City of Fresno offices will be closed in observance of Veterans Day on Wednesday, November 11.  The delivery of some City services may be affected by the holiday as well.  Normal operations will resume on Thursday, November 12.  Here is the schedule for City of Fresno operations for the holiday:

Airports:  Administrative offices closed;  Terminal, concessions and airlines normal operations otherwise.

Business License:  Office closed.  The Business Tax Web Renewal will be available for TOT (only) and new business tax online application submittals will be available throughout the Veterans Day holiday.

City Clerk’s Office:  Closed.

City Hall Offices:  Closed.

Code Enforcement:  Closed.

Dog License Division:  Closed.

Finance Offices:  Offices closed.Business Tax TOT (only) Web Renewal and new business tax online application submittals will be available throughout the Veterans Day holiday.

Fire/Police Departments:  Administrative offices and public counters will be closed.  Normal operations otherwise.

Fresno Area Express:  Administrative offices closed.  Sunday bus routes/schedule in effect.  Call 621-7433 for details.  FAX route maps and schedules are available on the City’s website.

Parking Division:  No enforcement at parking meters and City parking facilities on Veterans Day.  Office closed for citation payments.  Online services available at www.fresno.gov/parking.

Parks and Recreation (PARCS):  Administrative offices closed.  Woodward and Roeding Parks will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.  Holiday parking fee of $7 per car will be collected.  All other parks will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  Field and park lights are turned off at 5:00 p.m.  Picnic shelters, recreation centers, and the Regional Sports Complex remain closed due to COVID-19.

Personnel:  Closed. Online applications accepted at www.fresno.gov/jobs.

Planning and Development:  Office closed.  Permit applications can be submitted, and progress can be monitored, online through our FAASTER portal at any time during the Veterans Day holiday.

Public Utilities:  Offices closed.

Public Works:  Offices closed.

Purchasing:  Office closed; Bid opportunities and updated information are available on the City’s website, under the “For Businesses” tab, then click on bid opportunities.

Rental Housing:  Closed

Residential Solid Waste:  Administrative offices closed.  Normal residential and commercial collection schedule; for questions regarding residential solid waste collection, please call the Solid Waste Management Division at (559) 621-1452.

Utility Payments:  Payment counters closed (Fresno City Hall and Manchester Center) remain closed due to COVID-19.  Online and phone transactions available for utility payments.

For urgent matters during the Veterans Day holiday, please call 3-1-1 or use our FresGO mobile app.

The City of Fresno today announced that the Planning and Development Department will offer limited appointments at its public services counter in the Building Division and Current Planning Division, effective Monday, October 26, 2020.  Appointments will be taken for Tuesdays and Wednesday only between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and limited to 15-20 minutes per customer.  Drop off and pick of plans will still occur at First Floor entrance only.

Building & Safety services shall include the following items only:

HVAC Changeouts

Re-roof permits

Water heaters

Electric panel change outs

Planning services shall include the following items only:

General inquiries regarding zoning or property information

General inquiries regarding the application and approval process

Public document viewing

Application submittal assistance

Zone Clearance submittal

Customers are still encouraged to conduct as much business as possible by phone or online. Permit applications can be submitted, and progress can be monitored, through our FAASTER portal at https://www.fresno.gov/darm, then clicking Submit, Review or Search for an Application.

If you have any questions on scheduling an appointment please contact Kristine Longoria, Building, at 559-621-8082 or Cecilia Lopez, Planning at 621-8054.

Please note that meetings regarding specific projects that are under review will not be conducted in person, and are to be conducted virtually only.

“Our highest priority remains keeping our community and our employees safe,” said Fresno City Manager Wilma Quan. “We continue to work closely with the County and State Health Departments to support a safe and responsible reopening of the services available at City Hall.”

The City will implement health and safety guidelines recommended by public health authorities to reopen safely and responsibly, including, but not limited to:

·       Physical distancing to the maximum extent possible, including the installation of protective barriers at front counters and social distancing floor markings

·       Requiring customers to use personal face coverings inside City buildings

·       Requiring employees to use personal face coverings when interacting with customers and when physical distancing is not possible between employees

·       Frequent handwashing and regular cleaning and disinfection of surfaces

·       Posting of recommend behaviors for employees and visitors in prominent areas

In an effort to limit the amount of interpersonal contact, the City continues to offer a variety of options for anyone wishing, or needing, to conduct business with the City of Fresno. See the City’s website at www.fresno.gov for more information.

