I have often tried to guess how many people in cars I have waved to in nine years of standing on Fresno's street corners. It gives me, however, a migraine by the time I reach the few hundred thousand point.
Way back in 2000, I decided that I would be a candidate for Fresno City Council Northwest District 2. Yes, I would walk the district (pushing doorbells, I called it), attend candidate forums, advertise on the radio and television, and then hope for the best in the June primary and November general election. Talking with my brother and his wife one day, I discussed an idea of standing on street corners in the district with a sign promoting my candidacy. They suggested serving morning coffee. That conversation many years ago led to daily morning "coffee stops" (and late afternoon "non-coffee stops") during that election, a successful re-election campaign in 2004, and an unsuccessful election campaign for Fresno County supervisor in 2008. Between elections, I did morning coffee stops twice a month.
Standard procedure for morning coffee stops was to set up my table (with table skirt giving my name and office sought or held), a ten-cup insulatated coffee dispenser, coffee cups, and little bags of cream and sugar. Oh, yes, a big smile and a strong right arm (great bicep developer!). I left home in time to park and be set up on a corner by 7:00 a.m., conduct my coffee stops, carefully pack everything in the truck at 8:00 a.m. (8:30 or 8:45 on some days) and race to City Hall for Tuesday Council meetings and Fresno City College classes I taught on the other days. Not teaching in the summer provided additional flexibility. Late afternoon non-coffee stops while campaigning were held from 4:30 until 6:00 pm or until darkness.
Most people smiled, many waved, and a few honked their car horns. Some yelled something (I assumed it was nice, but I never really knew because it was lost in the traffic noise) as they zipped by. And, yes, periodically I received the one-finger salute and (expletive deleted) from an open window (more on these folks later).
I never ceased to be amazed at what people did in the "privacy" of their cars. Eating, drinking (coffee cups and soda cans), and cell phones were common. Smoking was not as prevalent as one might think. Many smokers languidly held their cigarettes out the window while stopped at intersections (not to bother a passenger or smell up the car?).
Other activities were not as common but happened enough to keep me amused. Teeth brushing and flossing as well as applying lipstick and makeup. Men shaved and both sexes brushed/combed their hair. People read materials (last minute studying for that exam crossing Blackstone on Bullard heading for Fresno State?). People laughed with their friends or at something on the radio. Sometimes a rip-roaring verbal argument (discussion?) was taking place. Once in a great while someone was crying.
These folks were so caught up in their in-car experiences that I was but another telephone pole. What I really looked forward to were the people that wanted to share a few words while stopped for a red light at the intersection or, better yet, those that parked and came over to talk.
People at the intersection Quick Stops, as I called them, almost always had something nice to say. I could usually see it coming when the window would come down and (usually the driver) would lean in my direction to say hello, give me a thumbs up, and usually have a quick comment of appreciation for me being on the corner. They would often kid me by offering me a cup of their coffee or would encourage me to vote yes or no on an issue currently before the Council. Every once in awhile they would be so caught up in saying something that they would not notice (or care about) the light changing to green. It would take a polite horn beep from the following car to move my reluctant constituent on.
My favorite experience at a Quick Stop happened at Shaw and Palm. It was not with a constituent in a sedan, SUV or pickup on the way to work but, rather, with the co-driver for a large semi truck with headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. Stopped at the light, the cab of the semi towered above me and my wimpy coffee table. I was surprised as the co-driver jumped from the cab to the sidewalk in front of me, held up one of those gargantuan insulated coffee mugs, and asked me to "fill it up." I pumped my coffee pot to fill the giant mouth of his mug. He then quickly climbed back up into the cab, smiled, and told me that "he had stopped for coffee all over the country and this was the coolest coffee stop he had ever encountered." With a blast from the truck's air horn, he waved and headed East on Shaw.
To be continued....You are invited to join me in a future blog to learn about about some of the interesting people I met at my coffee stops and what they wanted to talk about.
Coming attractions...
