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Ceres youth baseball leaders press council for transparency on ARPA funds, lights for Field 3
Summary
Ceres Youth Baseball board members and supporters urged the council to explain why roughly $113,000 previously allocated for lights at Field 3 remains unspent, and asked the city to provide accounting and consider a multi‑year contract to get the project finished.
Several Ceres Youth Baseball (CYB) leaders and supporters used the council's public‑comment period to demand transparency about roughly $113,000 the city had earlier earmarked for lights on Field 3.
"The money came out of the recreation. It did not help the kids," a resident told the council, correcting earlier remarks about the allocation. Jorge Guerrero and other CYB representatives said they provided a timely proposal to use the funds for lights; they described repeated delays, a split with an absent council member they said had blocked progress, and requested clarity about where the unspent ARPA funds were redirected.
CYB Vice President Isma Tiveros said the organization had been cooperative and was willing to contribute matching funds if the city could identify available local resources. "We just want transparency on where those funds went," she said. CYB representatives asked the council to consider an eight‑year contract proposal and said replacing Field 3 lighting would support tournament play and local economic activity.
Gary Kus, speaking for the group, outlined a timeline and said the city had allocated $200,000 for George Costa Fields in 2023, with about $88,000 already spent and roughly $113,000 remaining; CYB provided an estimate of $77,000 to fix the lights.
Council members acknowledged the concerns and directed staff to follow up. Council Member James Casey and others asked staff to bring back information about ARPA allocations and project status so the council could determine whether funds were reallocated and what next steps would be needed to complete lighting upgrades.
What's next: City staff to provide detailed accounting of the ARPA allocation for George Costa/Field 3 and respond to CYB's proposal and cost estimates.
