Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks Equity topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Councilors press need for more courts west of Highway 99 as Rotary Park project advances
Summary
During discussion of the Rotary Park courts, councilors said the city lacks courts on the west side of Highway 99 and urged partnerships with schools and developers to improve equitable access to recreation.
Council members used the Rotary Park presentation on July 22 to press staff about equitable distribution of recreation facilities, particularly the relative absence of outdoor basketball courts west of Highway 99.
"It seems like East of the 99 is fully dotted with basketball facilities, but the West Side doesn't really see even one," said Mayor Pro Tem Tim Zachariah, noting the map shown by staff. Council member Reynoldo Rodriguez said the city is "willfully short of basketball courts" in West Madera and urged the council to pursue partnerships with school districts and developers to increase public access to existing school courts and to pursue small, low-cost additions such as 0.5 courts at neighborhood parks.
Staff said grant eligibility and funding availability often determine siting; Aber explained that many grants apply socioeconomic criteria that can make projects on the west side harder to fund. Council members asked staff to be more proactive about negotiating shared-use agreements with schools and to consider requiring or encouraging courts in new development proposals where feasible.
The discussion took place before the council unanimously approved the Rotary Park contract; no members opposed the award but several framed the approval as one piece of a larger strategy to expand low-barrier recreation across the city.
