Former MLB player, Assemblymember defend Granite Park to Fresno City Council
In baseball parlance, Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria delivered a purpose pitch when she spoke to her old colleagues about the Granite Park Sports Complex. Soria, D-Fresno, advocated for the city-owned park, which is operated by her husband’s nonprofit, at the Fresno City Council meeting Thursday.
The city is in the process of evicting the Central Valley Community Sports Foundation — run by Terance Frazier — from the public park they’ve leased and operated for the past 10 years. The city said the nonprofit breached its lease by not sharing billboard revenue, not improving conditions and not having the proper insurance, among other reasons. CVCSF is appealing a lower court ruling favoring the eviction.
“What is the end goal here?” Soria said. “After years of litigation, enormous public expense, and countless hours spending fighting a nonprofit, what has Fresno gained? Even after the eviction, the legal disputes continue.”
She said the city should be spending more time with other problems like housing, homelessness and public safety than go after the park.
“I really don’t understand the obsession with Granite Park. Fresno has bigger problems,” Soria said.
The former Fresno City Councilmember from 2015 to 2022 identified herself a taxpayer, resident and on her own time, and not in her current role as an assemblymember.
She told The Bee that the city council can do something. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” she said.
“All we’re asking is that the council step up and tell us what they want. Is it the administration behind the eviction, or is it the council behind the eviction?” Soria said.
Several members of the public, park employees and even a former MLB player spoke on behalf of Frazier and the park. They shared stories of helping the youth, the economic impact from visiting teams, and questioned if the city could run the park as effectively.
Tom Goodwin, a 14-year MLB veteran who grew up in Fresno and played with Frazier at Fresno State, also spoke.
“Let’s give these kids the opportunity to meet their future friends, to have their dreams come true, to learn some structure, and at the end of the day become the young boys and young girls that we want them to be as they grow,” Goodwin said.
Will the council listen?
The agenda included one item related to the city’s efforts to evict CVCSF in closed session. Two city councilmembers, speaking with The Bee, offered mixed views.
“The matter has already been decided by the courts, and I’m going to respect the ruling of the courts,” said District 4 Councilmember Tyler Maxwell, who represents the area where Granite Park is located.
Miguel Arias is concerned if the city can afford to run the park.
“It’s not in the interest of taxpayers to take back control and operations of Granite Park, primarily because it’s going to divert money from our existing neighborhood parks,” Arias said.
Frazier did not speak at the meeting, but appreciated the support.
“It makes me feel like I’ve done something right in those last 10 years,” Frazier said. “Whatever the city council does today, we will be OK with that, because God has said that you’ve done your job, son. If they take the park, it’s fine. If they don’t take the park, you got to keep running the park.”
City Clerk Aller contract approved
Fresno’s new city clerk has a new contract, with a pay decrease. Earlier this month, Amy Aller became permanent city clerk after serving in the role on an interim basis since November. An attorney by trade, she joined the City Attorney’s Office last year after serving as a Fresno County prosecutor.
Aller — identified in legal documents by her prior name of Amy Cobb — will earn a base salary of $210,000, which is a step down from her interim contract of $230,000. She will also earn a $300 monthly vehicle allowance, $598 to cover State Bar renewal fees and other standard benefits. The city council approved the contract by a 7-0 vote.
She replaced Todd Stermer as interim city clerk last fall. Stermer made $153,716 while working for the city. He left for a similar role with Sacramento County earning $53,000 more.
The city clerk and city attorney are positions directly hired and fired by the Fresno City Council. Other department heads are under the control of the city manager, who works for the mayor.
Criner leaves planning commission
After six years on the planning commission, Pastor DJ Criner resigned in April.
“You’re not just a pastor of the church, you’re a pastor of a community, and those get real taxing,” said Criner, the spiritual leader at St. Rest Baptist Church. “When a daughter has a track event on Wednesday, as well as after school, and as well as parent-teacher conferences, and Bible study, I got to make sure that I take care of what God wants me to take care of. So it’s bittersweet.”
Criner served two mayors on the commission. Lee Brand appointed him in 2020, and Jerry Dyer retained his service. The commission serves the mayor’s voice on land use matters. His term was set to expire June 30, 2027.
The commission missed him. The June 17 meeting was canceled because of a lack of a quorum.
City Hall Politicker
• City Manager Georgeanne White estimates the city council adjusted the budget by $49 million through 100 motions. Mayor Jerry Dyer and his team are working to reconcile the requests to present a balanced budget — required by law — by next Tuesday.
• Two major land use items were delayed again. Councilmember Mike Karbassi removed both the Central Southeast Area Specific Plan and a rezone in southwest Fresno on Elm Avenue. A motion by Councilmember Brandon Vang to return both items to the agenda failed by separate 5-2 votes, with only Vang and Miguel Arias voting in favor.
The Elm Avenue item would rezone 55 acres in southwest Fresno from mixed-use to light industrial. Developers Buzz Oates and Span Development want to build warehouses in the area, which was once zoned for that use.
• The Fresno City Council approved $3.7 million from state grants, by a 7-0 vote, to build The Park at South Stadium. The money is part of the $80 million in both public and private funds to build the housing project. The 174-unit, eight-story building on Fulton Street behind Chukchansi Park will include both market-rate and affordable units. Developer Jeff Isenstadt called it a “benchmark for public-private partnership.” Construction will start later this year, he said.
There is no word on how building a high-rise behind the baseball stadium might affect home run patterns, but Isenstadt called it a “home run” for Fresno.
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• By a 7-0 vote on the consent agenda, the city council approved renegotiating its project labor agreement with unions for public works projects. The current five-year deal expires next January. Currently, any project valued at $1 million or greater must use union labor.
The city approved its first PLA in 2021. Both city council supporters and union leaders said the agreement would create more efficient projects and promised local hiring. A December 2024 City Hall report, though, showed local hiring was 23% to 42% off the mark depending on job class.
• The city council approved, 7-0, a new policy effective July 1 requiring that if the live video feed goes down, the meeting would stop and resume one hour later, or when the problem is fixed — whichever comes first. Meetings are carried live by CMAC on local cable systems. The city also airs a live feed on its YouTube and Facebook pages. Coincidentally, the CMAC feed went down around 12:05 p.m. during public comment. After a brief stop to fix it, the meeting continued. A new state law taking effect July 1 again allows remote participation from the public. Fresno ended the pandemic-era policy before being forced to bring it back.
• Fernando Alvarez may have lost his election for the Fresno City Council, but he still found his way to work at City Hall. He is now a field representative for City Council President Nelson Esparza.