Constituents are encouraged to visit www.cdc.gov to learn more about COVID-19 and follow the Fresno County Department of Public Health for regular updates.

The City of Fresno’s Economic Development Department announced today that it will begin accepting applications for a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) that will provide critical gap financing to small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Fresno.  The City was awarded $830,000 in CARES Act Recovery Assistance funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) earlier this year.

“I am pleased with the progress the City is making on investing our CARES Act funds to provide much-needed relief to our residents and businesses,” said Fresno Mayor Lee Brand.  “We must continue to support our local business owners as they meet the financial challenges of this crisis and provide the assistance they need to stay open and remain active.”

The individual loans offered through this program range between $10,000 and $100,000 and are designed to be easier to qualify for than traditional loans.  Businesses located in the City of Fresno that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible to apply through the Cen Cal Business Finance Group, which is administering the RLF.

“The City of Fresno’s Economic Development Team is proud of the success we have had in assisting our small businesses throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic and we are excited to be able to offer even further support through this new Revolving Loan Fund Program,” said Economic Development Director Lupe Perez.  “It is my hope that this money will help businesses to grow and be successful as we all learn to adapt to a new way of doing business.”

Frank Gallegos, Executive Director of Cen Cal Business Finance Group, added,  “We at Cen Cal Business Finance are excited for the opportunity to support Fresno’s small business community with the new CARES Act RLF.  We have been assisting Fresno businesses for over 35 years and we look forward to getting this money out quickly.”

Contact Cen Cal Business Finance Group at (559) 227-1158 or [email protected] for more information.

EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) (PDF) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. For complete information, please visit our recently updated EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance page.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation’s regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.

Mayor Lee Brand and Fresno City Council have discussed how the City of Fresno will move forward with the movement of Fresno County from the State of California’s Tier 1 designation (or purple tier, the most restrictive level) to the State’s Tier 2 or red designation.  The updated tier assignment, announced by the California Department of Public Health today, allows for the opening of more businesses for indoor activity with modifications for capacity and safety protocols.

Mayor Brand and City Council stated, “The City of Fresno will be working with our local businesses to open safely, following Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and local health guidelines.  Code Enforcement will continue to focus its resources on educating our businesses to protect the public health and will reserve penalties for egregious violators not following health guidelines.

“As always, we remind our residents that, as more businesses reopen, we all need to do our part to protect ourselves and others from COVID-19 infection.  Our best defense is to continue with the existing health and safety protocols—wear a mask, keep a safe distance from others and wash your hands frequently.”

City Manager Wilma Quan today released the following statement with respect to public concerns over the report made by the Office of Independent Review (OIR) regarding the London Wallace incident:

“In order to address public comments over the issue of transparency, I have consulted with our Independent Reviewer and he has agreed to publish a special supplement to the 2020 2nd Quarter Office of Independent Review report outlining his review of the London Wallace incident.  We both felt this was the best course of action to provide clarity and to satisfy concerns from not only the public but from our elected officials. 

“As with all OIR reports, documents cannot be released without a review by our legal counsel to ensure that both the rights of the complaining party and the officers involved are protected.  This due diligence is necessary to protect the City of Fresno from further liability and with this process in mind, the report will be released no later than the end of next week.  This is a unique situation and future releases will conform to the normal quarterly OIR report schedule.”

The City of Fresno and the Poverello House today unveiled a new installation at the non-profit service provider that replaces the Tuff Sheds used for housing with 30 new pallet shelters designed and built by people with life experience as homeless individuals.  In addition to the Village of Hope project, the Poverello House also plans to expand its navigation and case management services, all funded completely by private sector donations.

The 30 new pallet shelters, made with highly durable insulated composite panels, provide a safe and dignified space of 100 square feet with a structural floor, roof, walls, folding bunk beds, lockable door and six opening windows with screens.  Each shelter is also equipped with heating and air conditioning, battery operated carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and fire extinguisher and will house two individuals, or in the event of an emergency declaration, up to four homeless individuals.

These new units also meet the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) standards for emergency shelter beds and could be included as shelter units in the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care’s annual Point in Time count.  The total investment for the new pallet shelter project is $340,000.

“We have neglected our homeless housing issue for far too long and the pandemic finally brought us to take action and replace the old sheds with new shelters that treat the people using them with dignity and respect,” said Fresno Mayor Lee Brand. “I’m also pleased that so many organizations stepped forward to donate to this important project and invest in the well-being of our most vulnerable residents.”

