City will dedicate Martin Ray Reilly Park on Saturday

The Fresno City Council is making plans for a long-awaited celebration at the city’s newest park.

Council members also are aiming for upgrades at several of Fresno’s older parks.

“This has been a good day for our parks,” Council President Oliver Baines said at the end of Thursday’s meeting.

Council Member Clint Olivier started things by inviting his colleagues and Fresnans to Saturday’s dedication of Martin Ray Reilly Park in southeast Fresno.

The park is at Chestnut Avenue and Highway 180. Festivities begin at 10:30 a.m. and will include entertainment.

The park “is a long-time coming,” said Olivier, who represents the area. “It’s going to be a great amenity for the people who live in the area and the entire city.”

City Manager Bruce Rudd, a former parks director, said City Hall is committed to improving Fresno’s parks system.

“Investment in our parks is investment in our neighborhoods,” Rudd said.

Efforts to make the Martin Ray Reilly Park a reality date back more than four years to when Henry T. Perea (now an Assemblymember) was the area’s council representative. A state grant of more than $3 million was enough to begin construction. The challenge was finding money during the Great Recession to maintain the park.

Such money was in short supply, so the park remained in the planning stage. The economy improved, city purse strings were loosened and Wal-Mart donated $10,000 to help with upkeep.Saturday’s party is proof that City Hall is serious about bringing green space to underserved neighborhoods, Olivier and Rudd said.

Rudd noted that two other parks often getting more talk than action — Universally Accessible Park west of Highway 99 and Cultural Arts District Park in downtown — will soon become reality. Both parks are also getting money from the state.

Parks Director Manuel Mollinedo went to the public microphone about an hour later to request the council’s OK to ask the state for $1.3 million in grants. The money would be used at four parks:

The council quickly gave its approval, but not until Rudd took a moment to praise the work of grant writer Irma Yepez-Perez.

In other action, the council:

This story was originally published January 29, 2015 at 11:32 AM with the headline "City will dedicate Martin Ray Reilly Park on Saturday."