1) What's in a name...Fresno?
2) Comments on Mayor Swearengin's Independent Police Auditor forum
3) Coffee stops, continued
Your comments are always welcome. Simply click on "comments" below.
People are Interesting: Nine Years of Standing on Fresno's Streetcorners
Saturday, February 28, 2009 |
Mayor Autry was the new mayor, and Jerry Duncan and I were newly sworn in members of the Fresno City Council in 2001. We inherited a city budget that was $500,000 dollars in the red, the beginning of the California "dot-com" state budget crunch, a state legislature that was about to rob cities to plug the state budget deficit, and no City plan as to how to solve these challenges or plan for the City's future. I suggested that we needed a financial plan, and the mayor and council directed staff to develop the Opportunities and Solutions Summit.
City staff first determined the challenges/issues (we saw them as opportunities) facing Fresno and then put these issues into the form of a question that could be addressed at the April 20, 2001 Summit Conference. Issues and related questions were as follows:
1. Downtown Revitalization
a. Empowerment Zone Designation (How can Fresno qualify for Empowerment Zone Designation?)
b. Downtown Housing (How can Fresno attract downtown residential development? What state and federal funding is available to address housing needs in the downtown and inn-city areas?)
c. Federal Courthouse (What can be done to expedite approval of the Federal Courthouse in downtown Fresno?)
2. Economic Development
a. Roeding and South Industrial/Business Parks (What state and federal funding is available to provide required infrastructure for Roeding and South Industrial/Business Parks? What resources are available to train the workforce to fill these jobs?)
b. Attracting High Tech Industry (What resources are available to implement the required infrastructure in an effort to attract these high-tech companies to Fresno? What resources are available to prepare Fresno's workforce for high-tech employment?)
3. Transportation
a. Railroad Track Consolidation (In addition to local funding, what state and federal resources can be obtained to facilitate this project? How can the BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad participate in the funding of the consolidation effort?)
b. Alternative Transportation (What opportunities are available, through state and federal agencies, to achieve alternative transportation goals? What funding or opportunities are available for sidewalks, signing, enhanced crosswalks, roundabouts to encourage pedestrian traffic, bike lanes and simple street crossings for people with disabilities?)
c. State Highway 180 (What steps can be taken and what funds are available to facilitate the fast-tracking of Highway 180 to Interstate 5?)
d. Airport (What funding sources are available to Fresno International Airport to assist airlines with cooperative advertising to attract and maintain airlines to Fresno?)
The April 20th Summit included elected officials and technical experts from the local, state and federal level. The opportunities/issues (to include questions) had been made available to the attendees. They were, therefore, prepared to provide solutions/answers.
It is clear that eight years later many, not all, of the solutions were implemented. The Summit was successful in that it provided solutions--a road map so to speak--to meet both short and long-range goals for Fresno.
I would encourage both Mayor Swearengin and the Council, none of whom were in City government in 2001, to reprise the Opportunities and Solutions Summit. Some of the "opportunities" may still need addressing today. Other solutions to today's "opportunities" might be more important.
It should be remembered that even though the 2001 Summit issues were not today's state and local financial problems facing the mayor and council, elected leaders were very cognizant of the budgetary challenges. That is why Mayor Autry and that council left Fresno with a balanced budget, to include a $17 million dollar reserve.
Another Opportunities and Solutions Summit would, I believe, be a prudent way for the City Council to plan for the future while taking care of the present.
Contact Council President Cynthia Sterling and Mayor Ashley Swearengin at 621-8000 or City Manager Andy Souza at 621-7770.
Coming events...1) People are interesting: Standing on Fresno's corners for nine years. 2) What's in a name...Fresno?
Your comments are always welcome. Simply click on "comments" below.
I grew up with a newspaper in my hand. The newspaper was my best friend, taking me from where I lived to the city, state or country that I did not know. It was a welcome friend that arrived on the front stoop or driveway from people I hardly knew.
