Published 9/29/23

By: Anthony Corda, Valley Marketing Institute

Community park-goers at Granite Park during a baseball game on the Granite Park Field during the day. Photo Credit: Granite Park Facebook Page.

Granite Park staff were caught by surprise when PG&E delivered a past-due notice at the park a couple of weeks ago. They immediately reported that PG&E dropped off a written notice indicating that there was a past due balance of $48,000 and consequently the electricity would be shut off until further action was taken.

The power was out between 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. that evening.

Upon receiving word from on-site staff, the President of the Central Valley Community Sports Foundation(CVCSF), Terance Frazier, swiftly provided an emergency loan to the nonprofit to ensure the park had electrical power to keep the lights on and doors open to the community.

The surprising part was that neither Mr. Frazier nor CVCSF had received any prior past-due notices or warnings from PG&E.

This is what prompted GV Wire, an online news outlet closely associated with some members of the Fresno City Council, to prematurely report on September 12th that, according to unnamed sources, the City of Fresno had been “secretly” covering Granite Park’s outstanding utility bills.

The GV Wire article posed the question: “Should the City of Fresno be permitted to allocate taxpayer funds in secret?” This issue is highlighted as the Fresno City Council faces allegations of Brown Act violations regarding budget subcommittee meetings and they are now facing scrutiny due to lack of public documentation related to the utility payments made on behalf of Granite Park to PG&E.

Understanding that Granite Park is after all, a city asset and widely used community sports facility, GVWire’s article praised the utility payments happening despite a deteriorating relationship between the city and the park’s operator. Thus, implying that the community should be appreciative of the city’s actions which have kept this great sports complex open and available for the community.

This situation raises other questions: If the relationship with the nonprofit has soured, why help at all?

Why not raise concerns earlier? Why is this information surfacing now?

There only seems to be one true motive for the continued targeting of a community leader who has had

an impeccable track record, previously working with the City of Fresno on a variety of issues and with the

goal of ensuring Granite Park, a one-of-a-kind sports complex, was renovated and reopened for the community to enjoy.

The saga of Granite Park and Mr. Frazier reminds us of the story of David and Goliath.

In revisiting what has transpired in the last four years, Mr. Frazier has endured individual City Council Member and staff member attempts to discredit him and tarnish his reputation. They maliciously halted a multi-family housing development, even though the city is facing a housing crisis and it would have been catalytic to the revitalization of downtown.

One city council member said the following at one of the council meetings, “If Terance Frazier is involved in this housing project, I will never vote for it.”

This was not an isolated incident, there have been continuous attempts to tarnish his name in influential circles and they are now trying to portray him as financially irresponsible when, in reality, it was the City of Fresno’s lack of good faith to see that this facility succeeded. In fact, the city has yet to fulfill the terms in the original agreement even though this has always been a good deal for the city and the community.

As a reminder, this park before 2015 was a liability and an eyesore for the city. In fact, the city was paying well over $250,000 annually to keep the gates locked and the grass uncut.

Today, the city’s investment of $150,000, less than what it was paying to keep the park closed, has allowed this park to reopen and provide a great venue for sports and community events.

The success is evident with the attendance of over 400,000 visitors a year coinciding with the fact that young people have found access to employment within the park.

The reality is that a small non-profit with limited resources continues to face financial challenges to keep up with costs and the deferred maintenance this park has had since the agreement was put in place and the attempts to publicly persecute Mr. Frazier began. This has resulted in inability to attract sponsors and private donors.

Logan Park, Woodward Park, East Rotary Park, and Roeding Park featuring fiscal Year 2023 City Budget Proposals. Granite Park was not allocated any funds for 2023. Source: Mayor’s Proposed Fiscal Year Budget 2023 Photo Credits: Anthony Corda

Granite Park is a unique community asset and facility that the city should support. It is self-evident that the need for green spaces like this park was something the community wanted to invest in with the passage of Measure P.

The measure approved by Fresno voters allocates approximately $40 million per year in funds for parks, including maintenance, improvements, and operations, but apparently the city does not feel that Granite Park is deserving of the investment.

Even though CVCSF has proven that they can do a lot with a little bit, this doesn’t warrant the city’s neglect of what can be a true jewel in the city and our region. We should be proud of what Granite Park offers to children and families in our community.

However, the actions of the City of Fresno further underscore the points made in Mr. Frazier’s federal lawsuit against the city, alleging breach of contract, retaliation, and racial discrimination.

Unfortunately, the retaliatory actions by the city just continue by failing to come to the table to address the needs of the park and the continued attempts to put him in a bad light by going to the press to make something out of nothing.

The bottom line is that there is no park or sport facility that can operate with a mere $150,000. The community must become aware of the City of Fresno’s failure to be a real partner in the agreement to ensure Granite Park is successful and its attempt to target the individual, Mr. Frazier, who has stayed committed to ensuring the park thrives, even if it costs him his own money and reputation.

His commitment has no price tag because he personally understands the value of a park. It was a park that saved him from the streets and provided him a ticket out of poverty. He is now paying it forward.

Terance Frazier and the City of Fresno Seal imposed over a daytime photo of Granite Park Baseball Field. Photo Credit: Frazier’s Instagram, Your Central Valley

“Do you know the old saying it takes a village to raise a kid? I think the people should know that we are all in this together,” Frazier said regarding the mater.

The remaining question is, when will the City of Fresno own its wrongdoing and put the community first and over politics?