Documented by Kristina Mansfield
Here’s what you need to know
- The Fresno Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission approved a motion (7-0) to recommend that the City Council allocate $3 million for nonprofits and other community organizations to establish the Dr. Francine Oputa Fund to allow for groups to provide after school, recreation and community services and workforce development programming through the city’s park system so they may apply for Measure P grant support.
- The commission also voted (7-0) to recommend that the City Council allocate $350,000 to begin assessment and development of long-term implementation strategies that positively impact land, air and water conservation throughout the park system.
Follow-up questions
- How many community programs are usually displaced each winter because of the warming centers?
- Does the city provide any guidance for organizations that have never submitted an application for Measure P funds before? Are there any free grant-writing tutorials available?
The Scene
The regular meeting of the Fresno Parks, Recreation, and Arts Commission took place in Council Chambers at City Hall (2nd Floor, 2600 Fresno St.) Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting was live streamed on CMAC. Members of the public can participate in the meeting by either attending in person or via Zoom. Detailed instructions on how to join the Zoom meeting and comment can be found here. The commission meets twice a month on Mondays.
You can also submit documents and written comments through a website prior to the meeting by a process called e-Comment. Those comments are limited to 1,440 characters and will become a part of the official record. Follow the instructions here to submit.
The city of Fresno’s Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission conducts hearings and receives public input on programs, facilities and services funded with Measure P. They then make recommendations to the City Council for the adoption of expenditures in the annual budget. It is made up of nine members appointed by the mayor and approved by the City Council.
Call to Order Vice Chair Jon Dohlin called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m., and the secretary called the roll.
Roll Call and Pledge of Allegiance Next was the roll call and Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioners present at the meeting were:
Chair Kimberly McCoy
Vice Chair Jon Dohlin
Commissioner Harman Singh
Commissioner Kelly Kucharski
Commissioner Jose Leon Barraza
Commissioner Mona Nyandoro Cummings
Commissioner Laura E. Ward
Commissioner Scott Miller was absent. There is one vacant seat on the commission, as Commissioner Dr. Francine Oputa died unexpectedly Sept. 14, 2023, and a replacement has not been announced.
Senior Deputy City Attorney Kristi Costa, Deputy City Manager Jennifer Ruiz and Projects Administrator Edward Chinevere were also present at the meeting. Only one person attended the meeting in person.
Approve Agenda. The commission voted to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried 5-0 (McCoy arrived late to the meeting and was marked present after the first agenda item carried).
Approval of Meeting Minutes McCoy moved to approve the regular meeting minutes of Nov. 6. The motion carried 6-0.
Subcommittee Reports Next, the commission heard two brief subcommittee reports. These are discussion items only and require no action from the board and are not open to public comment.
- 6-A- Cultural Arts Plan: Ward said at the most recent City Council meeting that the guidelines were presented and approved. One item was modified to include an expanded appeals provision, she said.
- 6-B- Parks Master Plan: Cummings said the subcommittee met and had only minor grammatical changes in Chapters 7 and 9. She said they added back information about urban greening into the primary document which had inadvertently been omitted in a different section.
Member Reports and Comments Next, McCoy moved on to member reports.
Barraza expressed his excitement over the green grass at a local park. He asked staff how they plan to keep it green and asked for feedback at an appropriate time. He said his organization has almost finished planting trees at three parks, and is getting close to finishing the irrigation system.
Singh and Dohlin had no updates.
Cummings attended an event on Nov. 11 in which local residents adopted trees and an Urban Greening Coordinator presented a certificate of appreciation to each that included information on how to care for the tree and its irrigation device – called a tree diaper – that will help its establishment in the neighborhood. “I mention this project because it’s extremely important to understand there is funding available to work with residents in the AB617 Boundary Area of South Central Fresno and Central California Environmental Justice Network (CCEJN) is eager to work with leaders and community groups in those areas so that the process of planting 1,200 trees over three years can occur,” Cummings said.
Kucharski and Ward had no updates.
City Administration and PARCS Staff Reports and Comments Deputy City Manager Jennifer Ruiz said she had no comments for the commission.