My father always had his nose in a newspaper, usually the San Francisco Chronicle. I probably caught the habit from him. He had a special way of reading the paper: first sports (green pages, for some reason in the Chronicle) and then Herb Caen for the gossip low-down on the City. For some reason (being different from one's parents?) I started with the front page and ignored Herb. What did I know about celebrities who visited cool bars and restaurants when I was too young and unimportant to attend?
As a youngster in Palo Alto, I was a paper boy for the San Francisco Call Bulletin. The real money (dependent as it was on number of papers delivered) was having a Palo Alto Times route. Unfortunately, the Times routes were all taken, and I was stuck delivering only 40 or so less-than-stellar Call Bulletins on my bike over an eight-mile route system.
The worst part of my newpaper days, by far, however, was trying to "collect" (as my route manager sternly informed me) from the 40 or so less-than-stellar customers that often did not want to pay. My parents insisted that I ride my bike (with lights, of course) at night so I would have a better chance of finding someone home. My parents subscribed to the less-than-stellar Call Bulletin as well as the Palo Alto Times because they felt sorry for me. Also, they paid me. (The Call Bulletin had a great sales incentive program: only 20 subscriptions for a new bike and 300, as I remember it, for a trip to Washington, D.C. I was lucky just not to LOSE subscriptions!)
After reading my parents' newspaper through high school, I was thrilled to subscribe to my first newspaper, The Sacramento Bee, when I started college at the University of California-Davis in 1961. It was so cool to get my own paper. Little did I know that 22 years after graduating I would be in another Valley city, Fresno, reading another McClatchy paper, The Fresno Bee.
My 22 -year odyssey from UC-Davis to Fresno involved the military, advanced education, a wonderful wife, two wonderful children and two wonderful jobs. Each community came with a newspaper to read: Syracuse and the New York Times; Columbus, GA and the Army Times; Arlington, VA and the Washington Post; Madison, Wisconsin's Capitol Times and Wisconsin State Journal; Racine, Wisconsin's Journal Times and Milwaukee Journal; and the Chicago Tribune in Chicago.
In 1988 I arrived in Fresno. After purchasing a home and having PG&E turn on the utilities, I reached for the phone to subscribe to The Fresno Bee.
It was always a given as the years rolled by that the newspaper would be on the stoop or driveway. I assumed that my two children would find pleasure reading the newspaper in the same way that I did. How wrong I was as I soon learned from my children's generation.
My son and daughter (and their spouses) are very well educated with good jobs in Chicago and Santa Barbara. None of them, however, read a newspaper. (I think they think I am a little weird, kind of an old fashioned fuddy-duddy with my reading habits.) They are, of course, very computer-literate, slyly assuring me that they use technology to keep up with topical events. They are typical of their generation in abandoning the traditional newspaper.
Advertisers have carefully tracked these generational trends and are moving from the print medium of newspapers and news magazines (yes, I also have been reading my dear Newsweek since my days at UC-Davis) to the Internet.
To their credit, newspapers are trying to counteract this trend of diminishing advertisers and subscribers. Some adaptions are pretty dramatic such as Detroit Media Partnership L.P., which operates the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News, that has ceased home delivery of the papers' print editions on all but Thursday, Friday and Sunday. On the other days, the company sells single copies of abbreviated print editions at newsstands and directs readers to the papers' expanded digital editions.
While the Free Press and the News would be the first dailies in a major metropolitan market to curtail home delivery and drastically scale back their print editions, other newspapers are contemplating similar moves in response to the erosion of advertising and the rising costs of printing and delivery. The Christian Science Monitor, another example of a radical adaption to the shifting news landscape, recently announced it will stop printing a daily newspaper and move instead to an online version with a weekly print product.
