Despite Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea saying she wanted the city to install shade over Trolley Park before summer heat sets in, the council decided to reject construction offers and look for new solutions.

One of Fresno’s smaller parks, Trolley Park sits on a tiny triangle of land caddy corner to Fresno High School. In direct sunlight though, once the sun gets above 80 degrees, Perea said, it becomes unusable for children given the temperature of the play equipment. After the sun goes down, it also gets very dark.

Two years ago, the plan came forth to build shade over that equipment and bring new lighting. At Thursday’s meeting, however, city staff said the best path forward was to reject the received bids and go back out to market with a plan for completion by December.

That wasn’t fast enough for Perea, who wanted to see the project finished before summer.

“At around 80 degrees it’s extremely hot to the touch, so it renders it almost useless during the summer when we do hit 80-plus degrees,” Perea said. “Are there any opportunities to expedite this to where we don’t leave our kids out from having to travel across the city to a different park for three to four months out of the year?”

Bid Protests Delay Project

The city received four bids on construction for the shade structure and lighting project, with the lowest at $184,097 from Stockbridge General Contracting in Clovis, beating out the engineer’s estimate for $225,820, according to city records.

A second estimate from R.E. Schultz Construction out of Orange also beat that estimate.

A bid protest, however, sent the city scrambling to work through timeline requirements, said City Manager Georgeanne White.

“We looked at what the options were to get to the end and this is the quickest way to get to the end,” White said.

Perea said the staff will refine designs so construction will be more streamlined once construction begins.

Other councilmembers offered suggestions with Miguel Arias saying it could be called a health and safety emergency.

City Attorney Andrew Janz interjected, saying he did not want to discuss legal issues at the dais.

White said any movement forward would require rejecting all the bids.

Trolley Park First Measure P Park

At one-third of an acre, city officials cut the ribbon on Trolley Park in March 2024. Trolley Park represented the first park build with Measure P funds, costing $3.3 million. The city also used $1 million of federal COVID-19 funds and $800,000 in general fund money.

Perea said in a statement that she hopes to bring in a temporary shade structure to keep the park cool.

“Our families should not have to go through another summer without shade at a park we just invested in,” Perea said. “That is not acceptable, I understand why the bids were rejected, but I am focused on what comes next.”