TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Q: Since the Bakersfield Jam decided to close down recently, what will become of its practice facility, which, upon completion, was supposed to be better than any other NBDL practice facility around? Will it be available for private team practices or will it host basketball leagues/tournaments?

— Kenneth J. Witham

A: “We’re putting in a brand new state-of-the-art floor now,” said Stan Ellis, majority owner of the Jam. “Part of the reason we haven’t said anything is we’re still under construction and I need to finish it.”

Ellis said the floor, which will consist of several 20-foot module sections, will be large enough to be a full-size NBA floor, or it could be changed around to form two volleyball courts or two smaller basketball courts.

Ellis is examining several potential options, he said.

“Maybe it will be available to a private enterprise that would take over the whole facility. North of the River (recreation department) has approached us about it. There’s the opportunity to lease it out. There are five, six or seven options out there but nothing is concrete. I even have the option to pull the floor out and rent the building as warehouse space.”

Ellis added: “It is going to be a for-profit use. There will be some benefits to the community aside from that.”

Q: Who do we call to check out and remove possums? We found some dead babies and there's a live mom who travels on the wall on Stockdale Highway. They have brought along a flea infestation, too. We have called Animal Control, the West Nile virus number and others, but no one could help.

A: You will have to call a private pest control company, said Guy Shaw, director of Kern County Animal Control.

But try something else first, he said from personal experience. Shaw said a possum and her babies took up residence under his spa and just disturbing them a bit made them disappear.

Q: Is the city’s Old Town Kern project dead? I heard the city pulled the plug on it in March.

A: The Baker Street Village project in Old Town Kern is moving ahead, said Donna Kunz, the city of Bakersfield’s economic development director. It has been through some changes, however.

Plans originally called for development of 84 townhomes and lofts that would be sold, but market changes spurred a redesign.

Now, developers will put in 56 for-sale units and 67 senior rental apartments. Affordable-housing goals remain.

The fate of commercial portions, including a small grocery store, is up in the air for now.

Construction will start in the next few weeks on the for-sale units, with a finish date around July 2010. The senior apartments will go up later.

Other complications temporarily sidelined the effort, including developer changes.

Old Town Kern is one of three so-called “redevelopment areas” in Bakersfield. Special property tax equations help create a pool of funds meant to spruce up shaggy parts of town.

The Old Town Kern area was established in 1999. It covers three square miles, including the historic Baker Street business district.

The village, originally pegged at about $30 million, had a ceremonial groundbreaking in 2007 but has experienced several delays since then.

Q: Are there any plans to repair or resurface Taft Highway in the Pumpkin Center area near Highway 99? It has been in terrible shape for a few years and is getting so bumpy and rough now that it is difficult to control a vehicle while driving through that area.

— Bill Sandrini

A:  Caltrans will do a major replacement job in 2010 on Highway 119 between the southbound off-ramp from Highway 99 and Michele Street.

“We are going to be replacing the pavement with concrete,” said John Liu, Caltrans deputy district director of maintenance and operations for District 6.

The concrete paving will stand up to the punishment dished out by heavy truck traffic better than the asphalt pavement does, he said.

Ask The Californian appears on Mondays. Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.