Fresnans may ask why they should care about the problems of Detroit newspapers, the bankruptcy of the Tribune Company (includes the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers), The Gannet Company, which publishes 85 daily U.S. newspapers including USA Today, which recently reported a 36 decline in net income, and others suffering from the serious downturn. Fresnans should care because some of the newspapers I used to read are now gone, some are reduced to a shadow of their original size, and others are hanging on by their fingernails. Fresnans should care because my children's generation will determine whether they will continue to receive the Fresno Bee on the front stoop/driveway or will receive it at all.
The Bee, part of the nation-wide McClatchy chain, has seen its advertising dramatically plunge. No newspaper can survive simply by the subscription price. Advertising is what drives revenues, and revenues are in free fall at McClatchy. The Bee is now offering reduced price subscription options such as home delivery only on selected days (think Detroit papers) and e-Bee (newspaper delivered electronically).
Even if The Bee and other newspapers survive, they will be hard-pressed to provide the in-depth coverage of local, regional, state, national and international that has been my lifelong pleasure to read. International bureaus are the first to go because of their expense. Next comes national news coverage. Local news is targeted more to "what sells." Coverage of local government is not eliminated but is covered by fewer reporters or only as part of a reporter's beat.
In once sense, democracy is placed at jeopardy as Americans are left without a clear window on the world, the nation and their local government. Dependence is shifted to television and the scores of "talking heads" that pop up on cable television (or in blogs like mine?). One of the more mundane but important services of the local newspaper is succinctly pointed out by Jeffrey Zaslow in the Wall Street Journal where he says that you don't want to die on a Sunday in Detroit now because the opportunity for your acquaintances to learn about your death through the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News obituaries won't be available if the papers aren't delivered.
Sadly, I don't think that the newspapers as I know (knew?) will survive. The "newspaper/news magazine" will probably morph into some form of an electronic blog heavy on opinion and light on facts. "Hard" news will come primarily from a few major sources, the AP or UPI of the 21st Century. Comuters with opened newspapers on the morning train to work will be replaced by an updated Blackberry, Palm Pilot, I-Pod or whatever the creative folks in Seattle and Silicon Valley think up next. A computer or sophisticated TV-like device will replace the newspaper at the breakfast table.
There will still be a name on the Internet "masthead", but the garish headlines and paper/ink smell of the Call Bulletin or the green sports pages (and friendly Herb Caen) of the San Francisco Chronicle will be long gone.
Coming attractions...
1) Reprise the 2001 City of Fresno Opportunities and Solutions Summit 2) Tales from nine years standing on Fresno's street corners.
Your opinion is always welcome. Simply click the "comment" button below.
The annual call for an Independent Police Auditor (IPA) to oversee the Fresno Police Department begins anew. Five times during my tenure on the Fresno City Council we heard public comment, debated and ultimately turned down Mayor Autry's budget request for an IPA. I did not support it then as a councilmember, and I don't support it today.
Recent incidents involving officers of the Fresno Police Department are troubling. American justice and fairness require, of course, that individuals involved in these incidents not be prejudged and must be treated as innocent until proven guilty.
Mayor Ashley Swearengin, City Councilmembers, City Manager Andy Souza, Police Chief Jerry Dyer and Fresno citizens expect an impartial investigation of the police incidents and, if necessary, appropriate disciplinary actions be taken. There is absolutely no reason to believe that this will not happen without an IPA since investigations are underway by Fresno Police Internal Affairs, the District Attorney and the Office of the State Attorney General.
An IPA would have not prevented the recent alleged police incidents. As soon as Chief Dyer became aware of the problems, he took immediate action to investigate them. To their credit, Mayor Swearengin, City Council members and Chief Dyer have been completely open to the press and have not attempted to hide the facts or make light of the incidents.
What would an Office of the IPA (generally an attorney with staff assistants) do 365 days a year? It is only human nature (and job self preservation) to appear busy. My guess is that the IPA would be a magnet for every disgruntled person wanting to contest a parking or speeding ticket. It would constantly be second-guessing elected officials, the chief of police and, possibly, the courts and grand jury. And how would this additional oversight operation differ from the City Attorney's office, staffed as it is with well-paid, competent attorneys that are fully prepared to investigate possible police malfeasence?
