Thread by @AndyHS

City Council meeting May 3,2109: Southern Blackstone Avenue Smart Mobility Strategy;Mayor Brand names Garry Bredefeld to San Joaquin River Conservancy Board; a Controversial 7-11 at the northwest corner of North Cedar Avenue and East Tulare Street (kaddy-korner to Roosevelt High)

has been pulled from the agenda. All Councilmembers present today except @GarryBredefeld. Deputy Police Chief Pat Farmer with the invocation. @D7Esparza thanks southeast residents who stood up against the proposed 7-11 agenda item.Developer pulled item. Beginning of Proclamations

Proclamation of “Municipal Clerk’s Week” by @PaulCaprioglio 50th anniversary of this proclamation. includes City Clerk Yvonne Spence. Open House if you want to know more about what they do. Electronic kiosk and ecomments now available with their help.

Proclamation of “Vietnam Veterans Committee Members Day” by @PaulCaprioglio He had many relatives serve in the military including his grandfather, father and brother. “Welcome home” that Vietnam Vets didn’t always get. May 11 at Chuckchansi Park.

Proclamation of the “10th Anniversary of CFDI Day” @Esmeralda_Soria Access Plus Capital has been at work for ten years for small businesses. Help give loans that traditional banks don’t make. @tatehill and @BalchElliott part of it too 😀Local Business who recieved loan is here

including downtown boxing gym. Microloans to minorities and women has been a huge part of their lending service.

Proclamation of “Norman “JR” Norwood Jr. Day” by @MayorLeeBrand He was a big part of Blackstone Improvements as well as Disability Access Commission. He recently passed away. Mayor said he was a kind voice to community.

Proclamation of “Peace Officers Memorial Day” and May 12 through May 18, 2019 as “National Police Week” by @MayorLeeBrand. “Indebted to their service” says Mayor. Eight police officers died in California this year says Police Chief Dyer. “We sometimes take them for granted”

“They have been recently attacked both physically and as a profession” says Dyer. “It is what keeps society from anarchy”

Announcement of Marisol Baca as Fresno’s Poet Laureate. Fresno Art Council’s Lillian Chavez helping Mayor Brand present the proclamation. She went to Bullard and then on to Cornell University. Now teaches at Fresno State. First female poet laureate in Fresno. Lillian Chavez says

The Arts helps people bring out the best in themselves . Poets have brought National prominence for Fresno. Baca thanks Mayor and Council, the previous poet laureate, Lillian Chavez and Fresno Art Council, family and mother here today. “Here is to next two years of creativity”

She quotes a poem about Fresno: She gets a standing ovation from Council Chambers. Art shop tonight too including at Art Council

Proclamation of “Camp Kesem Day” Cancer is an awful thing. Caprioglio’s mother had cancer but survived. Camp Kesem that helps children and their family. Fresno State is First California School to have a chapter. There will be one starting at Sacramento State soon.

@D7Esparza would like the Council to consider making Marisol Baca’s poem as Fresno’s official poem. @MiguelArias_D3 would like an update on fees being waived on police buildings. Consent Calendar now. Among items are Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Fresno and

Fresno Building Healthy Communities regarding the BMX project at Mary Ella Brown Community Center Park. Moving on to EARING to Consider Acceptance of the Southern Blackstone Avenue Smart Mobility Strategy
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A grant helped provide funding.

Will be a 2-mile at Southern end of Blackstone leading to Hedges and 180

Will lead into Tower District. A Street for all users: pedestrians , bicyclists and autos.

Currently bicyclists have to compete with either pedestrians on sidewalks or vehicles on streets.

Fresno Metro Ministry Keith Berghold says “this is a community and City process including applying for grant. The General Plan helped spur this idea. This will help fulfill parts of General Plan. Will be a great attraction for those even outside Fresno” says Berghold.

A pilot project between Shields and McKinley to test feasabilty. Would like to lower speed limit to make it safer. Wider sidewalks. More trees. Wayfinding signage. Banners. Staff would like this exempted from CEQA

Beginning with public comments. Many in audience hold street signs that will be improved. Efficient public transit , walking etc. not all can afford cars or drive ( too old, too young or too poor). Robert Turner of Sierra Club is supportive.

Celest Martinez is part of bicycle coalition for District 4. She is often harassed by vehicles while driving but still finds it the best way to get around. Ann Goodman of Tower District came late to game about this process. Was worried about eminent domain but found this to be

a good plan. She helps represent her neighbors. Knows of six people who have been killed while walking on Blackstone. Lowering the speed limit will be good. Next: sense of place will be added. Next : Fresno State student, 24 -year old, graduating soon. She says this is a major

cross street and is very supportive of this plan. It is a big investment of future. Reduce carbon footprint and safer for all.

