Fresno Parks, Recreation, and Arts Commission Meeting – August 17, 2026

The Parks, Recreation, and Arts Commission (PRAC) met in regular session on Monday, August 17, 2026, in Council Chambers at Fresno City Hall. The agenda listed a 5:30 PM start; Chair Kimberly McCoy called the meeting to order at 5:40 PM. Five commissioners were present (McCoy, Ward, Dohlin, Duran, and Kucharski) and three were absent (Barraza, Caglia, and Miller). The meeting covered approval of the July 20, 2026 minutes, an update on the Expanded Access to Arts and Culture (EAAC) grant program, public comments, and subcommittee appointments.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of the July 20, 2026 meeting minutes (Item 26-1077): Approved unanimously, 5-0, on a motion by Commissioner Duran, seconded by Vice Chair Ward. No changes were proposed.

Public Comments & Testimony

• A speaker reported that temporary PARCS staff were notified by email that their temporary positions had ended, without any prior conversation, and described the past few weeks as very difficult.
• A speaker stated that a group with a 27-year partnership with the Parks and Recreation program was eliminated without communication.
• Parvin, an artist and grant applicant, expressed frustration with the EAAC grant process, saying grantees were asked to itemize roughly 10–20 expense items each and to go store-by-store to pull individual receipts. Parvin described the changing requirements as confusing and misdirecting, and said the process discouraged artists from participating in future public funding opportunities.
• A representative of the Juneteenth project stated that the Fresno Arts Council directed them to move forward with the project despite not having received funding, and that after submitting requested materials they were repeatedly told an additional document requirement was needed that the Arts Council and city had not communicated. The speaker said this eroded trust among artists, organizations, fiscal sponsors, and the city.

Discussion Items

• EAAC Grant Program Update (subcommittee/staff report): PARCS staff presented the status of the Expanded Access to Arts and Culture grant program. The city is working through a multi-step payment process, including using two different agreements for one project where needed to get grantees their money faster while maintaining public accountability. Staff described an internal review form that tracks reopened items and follow-up questions, twice-weekly internal meetings to resolve issues, and a dashboard updated daily at fresno.gov/EAAC, where recorded meetings are also posted. A recent session had 20 in-person attendees, and a grant-writing workshop was held on August 6. Staff plan to spend the next week developing an application tool for scoring committee members, with at least 30 days of outreach, and will send another survey after the next workshop.
• Grant administration questions: Commissioners asked whether the documentation requirements were pre-existing or newly imposed by the city. Staff responded that the city verifies where payments go and that some grantees are unresponsive, requiring repeated outreach. Eligibility is pre-screened through Submittable before applicants receive the grant application, and ineligibility determinations are documented with specific reasons for the record.
• Future of Fresno Arts Council responsibilities: A commissioner asked whether the city is in talks with another arts agency to take over the responsibilities previously handled by the Fresno Arts Council, or whether the program will remain housed in the city.
• Commissioner positions: Commissioner Dohlin echoed support for the city's handling of the grant transition, calling it a tremendous job on an unprecedented situation, and pushed back on a concern about overlap between phases two and three of the grant process, stating the overlap is not a problem at all. A commissioner questioned how grantees who had not received their full cycle-two funding could be expected to apply for cycle three. Another commissioner cautioned against delay, noting that if the work slips into October, the commission meets twice a week and time is of the essence.
• Subcommittee appointment: The Commission considered appointments to a subcommittee. A commissioner said they would have nominated Laura (Ward) but had no room on their calendar, and a commissioner noted that Commissioner Barraza, while absent, was unlikely to have a conflict of interest because he would not serve on the commission if he did. The City Attorney advised that a subcommittee has no quorum requirement and may function with two members, as it did after a prior resignation. The motion to appoint Chair McCoy, Commissioner Barraza, and Commissioner Duran, made by Commissioner Dohlin and seconded by Commissioner Kucharski, was adopted 5-0. Commissioners discussed scheduling subcommittee meetings after the 15th at 1:00 PM.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the July 20, 2026 minutes unanimously (5-0).
• Appointed Chair McCoy, Commissioner Barraza, and Commissioner Duran to the subcommittee (5-0).
• Staff will continue EAAC grant outreach, build the scoring committee application tool with at least 30 days of outreach, and schedule subcommittee meetings after the 15th at 1:00 PM.
• Chair McCoy adjourned the meeting in memory of Dr. [last name not legible in the provided materials].