Unmentioned in the call for an IPA is the public record of Chief Dyer's actions when officer-related problems periodically occur in his department of 850 sworn officers. Like any effective supervisor, Chief Dyer is continually seeking to improve his department, and takes disciplinary actions when necessary. His officers know that actions unbecoming a police officer are dealt with in a timely and decisive manner. I am also aware of instances where officers have reported fellow officers for inappropriate behavior.
It should not be the role of an IPA to substitute for the responsibility of Fresno's police chief, the City Manager or the Mayor. If Chief Dyer is not doing his job or has lost the confidence of the citizens, City Manager Souza and Mayor Swearengin need to replace him. It is my personal and professional judgement, however, that Chief Dyer is a very competent administrator.
While the City of Fresno utilizes the "strong mayor" form of government, the Council serves as a necessary legislative and budgetary "check and balance" on governance issues made by the Mayor and City Manager. The Council has always demanded the highest standards from Chief Dyer and his officers. It is, however, fully within its right to question Mayor Swearengin's desire to have an IPA. The Council, I believe, must both ask and answer the fundamental question as to whether an IPA would improve Fresno's Police Department or instead serve as an expensive, non-elected and bureaucratic appendage that separates elected leaders from the citizens that elected them and the employees they supervise.
Contrary to what is often heard from supporters of an IPA, examples abound of IPA's in other cities that are ineffective and sometimes incompetent. What about IPA accountability? Who, for example, is going to provide oversight for an IPA? What would be the political consequences of disagreeing with an IPA? While there are numerous IPA models available, none are without serious flaws. And the cost of an IPA? Probably in the neighborhood of $500,000 when office space, staffing, and fringe benefits are added in. Is the cost worth the additional police officers and equipment that would have to either be eliminated or done without?
And what about the Fresno Police Officers Association? Does the FPOA tell Chief Dyer and the Council what to do? Certainly not! Just as former Mayor Autry, Mayor Swearengin and some Councilmembers argue for an IPA, the FPOA has every right to express its position on an IPA. It is unfair and just plain wrong to accuse the FPOA and some Councilmembers opposed to an IPA of not acting in the best interests of the citizens of Fresno.
Fresno's elected officials and the officers of the Fresno Police Department have been very diligent in their efforts to reduce crime, automobile accidents and automobile deaths over the past eight years. Not a single Fresno police officer has died in the line of duty during this period. And to the best of my knowledge, no one arrested by the Fresno police in the past eight years has been incarcerated for a crime he or she did not commit. Fresno's Police Department, however, like any large organization, is not perfect nor without continual need for improvement. While police officer mistakes have been made, they have also been promptly addressed and appropriate action taken.
I am confident that the most recent incidents will also be handled to the satisfaction of Fresno's citizens. An IPA is not needed.
Coming attractions... 1) Whither the shrinking newspaper 2) Reprise the 2001 City of Fresno Opportunities and Solutions Summit 3) Nine years of standing on Fresno's street corners.
Your comments are always welcome. Simply click on "comments" below.
In these difficult economic times, and with the State of California periodically experiencing energy shortages, it is essential that the residents of the greater Fresno area have their basic energy needs met. If Fresno can become partially sustainable through renewable energy by helping provide this basic need with a minimal cost to Fresno (and California) we have a win-win situation.
An innovative solar energy plan has been proposed by Duke Energy Carolinas for the residents of the State of North Carolina. If approved, the residents of North Carolina will have an integral role in harnessing solar energy close to customers rather than from large, centralized power plants. Here is how their proposed Solar Distributate Generation Program works and why Fresno should be interested.
Duke Energy Carolinas has proposed a $100 million dollar plan to install electricity generating solar panels at up to 850 North Carolina sites to include homes, schools, stores and factories. If approved by regulators, Duke Energy Carolinas would spend two years installing approximately 20 megawatts of distributed solar generation on rooftops of businesses and homes or on ground sites within their service area.
