Councilman pays for swimming lessons from own pocket; Fresno kids get free books | Opinion
They say bad news always comes in threes. Well, sometimes encouraging, inspirational news does too.
Goodness knows we need it.
Exhibit A: Councilman subsidizes ‘slow learners’ in the pool
Through its PARCS Department, the City of Fresno offers one free swimming lesson to kids between 3 and 17. Subsequent lessons cost $50, though city staff recommended doubling the fee to $100 – a move reflective of the current belt-tightening.
Now, thanks to the generosity of Fresno City Councilmember Nick Richardson, the families of kids who require more than one lesson to become confident swimmers won’t have to pay at all.
During the Feb. 13 council meeting, Richardson announced he would deduct $10,000 from his pay and transfer the money directly to the PARCs Department to cover the cost of 100 follow-up swimming lessons “for the slower learners like myself.”
“When I came into office (in January), I realized city council members make too much money,” Richardson said of his $111,320 annual salary, a result of council-approved increases in 2022 that raised their pay, in tiers, from $80,000.
“I don’t need that – that’s taxpayer money. So I told them to cap my pay at $100(,000) flat so the rest can be better spent somewhere else.”
Somewhere else like kids’ swimming lessons.
A former water polo player and swim coach who as a youngster needed time to gain confidence in the pool, Richardson is doing this even though his northeast Fresno constituents are the least likely to benefit. Simply because the community centers and parks that offer city aquatics programs are primarily located outside District 6 – something Richardson hopes to rectify via agreements with the Clovis Unified School District.
The reaction from Richardson’s council colleagues and City Hall denizens has ranged from surprise to unsolicited financial advice.
“One person went, ‘You should’ve donated (the $10,000) to One Fresno instead and gotten a tax write-off and then use that,’ ” Richardson said in reference to Mayor Jerry Dyer’s nonprofit. “I was like, ‘You’re missing the point, man. It’s not my money to begin with.’ ”
Richardson’s office didn’t issue a press release to publicize his pay cut, or his gift to slow-learning swimmers. That’s how you know they came from a genuine place.
Exhibit B: Free, home delivered books for Fresno kids
Starting in April, more than 1,000 Fresno County families with young children will begin receiving free age-appropriate books with their kids’ names printed on the inside that are mailed directly to their homes once a month.
Hopefully, thousands more will sign up.
After raising in excess of $400,000 in a few months, local leaders Friday announced the official launch of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a nationwide initiative that fosters childhood literacy and an early love for reading.
The program is desperately needed in these parts, where 65% of all Fresno Unified third-graders failed to read at grade level as tested in 2023.
“When a child struggles to read they also struggle to write, and that literacy gap follows them their entire academic career and beyond,” said Fresno City Councilmember Tyler Maxwell, who set aside $150,000 in federal stimulus money to kick start the effort. “A child that falls behind tends to become an adult that falls behind. And when an adult falls behind in our community, poverty, homelessness and crime all increase.
“As one of the seven people responsible for passing the city budget I can tell you with certainty that this literacy gap is catching up to us in a real way.”
Now that’s some plain truth.
Fresno County families with children between 0 and 5 can enroll their kids by registering at imaginationlibrary.com/usa/affiliate/CAFRESNO/.
Exhibit C: Affordable housing options expand
Two affordable apartment complexes that could ease the local housing crunch ever so slightly celebrated grand openings recently – and a third is on the verge of joining them.
Crossroads Village, a conversion of the former Smugglers Inn near Blackstone and Dakota avenues, offers 143 units targeted to individuals and families earning 30% below the poverty line and approved through the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care. After serving as a temporary shelter since 2021, the former motel is now permanent housing.
In Reedley, more than 30% of the 48 units at Guardian Village (built on the former Reedley Armory at 601 East 11th Street) are reserved specifically for farmworkers and families facing housing insecurity.
Next to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be the 120-unit phase one of Sarah’s Court, part of the long-awaited Fancher Creek mixed-use development in southeast Fresno.
In total, those 311 affordably priced apartments are a salvation for those who otherwise would be struggling with homelessness.
