All-America City

This program is sponsored by the National Civic League and the Allstate Foundation. It is anticipated that other cities in America can benefit from the trails blazed by the 1995 All-America Cities. This is Lindsay's story.

Nestled at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California's rich San Joaquin Valley, Lindsay historically has depended on seasonal agricultural production and processing, with citrus and olive growing as the local mainstay. As the region grew and developed, however, many downtown businesses moved to area malls, and low-income migrant workers settled in Lindsay, resulting in a major ethnic shift from Anglo to Hispanic. Faced with a decaying downtown, a stagnant tax base, an increasingly needy population, and an agriculture-dependent economy, Lindsay began to fight back in 1986, establishing a downtown redevelopment project and founding Healthy Kids-Healthy Lindsay to spearhead education on cultural diversity and deliver health and social services to needy families.

By the late 1980s, Lindsay was on track toward economic and social prosperity. But in December 1990 the community was hard-hit by a rare freeze, followed by the loss of several major local employers. As temperatures plummeted for days into the teens and twenties for as long as 15 hours, oranges froze on the trees. The community's greatest industrial asset was destroyed overnight. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Lindsay's population was out of work.

Lindsay's recovery is a story of neighbors pulling together in time of crisis and, later, of strategic efforts to broaden the local industrial base and improve the quality of life.

Ensuring a Healthy Start for Lindsay Youth

Now in its sixth year of operation, Healthy Start delivers rehabilitative, medical, counseling, employment and other services to a core client group of 50 families. Complementing these services, the Lindsay Recreation Authority and "Pro-Youth" support employment opportunities, and recreational programs for youth, centered on the arts and enhanced civic education. In 1994 alone, Healthy Start provided 2,224 service appointments and opened 356 new cases, resulting in healthier school children more ready and able to learn. Additionally, "Teen Zone" - another participant in Lindsay's Healthy Start collaborative - provides daily recreation, weight lifting, a computer lab, tutoring, and arts and crafts opportunities for between 50 and 70 middle and high school students, as well as summer camp experiences in cooperation with a local Methodist church and other volunteers and organizations. Even as some 1,500 youngsters learn self-esteem and sportsmanship through soccer, baseball and other team sports programs, over 175 adults participate in softball and aerobics programs. Over $100,000 in in-kind services are contributed to this enterprise through Healthy Start collaborative agencies, including physical examinations and screenings.

Economic Disaster Begets Business Improvement

In 1992, the two major employers in Lindsay, Lindsay Olive Growers and General Cable, suddenly closed, resulting in the loss of 640 jobs. In a short time, the community faced the dual challenges of economic diversification and economic development. A 15-member committee of representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, the Lindsay Development Corporation and a group called Citizens for a Better Tomorrow prepared a needs-assessment survey which was distributed to 2,156 Lindsay households. The citizen response was definitive: Employment and jobs were the community's number one priority according to 76% of respondents.

Response to this survey was an action plan calling for public/private and multi-agency cooperation among the City and the Community Development Department, the Chamber of Commerce, the Lindsay Development Corporation, the Tulare County Economic Development Corporation, the local Private Industry Council, the California Department of Trade & Commerce, and the citizens and businesses of Lindsay. Importantly, to avoid past problems with dependence on seasonal agricultural employers or cyclic industries subject to recession, Lindsay determined to be selective in its job recruitment efforts.

To exercise control over the future tenant, the Redevelopment Agency purchased the vacant General Cable plant, holding out for a firm with high-paying jobs and stated commitment to the Lindsay Community. This bold move paid a healthy dividend in 1994, when National Diversified Sales (a manufacturer of plastic drainage equipment) lease-optioned the facility, thus creating 115 jobs with an average wage of $15 per hour. Ongoing economic development efforts have included the recruitment of a year-round citrus processing/packaging company, the renovation of a downtown commercial structure, the recruitment of a 99-bed skilled nursing facility, and expansion of several existing industries. These initiatives have resulted in the creation of over 350 jobs and a 5.1% decrease in unemployment.

Planning an Inclusive Housing Stock

In 1992, the City of Lindsay turned preparation of the "housing element" of its annual planning process into an opportunity to enlist groups from throughout the community in a collaborative exercise to identify and address housing needs. Among the participants were community service groups, such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, and Women's Clubs, the Lindsay-Strathmore Coordinating Council (a local non-profit group directing resources for low-income families), the Lindsay Development Corporation, the local chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons, church groups, landlords, tenants, developers and homeowners. Through information gathering, interviews, discussions and dialogue, these groups identified serious housing deficiencies throughout the community. Over 60% of Lindsay's entire housing stock was built prior to 1960-a total of 1,451 units. Moreover, of the 2,678 housing units in the city, 37.2%, or 996, were considered seriously substandard.

The results of Lindsay's response to its housing needs-accomplished through a public/private partnership among the city, lending institutions, nonprofit groups, developers, landlords, homeowners and tenants-have been dramatic. The community has successfully expanded housing opportunities for its less advantaged residents, rehabilitating 102 units, adding 42 low- and moderate-income rental units, and assisting 15 lower-income families to purchase their first homes. Twenty-nine of the rental units are located in an old hotel purchased and renovated by the Lindsay Development Corporation, and many of the units required substantial structural intervention. Some had only two rooms ... communal toilets were in the center of the yard enclosed in cement block, tin-roof structures with no sink and a single shower ... many units had no hot water heaters ... cook stoves were used for winter heating ... and indoor wastewater was collected in buckets. Lindsay's stunning progress toward upgrading its housing stock has been accomplished through $460 million in private lender funds, over $4 million in state funds, $1.3 million from private investors, and thousands of dollars from nonprofit groups, the City of Lindsay, and individual homeowners and buyers.

Since receiving the All-America City Award, Lindsay has continued to excel with an additional 42 homes having been rehabilitated and another 24 homes have been purchased by First-Time Home Buyers.

In the area of economic development, Lindsay continues to shine as it has created an additional 250 jobs in the past two years and saved another 275 jobs. Lindsay has a new vegetable processing plant that will open its doors in the first half of 1998 and start up with 350 additional employees.

One can readily see that Lindsay continues to earn its All-America City status!