Our Community

THREE DECADES OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT

For more than 32 years, the WM Kettleman Hills Facility (KHF) has been an integral part of the Kings County economy and has supported valuable community projects in both Kettleman City and neighboring communities.  The KHF team is committed to the safe disposal of California’s  hazardous wastes, and has a long-standing history of providing substantial funding and in-kind support for public health, environmental, educational and social service projects in Kettleman City.

While operating at normal capacity, the KHF provides:

• $17.5 million each year to the local economy through payroll and purchases of goods and services from local businesses.
• Approximately $3 million per year directly to the Kings County General Fund.
• More than $150,000 per year in cash and in-kind support to the Kettleman City community.

Following is a brief summary of important services and support we provide to the community

Community Clean Up Projects

- Clean up of a community dump site located north of town, including roll off containers, loading, transporting, and disposal of all waste.
- The demolition, transportation, and disposal of materials resulting from a fire at the home of a community resident.
- Clean up of a community dump site in the business district, including roll off containers, loading, transportation, and disposal of illegally dumped greenwaste near the Best Western Motel.
- The cleanup of years of accumulated litter at the area between Taco Bell and In-N-Out Burger.

Kettleman City Community Services District
- Kettleman City was having problems with illegal dumping and the Community Services District needed a solution. WM helped clean up the town in areas where illegal dumping was occurring, and established a free trash bin service to the community to minimize the problems. The bins are located outside the Community Services District’s offices and maintained by our staff.
- Kettleman City was in need of real property, adjacent to the California Aqueduct, to locate the new water treatment plant.  KHF used its relationship with a local landowner and customer of the facility to facilitate the sale of the property to the KCCSD.
On-going Maintenance and Clean Up of the Kettleman City Park
- The Kettleman City Community Park is the unofficial center of town where children play and residents gather for a variety of recreational activities. To help keep the park attractive and clean, WM staff helps maintain it by trimming trees, removing dead trees, painting the bathrooms and picnic tables, and cleaning the sand and dirt build-up along the curb of the park. The KHF team members also volunteer their time to mow the grass, whenever requested.
Adopt -A- Highway Program
- Three times a year, the KHF team members clean up a one-mile stretch along Highway 41 under the State of California Adopt-A-Highway program.  In 2011, WM worked together with two local youth groups that helped with the Adopt-A-Highway clean up, while also celebrating Earth Day.

Educational Support

Reef-Sunset Unified School District
-  Kettleman City Elementary School and Avenal High School are part of The Reef Sunset Unified School District. Graduates of the Kettleman City Elementary School attend Avenal High School. Each year, WM provides two $500 scholarships to Avenal High School students.
- We also supported Reef Sunset’s 2009 summer school program in Kettleman City.

Kettleman City Elementary School

-  WM has provided on-going support including:

• Gift of $5,000 a year, for the past three years, for swimming pool operations at the school.
• Construction of the baseball, softball and soccer fields, which we regularly maintain by edging and mowing.
• Disposal of old playground equipment.
• Donation of a new scoreboard for the school’s new gym.
• Monetary support for each year’s yearbook class.
• Funding of yearly field trips.
• Purchased new school mascot T-shirts, as well as free backpacks and sports uniforms.
• Annual support of the school volley ball team.
• Provided portable lighting for school carnivals.
• Designed a recycled art contest and provided a pizza party for the winning classroom.
• Pumped out the flooded school basement.

Environmental Education Program
- For the 2011-12 school year, we have proposed collaboration with the local after-school program run by West Hills College. We plan to create a six-week environmental curriculum program to engage students in environmental responsibility and conservation.  We will also work with the Kettleman City Elementary School to implement a yearly education tour of our Kettleman Hills Facility so the students learn about the importance of proper WM and recycling. 

Kettleman City Back to School
- The Soroptimist Club of Hanford hosts a back-to-school shopping day in partnership with a JC Penney store. Needy students from local schools receive gift cards for back-to-school clothing.  In 2011, WM sponsored students from Kettleman City Elementary School. Along with the donation, the KHF volunteers helped chaperone school activities and donated their own funds to help purchase school clothes.

Futher Public Health Benifits Negotiated with the local Assesment Committee

The Local Assessment Committee (LAC) is a seven-member committee appointed by the Kings County Board of Supervisors and made up of members of the community.  Its primary function is to advise the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission of the terms and conditions under which the Kettleman Hills Facility expansion project may be acceptable to the community. After dialogue between WM and the Committee, the following benefits were agreed upon, pursuant to the expansion permit:
- WM suggested and agreed to pay approximately $552,000 to eliminate the outstanding water debts of the Kettleman City Community Service District.  This will allow the district to obtain grants and financing to fund the new drinking water treatment plant needed to bring clean water to the community. - WM agreed to pay $100,000 for a community health survey on birth defects and cancer incidence. This program is to be administered by Kings County Health Department.
- WM suggested and agreed to pay up to $70,000 for electronic speed signs at opposite ends of the residential district. 
- We also suggested and agreed to pay ten percent of the cost of both the  CalTrans Safe Route to School study and ten percent (maximum of $150,000) toward construction of the its Safe Crossing project over the highway traversing Kettleman City.
- We agreed to provide funding ($450,000) to the Reef Sunset School District for installation and/or construction of a walking track, soccer field lighting, pavilion, and parking lot on the grounds of the Kettleman City Elementary School.

WMs KHF Community Relations Team

- The KHF has a full-time bi-lingual community relations representative who lives in Kettleman City, works closely with the community, and is a resource on a wide variety of issues that affect the community. The KHF community relations team hand-delivers -- to each Kettleman City home
 - a bi-monthly newsletter that communicates information regarding facility operations. - We also provide door-to-door outreach to communicate personally with residents, providing any updates regarding our site, and engaging residents to participate in any public meeting or public hearing
- We volunteer our time throughout the year at various community events in addition to all the events we organize or sponsor.  - We have offered tours of the Facility and have sponsored events at the site to encourage the community to see the Facility for themselves.