The changes that have taken place in Friant in recent years were not at the hands of the redevelopment agency.

Federal, state and county dollars, coupled with Indian gaming money, paid for the widening of Friant Road, the main drag through town, mostly to accommodate pass-through traffic. A small shopping center and gas station were built with private money.

Today, many of the small storefronts along Friant Road sit empty. A handful of vacant space recently was filled with medical marijuana dispensaries but county authorities have since banned them.

The town's sewage is handled through private septic systems, the exception being a mobile-home park, which has its own treatment plant. Testing has confirmed that some of the systems are leaking, a concern that is amplified because of the river.

The community's population is about 500, where it's stood for at least a decade.

Downfall was imminent

Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown, aware that many of the state's redevelopment agencies weren't working, proposed shutting down the programs and directing their tax money back to other services.

But even before Brown's controversial proposal was upheld in court, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors was preparing to discontinue Friant's redevelopment agency when its term expires in December.

Brown's plan will only hasten its demise. The state has set a Feb. 1 deadline for the agencies to disband.

County public works officials are drafting plans to dissolve the agency, which they will bring to supervisors for approval this month. The board has final say over the program.

"It's a disappointment," said Supervisor Debbie Poochigian, who represents Friant and was elected well after the agency was created.

The agency, however, could have done much worse, she said. It could have created more debt, as other redevelopment programs have done.

With or without the redevelopment agency, many in Friant still hope the town gets major upgrades. Some have set their sights on the proposed Friant Ranch adult community, which calls not only for 2,500 new homes outside town but a sewage-treatment plant big enough to serve Friant.

This plan also has its problems. Among them is resistance.

While few oppose better sewage treatment for the community, not everyone wants the town to become ground zero for development.

Several legal challenges threaten to kill the Friant Ranch project.

"Friant is a semi-sleepy community," Poochigian said. "I know a lot of people who like it that way ... On the other hand, it'd be nice to have some services there so they don't have to drive to Fresno.

"The people living there are going to have to reach a happy medium. I'm not sure what that's going to be."