Four community spaces across the city will receive upgrades after the Riverside City Council voted unanimously to reallocate $1.2 million in unspent federal grant funding to the projects.
Stay up to date with the latest from The Record. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter today!
Councilmember Steve Hemenway was absent, and Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes recused herself due to her home’s proximity to one of the projects.
“Parks and community centers are some of our most important public assets, and many have gone far too long without the improvements they need,” Councilmember Steven Robillard told The Riverside Record. “This funding allows us to make meaningful upgrades without placing the burden on our local taxpayers.”
Last year, the council approved a one-year plan to allocate $8.8 million in grant funding provided by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, which included $2.8 million in Community Development Block Grant funds meant to address urgent community needs for low and moderate income residents.
With $1.2 million remaining, city staff proposed adding park and community center improvement projects to the spending plan. This move, city staff said, would directly benefit low and moderate income communities as required by the grant.
The new allocation plan includes $175,000 to refurbish worn pavement and other features at the Bobby Bonds Skatepark, $500,000 to restore the Sippy Woodhead Pool’s outdated pump system and $340,000 to install solar-powered lighting and fitness equipment at the recently-opened Tim Strack Park.
The remaining $250,000 was allocated to replacing uneven flooring at the Janet Goeske Senior Center, which Robillard said would benefit the city’s growing senior population for years to come.
“To most people it’s just a floor, but to us, it’s about the thousand of seniors who walk through our doors every year,” Danielle Stevens, executive director of the Janet Goeske Foundation, said. “Seniors have spent their lives building our community, and too often they end up feeling like they’re last in line. They shouldn’t be. They deserve a safe, beautiful place that tells them they matter.”
The four projects are set to begin in December and be completed by next spring.
The Riverside Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet providing Riverside County with high-quality journalism free of charge. We’re able to do this because of the generous donations of supporters like you!