Duke Energy would own and operate the solar equipment and the power produced by each rooftop installation. The power generated would be used to serve the utility's customers. The electricity would not be owned and or used by host sites. Instead, customers would sign long-term leases with Duke Energy Carolinas to allow the use of solar panels at customer's respective locations. Customers would get the benefit of ongoing rental compensation based on the size of the installation and the amount of energy it produces, without having to purchase the solar system or maintain it.
The company plans to recover its $100 million investment through North Carolina's new Renewable and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) cost recovery mechanism. The company estimates that, over its life, the program will increase the average customer's bill by no more than 25 cents a month. For those individuals who have elected to participate in the program, their rental income from the solar panels will far surpass the proposed 25 cent per month increase in their utility bill. For all others in the state, this is a small amount considering the sustainability and "green" benefits to energy users.
As a former councilmember, I brought to the Fresno City Council the recommendation that they request staff to work with PG&E to determine the feasibility of establishing a plan similar to Duke Energy Carolina's Solar Distributed Generation Program to be piloted in the City of Fresno. The Council agreed and requested staff to return with the feasibility report. It is unknown at this time what, if any, action has been taken.
The Stimulus Program recently approved by Congress includes a $50 billion renewable energy appropriation. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Fresno to work with PG&E to access some of these monies to be beta site for solar energy collection and distribution benefiting both Fresno and the State of California.
Contact Mr. Rene Ramirez, City of Fresno Utilities Director at 621-8600 or Ms. Cynthia Sterling, City Council President, at 621-8000.
Coming attractions...
1) Whither the shrinking newspaper 2) Reprise the 2001 City of Fresno Opportunities and Solutions Summit 3) Nine years of standing on Fresno's street corners.
Your comments are always welcome. Simply click on "comments" below.
Forty-two years after its completion, Fresno's Fulton Mall is at a crossroads. The revenues produced by the Mall district are anemic. Revenues rose briefly during the opening of the new stadium but have not risen since. The Mall is still a ghost town after 5:00 p.m. Real downtowns are active places well into the evening. Friday and Saturday evenings are usually the busiest time of the week for successful downtown areas; the Fulton Mall is the opposite.
The people who designed and supported the Fulton Mall had the best of intentions. They believed that the elimination of traffic would make the Mall a more pleasant place for shoppers and pedestrians. In hindsight, maybe a reduction in traffic rather than the elimination of traffic would have accomplished this goal.
This is not a new problem facing the Fulton Mall. A partial history of Fulton Street revitalization shows a slow but steady recognition that the original concept for the Mall, particularly as it prohibited limited vehicular traffic, no longer applies today.
1966 Fulton Mall opened with new paving, fountains sculptures, clock tower, and landscaping. The economic success was short-lived as department stores continued to move out and Fashion Fair Mall opened in 1969.
1989 The Development Department for the City of Fresno issued the Central Area Community Plan Summary. The Summary described a 400-page report developed by City staff and the Central Area Planning Task Force over a period of three years with the goal of creating "an inspiring environment conducive to new investments and economic growth." Special attention was given to the problems of the Fulton Mall District...."
1992 The Central Area Urban Design Strategy Final Plan prepared by the Ratkovich Company and Ehrenkrantz and Eckstut Architects proposed reopening the northern two blocks to traffic and retaining the southern blocks as an updated "casual" mall. This plan also proposed reconfigurations of downtown traffic, creation of an Uptown Arts District (which is currently being pursued), and relocation of the stadium to its present downtown location adjacent to Fulton Mall.
1999 At the urging of the Downtown Revitalization Task Force of the Fresno City and County Chamber of Commerce, a panel of professionals convened by the Urban Land Institute spent one week in an intensive review of the commercial downtown district assessing future options. The core of the study area was the Fulton Mall. In their review, the ULI panel noted that "The City has developed several plans for the Mall area's revitalization; however, lack of both consensus and a comprehensive marketing program have left this core area vacant and without an identity."
