Modesto to transform Cesar Chavez Park, including aquatic center, with $8.5M from state
The state has awarded Modesto an $8.5 million grant to remake Cesar E. Chavez Park, including building an aquatic center with pool and splash pad, soccer field, lighted picnic pavilion and a plaza for skateboarders as well as renovating the park’s existing features.
This is among the 62 competitive grants totaling $254.9 million that California State Parks announced Tuesday that it had awarded to cities, counties and other agencies across the state to build, expand and improve parks in underserved communities.
The 6-1/4-acre Chavez Park is near Modesto High School in west Modesto, a largely minority, low-income community.
Stanislaus County was awarded two grants totaling $2.1 million to make improvements to county parks in unincorporated parts of Modesto. The county will receive $1.2 million for its Oregon Park in the city’s Airport Neighborhood and $945,000 for its Burbank-Paradise Park in west Modesto.
The improvements will include renovating the splash pad, playgrounds, basketball court and restroom as well as building a walking-jogging trail at Oregon and similar work at Burbank-Paradise. The work at both parks also includes lighting and security cameras.
Modesto Parks Recreation & Neighborhoods Director Laurie Smith said it is great news to add resources to a city park after too many years of the city having to reduce resources in its parks because of tight budgets.
For instance, the city closed its park swimming pools, a trend the city accelerated during the Great Recession. Modesto once had pools at about two dozen of its parks, according to parks planning and development manager Nathan Houx. Graceada now is only the park with a pool. And unlike Graceada’s children’s wading pool, Chavez will have a traditional swimming pool.
Smith added it is especially gratifying to improve Chavez Park because the improvements are what residents want. As part of applying for the grant, Modesto held five community meetings to get input. The meetings averaged about 25 people.
Smith also thanked parks and rec employees for their hard work in this project.
Transformed park by spring 2022
There are a lot of steps that will need to be taken, including approving the agreement for the grant, but Smith said she expects construction at Chavez Park will start in summer 2021 and the work will be completed by spring 2022.
The work will include walking paths with three fitness stations, an event stage, replacing the basketball court with a lighted, full-court one, adding two multipurpose rooms for exercise classes at the park’s Maddux Youth Center as well as lighting and security cameras throughout the park and landscape improvements.
One mother and her 15-year-old son who live across the street from Chavez Park were pleased to learn about the grant.
The son, who translated his mother’s comments from Spanish to English, said his mom and dad like to take his 5-year-old brother to the park but sometimes are reluctant to do so because of the drug use, homeless people and dogs that are not on leashes.
“We like the kids’ splash pad and swimming pool,” the 15-year-old said about the additional features coming to the park. “We’re glad about the improvements.”
Smith said the city believes that the more people it can draw into its parks to use them as they are intended will result in fewer people misusing them.
Houx said part of applying for the grant included showing the state how the city would maintain Chavez Park with its new features and improvements. He said part of that is it’s less expensive to maintain new facilities than old ones. For instance, the restrooms will have stainless steel fixtures that are resistant to vandalism.
Grants sought for Mellis, Mancini parks
Modesto also applied for $8.5 million grants for Mellis Park in west Modesto and Mancini Park in south Modesto. The city will continue to look for grants and other funding to improve these parks.
Stanislaus County also applied for a $995,000 grant for its Parklawn Park in south Modesto.
But the county believes it was a great result for the state to award funding for two of its three grant applications, said Lisa Velarde, grants coordinator for county parks and recreation. She said construction could start within a year on the major improvements at Oregon and Burbank-Paradise parks.
California State Parks said in its news release that the 62 grants will be funded through Proposition 68, which voters approved in 2018. It lets the state issue $4 billion in bonds for parks, water, environmental and flood protection projects.
California State Parks said in a news release that it received 478 grant applications, totaling $2.3 billion, and it will fund 62. The $8.5 million Modesto will receive is the maximum amount per grant, and the city’s grant is just one of the nine that will receive the maximum.
Houx said this was first time Proposition 68 money has been awarded to parks. He said it is anticipated that there will be an additional $450 million from the proposition for park projects, but the Legislature has not yet appropriated that funding.
This story was originally published February 26, 2020 at 3:33 PM.