Projects Administrator Edward Chinevere highlighted four outreach events for the Senior Center Project. He said there are two additional pop-up events on Dec. 8 and Dec. 10. He said there are a lot of seasonal-themed activities on the calendar including stocking decorating, a Santa’s Village, gingerbread house decorating, a softball tournament and more.
Hearings
12-A- Receive public comment on allocations related to Measure P, updates to the Parks Master Plan and Cultural Arts Plan and annual PARCS Department Budget and Capital Improvement Plans.
- There was no public comment.
- Barraza asked for specific dates when applications would be opened and closed; however, the dates have not been finalized.
12-B- Actions pertaining to the Parks, After School, Recreation, and Community Services (PARCS) Department’s fiscal year 2025 budget build.
1. Presentation – Overview of the fiscal year 2025 budget build process First, the commission received an overview of the budget process for the upcoming fiscal year. Chinevere presented an overview of the fiscal year 2025 budget build process.
- He said this is his fourth time appearing before the commission regarding budget items and serves as the semi-final hearing for the fiscal year 2025 budget. You can see the timeline here. The City Council is slated to approve the budget in June 2024.
2. Receive public input on expenditures related to the PARCS Department’s fiscal year 2025 budget Next, McCoy opened the hearing to public comments.
- Trisha Beza, one of four dance and music instructors that oversee a program hosted at the Sal Mosqueda Community Center, commented online. She said due to the warming center opening, they no longer have room at the center to host her group’s scheduled activities. “There is programming going on at the centers still, and we are being displaced,” she said. “Of course we want to continue serving the unhoused; I don’t know if there are things in the budget for situations like ours.”
3. Action – Make recommendations to the City Council for adoption of expenditures in connection to the PARCS Department’s fiscal year 2025 budget (PARCS)
Kucharski made a motion to allocate $250,000 to begin developing an “Adopt-A-Park” program, where other groups (such as Community Benefit Organizations (CBOs) or other districts) can participate in stewardship of the city’s park spaces. She said the idea is to make some money available for the PARCS department to develop what it would look like to be efficient and effective in engaging with other groups in supporting the stewardship of the city’s parks.
- Barraza said other resources like trees and other supplies should also be encouraged. He had questions about other programs, like the Love-A-Park initiative, and asked how they differ.
- McCoy asked how the relationships with CBOs were managed before they transitioned to Love-A-Park in 2019. Chinevere said he will put together best practices and distribute them to the commissioners.
- The motion failed 4-3. Kucharski, Ward, and Barraza voted in favor; Cummings, Dohlin, McCoy and Singh voted against.
Kucharski made a motion to allocate $350,000 to begin assessment and development of long-term implementation strategies that positively impact land, air and water conservation throughout the park system.
- The motion passed (7-0).
Barraza made a motion to allocate $3 million for nonprofits and other community organizations to establish the Dr. Francine Oputa Fund.
- The fund allows for groups to provide after-school, recreation and community services and workforce development programming through the city’s park system so they may apply for Measure P grant support.
- Guidelines for the Dr. Francine Oputa Fund will be provided by the commission for City Council consideration and adoption.
- “There are so many of these nonprofits that are running recreational, education, all kinds of programming within our city parks and community centers that have had absolutely no opportunity to apply for any kind of funding through a program like this,” said Cummings of the proposed fund, voicing her support.
- Dohlin asked for clarification on whether the money in the fund would be a grant or an allocation of resources. He later asked if the commission would oversee the fund; McCoy said it would not.
- McCoy said Measure P brings in $40 million each year. She proposed increasing the monies available in the fund to $3 million from the original $1 million that Barraza proposed. She also suggested creating a subcommittee to help shepherd what the guideline recommendations look like for the Oputa Fund.
- Barraza asked for the development of guidelines for the process that will be used for the allocation of the funds specifically set aside for the fund.
- Motion carried (7-0).
Adjournment and Next Meeting. McCoy adjourned the meeting at 6:39 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 13.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at fresnodocs@fresnoland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