2001 The City's Redevelopment Agency retains ELS Architecture and Urban Design to provide market research and a new concept design for Fulton Mall and its surroundings.
2002 The ELS Concept Plan reestablishes the downtown blocks of Fulton as "Main Street". The plan proposes to restore the economic strengths of the original commercial street (limited traffic, with some on-street parking and nearby off-street parking.), and at the same time incorporate a full range of pedestrian amenities. These include: Adaptive reuse of historic structures for mixed uses; wide sidewalks and crosswalks supporting pedestrian activities; mature street trees; water and art features, with links to other districts; district identity supported by graphics and signage which build upon local history; and improved lighting including street lamps at pedestrian scale.
The ELS Concept Plan stressed the recognition among urban planners that Main Streets can play a key role in "green" sustainable policies: i.e., a return to people living and working in close proximity to retail, and office and entertainment uses. The report also recommended reopening Fulton Street to vehicular traffic which can support the economic vitality of commercial interests and allow the center of the city to be rediscovered and shared by the larger city population. Single narrow traffic lanes were recommended with 23 to 25 foot wide pedestrian sidewalks that preserve 85% of the existing trees, preserve all art pieces, and add water features, decorative lighting, landscaping and sidewalk dining opportunities.
The Council/Redevelopment Agency accepted the ELS Report but took no action at that time pending the hoped-for (but not realized) benefits of the new baseball stadium.
2002 The City Council and the City's Redevelopment Agency adopts Vision 2010: Downtown Fresno. The multi-year development plan for Downtown Fresno includes limited vehicular traffic on Fulton Mall with large pedestrian avenues.
2006 Mayor's Creative Economy Report issued calling for the revitalization of the Fulton Mall. Specific recommendations, however, are not provided.
2006 At my request, the Fulton Mall Working Group was established and a series of community meetings were held with significant community input. The general feeling at these community meetings was that we've studied and made many "plans" to revitalize the Mall, now we need to start implementing the plans.
2008 I asked, and the Council and City Redevelopment Agency agreed, to consider implementing the ELS Plan, particularly opening the Fulton Mall to limited vehicular traffic. The change in Administration (mayor and two councilmembers), however, leaves this reconsideration in doubt.
Will it be another 42 years before people finally realize that a closed Fresno's closed Fulton Mall is a poster child for Downtown failure?
Share your concerns with Councilmember Cynthia Sterling at 621-8000; Economic and Downtown Revitalization Director, Craig Scharton at 621-8350 ; or Redevelopment Agency Director, Marlene Murphey at 621-7600. Copies of the ELS Plan can be obtained by contacting Becky Klisch, City Clerk at 621-7650.
Coming attractions...
1) Whither the shrinking newspaper; 2) Reprise of the 2001 City of Fresno Opportunities and Solutions Summit
Your comments are always welcome. Simply click on "comments" below.
I was surprised with the recent 5-2 vote of the Fresno Unified School Board to approve Superintendent Michael Hanson's recommendation to hire Mr. Jorge Aguilar to the newly created position of Associate Superintendent for Equity and Access. Mr. Aguilar will begin April 1 and will earn $148,000 a year.
I do not question the need for the District to pay additional attention to ensuring that every FUSD student has equal access to an education; nor do I question Mr. Aguilar's qualifications. What I do question, however, is why this critical student academic and accountability responsibility is being put in the hands of a new "staff" administrator instead of being given to the "line" elementary and secondary associate superintendents.
The dissenting board members, Carol Mills and Larry Moore, were also correct in asking why Superintendent Hanson should add another administrator when he was planning to suspend hiring and significantly reduce purchasing.
While the District has, and will always face, significant challenges to improve student learning, to include student equity and access, it should not be forgotten that the District is losing students and, therefore, state funding. Hiring additional administrators for vaguely defined problems is not, I believe, the answer. Accountability, at least at the administrative level, should be the responsibility of those academic line managers charged with directly supervising the teaching/learning process: the associate superintendents at the elementary, secondary (and possibly middle-school) level down through the school-site principals. To do otherwise is to dilute responsibility.
