Next month, the historic Calwa Park will host a groundbreaking on a massive, $6.6 million renovation five years in the making.

However, the long-awaited facelift doesn’t include a highly anticipated new community pool even though the Calwa Recreation and Park District received nearly $800,000 in grants to build one.

Why?

Turnover at the district, along with planning and other roadblocks, delayed the project, said Fresno County supervisor Luis Chavez, whose district encompasses the unincorporated community. All the while, costs for the pool ballooned from $1.5 million to between $3 million and $4 million.

Parks administration told GV Wire in 2019 they planned to have the pool open by late that year. Now, Chavez says he wants to see results in 2026 or the county will claw back the $675,000 it gave to the project. Kaiser Permanente also donated $110,000.

A representative from Kaiser referred GV Wire to the parks district for comment.

Can State Funds Be Used to Build the Pool?

To complete the pool, Chavez suggested the parks district go back to the state to ask if some of the $6.6 million can be used for it.

“We’re in the space now where if we don’t get an actual written proposal with funding mechanisms to build the pool — which was what the pool funding was intended to do — then the county, myself, will be forced to be in a position where we have to actually take the money back and ensure that those dollars get spent elsewhere,” Chavez said.

Tim Chapa, administrator for the parks district, said he doesn’t know how the group will come up with the remainder of the money. He said he plans to ask supervisors to use some of the money for preparatory work so they can put out bids when the time is right.

“We’re going to need more money because the project is not going to cost $675,000,” Chapa said.

State Application Didn’t Include Pool Funding

The pool hasn’t operated since the 1980s, Chapa said. Rehabilitating the old pool would cost as much as building a new one, he said.

The parks plan would relocate it from its current location. A drawing from 2019 shows the pool as  70 feet long, 30 feet wide, with depths ranging from 3.5 feet to 5 feet deep. It would have a concrete patio with shaded tables and seats.

In 2019, the parks district celebrated the Kaiser grant because many Calwa residents don’t have pools. Then-administrator Felix Ortiz told GV Wire he expected to have the pool open by that September.

When nonprofit Building Healthy Communities helped the park apply for the $6.6 million grant from Proposition 68 in 2020, a plan was in place for the pool. But now, five years later, the district can’t use that grant money for the pool, as it’s outside the scope of the proposal, Chapa said.

Many other Prop. 68 projects researched by GV Wire included money for public pools.

Sandra Celedon, CEO of Building Healthy Communities, did not return a request for comment.

District Model Only Funding 45% of Park’s Needs

Calwa Park’s roots are in the death of child in the 1950s. Built around the Santa Fe railroad corridor, the company donated land for a community park after a child died while playing in a nearby commercial building. The park is at 4545 E. Church Ave.

To fund ongoing maintenance, the neighborhood formed the district, relying on property taxes for revenue. As the city of Fresno grew around the park, the district’s borders shrank. District revenue now meets only 45% of the parks’ needs, Chavez said.

People come from around the city, Sanger, Parlier, and Selma to play at the park’s soccer fields, he said. The community center holds regular Zumba classes.

Today, swings in the play center lack seats, slides have cracks and holes. One of the slides is boarded up.

Chavez said he gave the district board the option to deed the park to the city of Fresno, qualifying it for Measure P money. The board turned down that option, opting for autonomy, he said.

“It’s not sustainable, it’s not anymore where back in the 50s and 60s where there was a couple of hundred kids that would go from the neighborhood and play there. We literally have thousands and thousands of people that congregate to the park every weekend,” Chavez said.

When the district applied for the Prop. 68 money, Building Healthy Communities hosted public meetings asking what residents wanted for the park.

The new plan would add shade trees, a walking path, skate park, and a shaded play and picnic area. A rocket ship deemed historic by California would be relocated to the front, Chapa said.

They’ll also have an area for farmers markets.

Chapa, who took the role in 2023 after retiring from his job as Sanger city manager, said the five years has been spent finding a bidder because of escalating costs.

The construction contract will cost $4 million. The remainder of the money went to estimating costs, bidding, and construction management, Chapa said.

“We’re going to get what we asked for with the contract that we signed,” Chapa said.

Projects Have Until 2028 to Finish

Calwa’s situation isn’t unique.

In December 2021, the city of Woodlake received $8.5 million from Prop. 68 to build a skate plaza, soccer, baseball, and softball fields, two playgrounds, and community gardens. Woodlake’s website advertises the park as coming in 2025, but a call to the parks department revealed work wouldn’t begin until 2026.

An official there said the original bids came in high. Inflation since 2021 has reduced the scope of the improvements, the official added.

The Fruitridge Park Community & Aquatic Center in Sacramento received $7.4 million in December 2021 to build a soccer field, two futsal courts, and renovate the aquatic center. Work began a few weeks ago, a parks member told GV Wire.

Under Prop.68, grant recipients have until 2028 to complete projects.

Those long delays cost as inflation diminishes the value of money, Chavez said. Estimates of $1 million to $2 million regularly come back 18% higher than they would have been, he said.

“There’s essentially a scarcity of workers, construction workers, and what that’s done is driven up the cost of simple construction projects, mid-size construction projects, and large construction projects,” Chavez said.