withrow, a certified public accountant whose clients include people doing business with Byrd. Withrow has said he has no financial interest in the water feud, but to help facilitate resolution, he convened a rare meeting of the warring parties in August. Many left with increased understanding but no consensus, several told The Modesto Focus.

MID officials in 2015 accused six customers of misusing water, fined them and cut off their irrigation water, but soon after reinstated three of them and canceled their penalties. 

A 2019 court ruling in the case of Nichols v. MID made clear that using district water outside the district is unlawful, even if the land in question is next to the district.

The MID board is no stranger to conflict. Just last month, the board censured board director Janice Keating for mistreating staff, and she lost a gender discrimination lawsuit last year against Frobose. Past boards reprimanded their own and defended lawsuits against claims of discrimination and retaliation.

— Garth Stapley is the accountability reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact Stapley at garth@cvlocaljournalism.org.