Next: This Blackstone Corridor is a part of concentrated poverty. This strategy can help break that. Zach Mantoian. Graduated from Edison and went away for college. Reluctantly moved back but has fell in love with his hometown. Wants to bring his friends back to their hometowns.

He quotes Keith Berghold with “Downtown is the Heart and Blackstone is its Spine” Dr. Anthony Molina: Part of Bike Coaltion and a retired family Practice Physician. Need to promote exercise. High price of auto use hurts the poor especially. More options are needed that a

complete street would provide. Randy White: the process and product used for this was great. “This is what great cities do” says White @joeandheidi Next: “wants his city to be cool, neat. Can’t have that if Core is not in good shape.” Planner says this is part of the puzzle along

with TCC , Chinatown etc. we need to make this a place our children want to come back to after they leave for college. End Public Comments. @D7Esparza thanks everyone for coming back. Most of this project exists in his District 7. Was driven by community from bottom up. Revitali

zation is an anchor. This will help bring General Plan to fruition. He is “all in” on this. @Esmeralda_Soria echos what her colleagues said in thanking everyone like Keith Berghold and the community. 88 units and senior center will come in Board in the next 18 months that will

help this project. Displacement of existing businesses when revitalization occurs. Help them find a new place in Fresno. Plans are great. What we do with the plan is most important. Measure C , COG dollars etc to make this happen. Jim Schaad says “priority and funding”.

Soria asks community to call administration and show up to budget talks next month in order to be sure this occurs. Schaad says we are still in conception stages and too early to budget for construction. @MiguelArias_D3 says his back still hurts from biking on Blackstone and

hitting all the potholes during Mall to Mall bike ride yesterday. Arias asks about reduction of speed limit (40 mph down to 30). Staff says COG is looking at another grant going down from Barstow. Arias: $130 million on Veterans Blvd. this City has experience to combining Federal

dollars to make a project happen. Arias asks if any current project that will occur will use these strategies? A: Yes. Arias: need to start putting money aside for construction. @District5Chavez He thought speeches would be shorter now that tv cameras are gone but not so. He

brings up Keith Berghold up. “Thanks him for his work. Seems all the big projects came out of Berghold’s brain. “. Berghold “Cal Trans grant allows them to go to Dakota down to 180. This is a big activity center with Fresno Community College.” Caprioglio thanks everyone for

presentation today. Pilot Project is the way to go and perfect this. Passes 5-0!

Another item on Consent Calendar was RESOLUTION - Creating Roles and Responsibilities for the Citywide Records Management Program

RESOLUTION - Adopting the City of Fresno’s (City) 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan; approving submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for application of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Home Investment Partnerships (HOME), Emergency Solutions

Grant (ESG), and Housing Opportunities for Persons With Aids/HIV (HOPWA) Program Funds; and providing for subrecipient agreements. Priorities : More affordable housing, assistance for homeless etc $11.4 million total. @MiguelArias_D3 subcommittee formed on CDBG to prioritize

City owned facilities like park, EOC Homeless Youth Shelter, Fink-White roof. @District5Chavez had to recuse himself on EOC items. Those pass 4-0. He comes back in for remainder of non-EOC item. Soria asks about capacity of this portion. DARM’s Jennifer Clark says working with

regional HUD office. Three vacancies. Self monitoring to build capacity as well as training.Soria “hears there are five vacancies. How much training does the consultants have? Would like a report to this Council. Wants to be sure we are building this department in order to reduce

poverty. She has heard our own staff is having to train the consultants. Doesn’t want that. They should come fully trained. Too important of an issue. “ Clark says capacity is important. Will be happy to provide this report to council. Jim Schaad says staff will work diligently

on this. Design delays can create problems and risk. Amount of CDBG dollars has gone up and we need to be sure to spend it correctly. @PaulCaprioglio wants to get community center built before he leaves Council in just over a year. Approved 5-0. Arias thanks staff

RESOLUTION - 39th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2018-157 to appropriate $2,010,000 for Supplemental Refunds and Reimbursements to approved Developers in the Urban Growth Management and Development Impact Fee Programs. Will help refund developers who

have helped community. Arias asks who we are paying and how much. Staff: community well built by Bonnadelle Homes. Approved 5-0. Council Boards and Commissions Communications
San Joaquin River Conservancy Board with Bredefeld names by Mayor

@MiguelArias_D3 asks that @MayorLeeBrand to actually attend San Joaquin Conservancy Meetings rather than his appointee Bredefeld due to City is undergoing lawsuit on that. Caprioglio says it will be up to Mayor but alternate is Bredefeld. Arias says there is Closed Session item

regarding this lawsuit. Fresno Madera Area Agency on Aging that he is on but he has a conflict with his teaching at Fresno City College during the same time so be needs to resign. Ends Council meeting @threadreaderapp unroll