NAPA VALLEY (California) REGISTER

October 29, 2007

Farm camps full; one may stay open longer

By KERANA TODOROV, Register Staff Writer

Napa County farmworker centers were busier than expected this year, and a commission that oversees the centers has recommended extending the availability of the camps for two more months per year.

The Napa County Housing Commission on Thursday supported a proposal to keep River Ranch, a farmworker housing center near St. Helena, open in December. The vote was 6-0. Under the new plan, River Ranch, which was scheduled to shut down between December and March, will close between January and February and reopen in March.

The Board of Supervisors will consider the proposition in November, said Nancy Johnson, Housing and Community Development Coordinator for Napa County. All three farmworker housing centers run by the county -- River Ranch, Calistoga, Mondavi near Yountville -- were scheduled to close in December. Calistoga and Mondavi farmworker housing centers are scheduled to close for the next two and three months respectively, beginning with next weekend.

The shift at River Ranch was proposed in part to recognize a change in the farmworker population, as fewer farmworkers are returning to Mexico or other countries for the winter and more are finding year-round work in the vineyards and elsewhere in California.

Under the proposal discussed Thursday, the California Human Development Corp., the nonprofit organization contracted to run the farmworker housing centers, will split the additional $1,400 needed to keep River Ranch open with Napa County, Johnson said. River Ranch, a facility with a 95 percent occupancy rate in September, is the busiest of all three camps.

The three facilities, with a total of 180 beds, have served more than 300 migrant farmworkers between January and September, according to California Human Development's data.

Occupancy fluctuates, but on average the camps' bed occupancy rate was higher than expected between July and September, according to the nonprofit organization.

Occupancy rates at Calistoga and River Ranch centers between July and September averaged 84 percent and 88 percent respectively, according to California Human Development's report submitted to Napa County.

The Mondavi center beds were on average 62 percent full during this period, according to California Human Development. Projected monthly occupancy rates were from 65 percent to 80 percent.

Judith Tiller, California Human Development's regional housing manager, on Friday said her organization hopes that occupancy rates, which showed significant improvement this year after a few spotty years, will grow even higher next year.

Rents and assessments levied on 45,000 acres of vineyard properties are the two main sources of funding for the operations of the three farmworker camps.

Under the adopted budget for this fiscal year, rent revenues are expected to add up to about $452,000, while vineyard owners, who are assessed $9.75 per acre, will pay about $439,000 this fiscal year, according to Napa County. The fiscal year began July 1 and ends June 30.

Farmworkers pay $11.50 per night between July and December to spend a night at the camp. They are scheduled to pay $11.75 per night between January and June next year.

The Mondavi and Calistoga centers reopened last year after being closed for about a year for renovations. Radio spots in Spanish, paid with private funds, advertised the three centers this year.

Farmworker advocate Louis Flores, a member of the Napa County Housing Commission, on Thursday asked for an analysis of the effect of advertising on occupancy.

"I don't think we should always rely on volunteers" to pay for the advertising any longer, Flores said.

"Good point," said another commissioner, Dennis Groth, president of Groth Vineyards and Winery in Rutherford.