Coming soon. . .
1) Fulton Mall; 2) The incredible shrinking newspaper.
Your comments are always welcome. Just click on "comments" below.
After more than 80 years, Downtown' Fresno's Eaton Plaza is slowly being realized.
As a member of the Fresno City Council in 2002, I was overjoyed when my Council colleagues approved my action to allocate $750,000 from the California Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Air and Coastal Protection Bond Act to have San Francisco-based MPA Design develop a plan for Downtown's Eaton Plaza. The Council's decision gave action to a Downtown plaza proposal created in 1918 by Charles Henry Cheney in his "Progress of a City Plan." Cheney's plaza idea was updated in 1966 as part of the City's Master Development Plan. In 1988 the yet-to-be-developed plaza was named for Edwin M. Eaton, president of Guarantee Savings and Loan from 1928 to 1956. Eaton also served on the County Planning Commission and was the President of the Fresno City and County Historical Society for several years. In 2001 Eaton Plaza was officially approved by the Council as an integral part of the 2010 Downtown Plan.
Following the Council's 2002 direction and working with a citizens group of civic, business and governmental leaders with strong ties to the Downtown Area, MPA Design developed and presented several conceptual schematics to the stakeholders and the general public at numerous open house meetings. With stakeholder support, MPA developed a single Eaton Master Plan proposal and an accompanying Phase One construction proposal which provided for a 300-seat amphitheatre, irrigation, and turf and shade trees. MPA also prepared a five-year implementation plan .
The Council approved the five-phase plan to develop the Plaza (located between the Fresno Public Library on Mariposa and the Fresno Water Tower at Fresno Street) over a five-year period. Phase One, 14,920 square feet in size, is the beautiful $500,000 amphitheatre, completed in 2005, used extensively by the City's Parks, Recreation and After Schools Department as well as the general public.
The design engineering for Phase Two is in process. This second phase of Eaton Plaza will feature a landscaped area with an outdoor theatre stage, dressing rooms and seating. Construction should begin soon.
Phase Three plans call for extensive landscaping and a passive picnic/relaxation area. Phase Four's main feature is an interactive water fountain in which children can play on warm Fresno days. Phase Five includes extensive off-site landscaping improvements to enhance the Mariposa Mall area that currently divides the Fresno Public Library from Eaton Plaza.
Phases Two through Five will be funded with City Parks bonds: Phase Two, 28,500 square feet, is estimated to cost $1,084219; Phase Three, 29,000 square feet/off site 2,515 square feet is estimated at $629,748; Phase Four, $54,740 square feet, is estimated to be $2,916,998; and Phase Five, 32,000 square feet/on site 240 square feet, is estimated at $1,010,915. The Five Phase Eaton Plaza Block Area, a total of 130,400 square feet, is estimated to cost $6,138,879 at final build out.
Unfortunately, there appears to be delays in moving forward. Phases Two through Five were planned to be completed within five years of the completion of Phase one. It is quite obvious that this will not happen since Phase Two is still in the design phase with an uncertain construction date. Phase Three, Four and Five have an uncertain funding status. The question is, therefore, after 80 years of waiting, how much longer will it take to realize Charles Henry Cheney's 1918 dream of a major plaza in Downtown Fresno?
For additional information on Eaton Plaza, contact City of Fresno Councilmember Cynthia Sterling at 621-8000; Mr. Patrick Wiemiller, Public Works Director, at 621-8650; Mr. Randy Cooper, Director, or Mr. Jerry Haynes, Assistant Director, Parks, Recreation and After School Programs at 621-2900; and Mr. Craig Scharton, Director of Economic Development and Downtown Revitalization at 621-8350.
Coming attractions...
1) Whither the Fulton Mall? 2) The incredible shrinking newspaper.
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