Local
For Sale. Fresno to Part With West Fresno Park for $1.
Update, 8/27/2020: the Fresno City Council tabled this item until the Sept. 17 meeting. Here is the original story:
Ted and Deborah White don’t care about Pride Park’s sagging walls or diminishing amenities. Its shady trees offer an escape from the heat on a typical Fresno summer day.
“We enjoy it very much. We come out here a lot. It’s better than sitting in the hot house,” Deborah White said.
There is not much to Pride Park, other than a sign and about a half-dozen trees. Its grass is spare, and the retaining wall separating the park from an adjacent parking lot is slanted.
Deborah and Ted White enjoy Pride Park in west Fresno (GV Wire/David Taub)
“It’s all that we have here in the west side. We don’t have a lot of places to go,” Ted White said.
Soon, not even Pride Park may be an option.
The Fresno City Council will vote on selling the park at tomorrow’s meeting. The buyer is the non-profit Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission, which will incorporate it to its Head Start campus next door.
Arias: Correcting a ‘Historic Wrong’
“Our kids need green space with all the amenities that allow them to remain safe and healthy. This patch of grass called a park was never going to be that given its size and location on a traffic intersection.” —Miguel Arias, Fresno City Council president
Complying with the Surplus Land Act which took effect this year, the city declared Pride Park excess property in March by a 7-0 council vote.
The land is in Council President Miguel Arias’ district. He said it’s not enough space for a real park, and the community supports its sale to Fresno EOC.
“Our kids need green space with all the amenities that allow them to remain safe and healthy. This patch of grass called a park was never going to be that given its size and location on a traffic intersection,” Arias said.
New Park Planned
Arias has doubt that the park, a remnant from a decades old road expansion project, should have ever been built.
“This historic wrong will finally be corrected by giving our children a larger Head Start campus and west Fresno a new full scale 10 acre park it deserves. We will continue improving the Edison High education corridor by addressing the saturation of liquor stores as well. Our kids and residents deserve nothing less,” Arias said.
A new park, on Reverend Chester Riggins Avenue near St. Rest Baptist Church, will be paid for as part of $70 million the city received from the state’s Transformative Climate Communities Program, funded by carbon cap-and-trade dollars.
The slanted retaining wall at Pride Park in west Fresno (GV Wire/David Taub)
Sale to Fresno EOC for $1
The park sits on less than a half-acre — a triangle at the corner of California Avenue and Fresno Street. According to a city staff report, the park has a market value of $70,000. Fresno EOC will purchase Pride Park “as-is” for $1.
“It isn’t always good, clean fun happening in that park.” — Keshia Thomas, FUSD school board president
As part of the agreement, Fresno EOC must use the park for its educational services program.
“As a condition of the sale there will be a covenant recorded that requires the Buyer to use the property in conjunction with their program and if the Buyer no longer has a use for the property as part of the Buyer’s program, the City of Fresno will have the First Right of Refusal to buy the property back for one dollar,” the report says.
Fresno EOC says the public will no longer have access to the park, which is located near Edison High School and Computech Middle School..
FUSD Trustee Says Park is an Eyesore
Keshia Thomas, the president of the Fresno Unified school board, said the park has been a problem for a long time.
“Pride Park has actually been an eyesore for west Fresno for a long time,” Thomas said. “One of my biggest concerns is making sure that there is a safe passage from school to home for some of my kids.”
“It isn’t always good, clean fun happening in that park,” Thomas said.
MGomez
August 26, 2020 at 9:42 pm
“It isn’t always good, clean fun happening in that park,” Thomas said.
You can say that about any park in the City of Fresno, Keshia.
Gee
August 27, 2020 at 2:21 am
I agree with MGomez. Plus, the City of Fresno does a poor job of maintaining city parks to begin with. The irrigation water meters are in disrepair at Jaswant Park at Clinton and Brawley. Homeless camp out there. There’s always trash there.
Andy
August 29, 2020 at 1:35 am
I remember when Jasswant Park first opened. It was beautiful with green grass, kids playing basketball and families picnicking and barbecuing. Now, the courts are in disrepair, and it’s a hangout for drug dealers and gang bangers. You might as well give the other city parks away for $1.00 as they might get an owner who will want to maintain them.
Christina
August 27, 2020 at 6:24 pm
I live on the North side of town, but grew up on the South side. I believe if this were the North side, they would turn this “eye sore” into a cute little novelty corner. With cute benches, a nice little walking path through, top notch landscaping, cute light fixtures and even fix the slanted wall. But no. It seems as though our Politicians just want to wash their hands of this “eye sore”. And, the perfect way to do that is putting out a statement saying it’s going to the “children”. Yes, Daycares/Preschools are essential for the child’s development, and yes, kids could always use more space (physically) to explore and grow. But, they already have it. If the space wasn’t big enough, the School would not even be there. If this sale gets the green light, we wouldn’t be giving to the kids, we would be taking away from the surrounding members of this Community. People, who I assume would love the opportunity to have a nice place to sit down and watch the cars to by. Just as citizens on the North side do. Mr. & Mrs. White, like many others are being robbed of their wellbeing. Even though my vote don’t count, as a TAX PAYING CITIZEN, I vote NO.
Willy
August 27, 2020 at 9:49 pm
Maybe a neighborhood committee with a budget to maintain it every week and have community events.
Pamela
August 27, 2020 at 11:49 pm
Stop letting the homeless take over our parks. The park on Fresno St. and Kearney Blvd. would be nice, if you would get the drug addict out of there. Fix our parks Fresno mayor!
Lisa
August 29, 2020 at 1:08 pm
Most of the city parks are where early morning drug deals take place. Took my grandson to a northwest park at 9am one weekday morning and has to leave since the only other people there were either homeless or drug dealers waiting for customers. It infuriates me to think that our tax dollars are going towards parks, but we don’t have a safe environment until a couple hours after opening.