FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – The next 10 Fresno neighborhoods to undergo revitalization are announced on Monday, making a total of 15 neighborhoods slated for care from the Restore Fresno initiative, a compilation of initiatives to improve property values, living conditions, public safety and the overall quality of life in older neighborhoods.
“Hidalgo & Leavenworth together, the Webster neighborhood, the Columbia neighborhood, King, Winchell, Vang Pao, Adams, Williams, Fort Miller and Slater.” – Mayor Ashley Swearengin
Mayor Swearengin says four teams as part of the City’s Restore Fresno initiative will be working in these older neighborhoods for a period of 9 months — with partners like Superintendent Michael Hanson and Fresno Unified.
The city will be working with residents to prioritize to identify needs and challenges of the neighborhoods, and through regular code sweeps. The four projects will cost $340,000 a piece – a total of just over 1.3 million dollars.
In June, the City Council approved the Mayor’s proposed budget, which included funding to add the staff needed to expand the Neighborhood Revitalization program.
Since then, the Mayor, City Manager Bruce Rudd, Fresno Unified School District Superintendent Michael Hanson, Fresno Housing Authority CEO Preston Prince, Police Chief Jerry Dyer, and City staff have been collaborating and assessing where additional NRT resources should be focused.
The five current neighborhoods of focus have focused on engaging residents and building capacity in El Dorado, Jefferson, Kirk, Lowell, and Yokomi neighborhoods – where the City says resident leadership has been cultivated, blight has been dramatically reduced, housing issues have been improved, and neighborhood leaders are working together with City staff to resolve intractable problems.
Addams Elementary School, the site for the press conference, has a special designation – by in January of 2017, it will be recommended to the Fresno Unified School Board by Superintendent Hanson and the Administration to become the site of a community health clinic just as Gaston is currently in Southwest Fresno.
“Our Board of Education recognizes very clearly that there’s deep connection between the conditions in the community surrounding our schools just as the mayor has called out and what goes on, on campus for our youth – that’s why, we too, have made key investments in improving our 100+ schools and the neighborhoods that surround them, but this concentrated and targeted effort is going to be something special.” – Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson.
Click here to listen to the story by KMJ Reporter Liz Kern.
