Parks staff present Measure P 2023 annual report; commissioners press for clearer spending and senior/youth services plans

Chair Kimberly McCoy called the Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission meeting to order and the commission received a workshop presentation on the Measure P 2023 annual report from Shelby McNabb, assistant director of the Parks Department.

The presentation summarized the report’s scope, methods and highlights and noted a corrected error in earlier published materials. "Please note that the report and presentation published for this meeting had an error in the calculation for Spark program and overall reach, but the printed materials before you today are corrected and the clerk will ensure that the corrections are published on Granicus," McNabb said.

The report ties Measure P reporting to the parks master plan and the city’s highest-needs neighborhood methodology. Using that narrower definition of park types, staff reported that "33% of Fresnans live within a half mile walking distance of a park," McNabb said, and cautioned the figure is not directly comparable to 2022 because of the methodology change.

Why it matters: commissioners and members of the public pressed staff for clearer, more accessible public accounting of where Measure P funds are held and how they were used. Commissioners said the report’s fiscal numbers need clearer linking to projects and to on-the-ground outcomes in neighborhoods, and requested maps and audit links that make it easier to track completed work versus amounts simply held in accounts.

Key findings and program highlights presented

- Population and access: Staff used GIS analysis and a walk-access methodology tied to the parks master plan categories (neighborhood, community, pocket and regional parks). The department reported 33% of city residents live within a half-mile walking distance of those park types; staff noted the figure reflects a new baseline and should not be compared directly to the previously reported 40% for 2022.

- Program reach and definitions: The department reported 19,000 unique participants across parks programming and more than 500,000 total program "impressions" (the total number of visits/attendances). Staff explained "impressions" may double-count individuals who attend multiple sessions; they estimated that when participant addresses were not collected, an 80% residency benchmark was used to estimate Fresno residents among event attendees.

- Specific program counts: Aquatics recorded 2,894 swim-lesson participants and about 25,000 recreational swim visits; Camp Fresno had 1,004 registered campers as of the day of the meeting; the youth fee-waiver program approved 258 households late in the 2023 season and has continued to grow; the senior hot-meals program restarted midyear and served an estimated 6,800 meals to Fresno seniors.

- Capital portfolio and budgeting: For the 2023 reporting period staff listed 104 capital portfolio projects (91 intended to maintain or improve existing parks and 13 focused on new parks). Staff said about $45,000,000 was budgeted for Measure P categories in FY23 (a sales-tax driven revenue stream that can vary year to year). Staff emphasized some dollars were carryover and that audit detail should be used to trace specific expenditures.

- Park rangers and staffing: The report notes six park rangers were fully trained and 10 conditional offers were extended during the 2023 reporting period; staff said current park ranger staffing has since increased to 19.

Public comment and commissioner concerns

Speakers from the public raised facility-specific concerns and partnership requests. Camilla Sutherland described local efforts at Roding Park to recruit junior tennis players and asked how the community can help with phased improvements and program recruitment. Jean Ainger, representing the Roding Park Tennis Club, said the club has existed since 1931 and offered volunteers to support youth programming and grant writing for court improvements.

Online commenter Jade McAfee urged broader outreach on the cultural-arts application process, saying the call for panelists and the notice for the expanded access to arts and culture fund had been circulated primarily in the Fresno Arts Council newsletter and social channels rather than in more accessible, citywide places. "I would really, really love if maybe someone from PRAC could collaborate and gently nudge Fresno Arts Council to make that more successful in the future," she said.

Commissioners asked multiple budget and planning questions: they requested a clearer breakdown of funds by category and project, stated a desire to prioritize larger parks and amenity additions (for example, exercise equipment on trails and more year-round green space rather than numerous pocket parks), and asked staff to map which new-park funds are targeted to high-needs neighborhoods. Commissioners also asked staff to return with more detail on how privately run or partnered community facilities (for example, a privately operated senior facility on Chestnut and Butler) are counted in service totals and when they should be considered as part of the city’s service inventory.

Staff responses and next steps

Shelby McNabb said the department is working to shorten report turnaround time and to publish corrected materials on Granicus. The department plans to present the 2024 annual report this summer and to get back on a target cycle so future reports can be released earlier in the year. On financial transparency, staff noted the annual budget and the city audit remain the official documents to trace what was spent; they said the Measure P annual report will include audit project IDs and links to help commissioners and the public cross-check expenditures.

Commissioners requested follow-ups including: a map showing the location of projects categorized as "new parks" and whether those funds are budgeted or spent; a breakdown of Measure P carryover balances by category; clarification of which projects had only design funding versus construction funding; and a future presentation on converting underused flood-control basins into usable park space (including cost and feasibility). Staff said they have already discussed potential basin conversions with flood-control and utilities staff and warned that irrigation and year-round water issues can make conversions costly.

Ending

Commissioners and staff agreed to additional follow-ups and further review. The meeting record shows staff promised to publish corrected report materials and to bring a 2024 report in a summer agenda packet so the commission can review more recent project and budget detail. The discussion closed with requests from commissioners for clearer public-facing links, more granular budget-to-project mapping and added analysis of senior and after-school service gaps.