Under former Mayor Alan Autry, the City of Fresno partnered with the Poverello House in 2002 to place temporary Tuff Sheds on the Poverello House campus to house nearly 120 people living on the streets as a temporary measure until a long term solution was found.  18 years later, the temporary Tuff Sheds were still in place, so the Poverello House, under the new leadership of Executive Director Zack Darrah, made the replacement of these uninhabitable units one of its top priorities.

In addition to the new shelter units, the Poverello House will also put a strong focus on case management and focused navigation by hiring additional navigators/case managers to develop a long term housing plan to move these individuals from temporary shelter to permanent housing.  The Poverello House will also begin conducting targeted outreach daily to encourage those that are homeless to utilize available shelter beds in the Fresno area.

“Even during these very difficult times, the generosity of the community, and our funding partners has been overwhelming,” said Zack Darrah, CEO of the Poverello House . “It does not matter how long it took to replace these shelter units, the task is finally complete, and as we look forward, rest assure, the Poverello House is totally committed to serving those most vulnerable every day of every year, until the need is no longer there.”

Total funds raised for this project, including shelters, increased services, and other long term costs associated with this effort was $903,500, with support coming from the following private sector funding sources:

CalViva                                                                                
Donald E. Gumz Trust                                                       
Bank of America                                                                
Packard Foundation                                                         
Isnardi Foundation                                                           
Rotary Foundation        
Wells Fargo            
Central Valley Community Foundation                 
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The City of Fresno and the Commission for Police Reform (CPR) today announced a comprehensive public outreach campaign to gather input from residents on different aspects of police operations, procedures and policies in response to local and national demands for changes in policing.

The Community Input Sub-Committee of the Commission has created a website at www.fresno-cpr.com that includes a list of CPR members, along with schedules, agendas, minutes and recordings of committee and sub-committee meetings, and contact information for the Commission.

It also features an on-line survey facilitated by the Sociology Department at California State University, Fresno to facilitate questions about respondents’ personal views, experiences, and opinions about policing in Fresno.  The survey, which is anonymous and should take no more than 10 minutes to complete, is available in English, Spanish, Hmong, Punjabi and Arabic.  

Individuals who complete the survey will be able to reply with their comments in a text box following each question. The survey has a time limit for completion and will only allow one submission from the same IP address.  The commission will use the responses to help identify reform recommendations to the City Council for consideration.

Here are the links to the surveys:
English: bit.ly/cprsurvey-e

Spanish: bit.ly/cprsurvey-s

Hmong: bit.ly/cprsurvey-h (Translation pending. Link will be active on Monday)
Punjabi: bit.ly/cprsurvey-p

Arabic: bit.ly/cprsurvey-a

Members of the CPR Community Input Sub-Committee will be available for interviews on the public outreach campaign.  For more information, email [email protected].

City of Fresno offices will be closed in observance of Labor Day on Monday, September 7, 2020.  The delivery of some City services may be affected.  Normal operations will resume on Tuesday, September 8.  Here is the schedule for City of Fresno operations for the holiday:

Airports:  Administrative offices closed;  Terminal, concessions and airlines normal operations otherwise.

Business License:  Office closed.  The Business Tax Web Renewal will be available for TOT (only) and new business tax online application submittals will be available throughout the Labor Day holiday.

City Clerk’s Office:  Closed.

City Hall Offices:  Closed.

Code Enforcement:  Closed.

Dog License Division:  Closed.

Finance Offices:  Offices closed.  Business Tax TOT (only) Web Renewal and new business tax online application submittals will be available throughout the Labor Day holiday.

Fire/Police Departments:  Administrative offices and public counters will be closed.  Normal operations otherwise.

Fresno Area Express:  Administrative offices closed.  Sunday bus routes/schedule in effect.  Call (559) 621-7433 for details.  FAX route maps and schedules are available on the City’s website.

Parking Division:  No enforcement at parking meters and City parking facilities on Labor Day.  Office closed for citation payments.  Online services available at www.fresno.gov/parking.

Parks and Recreation (PARCS):  Administrative offices closed.  Woodward and Roeding Parks will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.  All other parks will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.  Some parks amenities such as picnic shelters and playground equipment, as well as recreation centers and the Regional Sports Complex remain closed due to COVID-19.

Personnel:  Closed. Online applications accepted at www.fresno.gov/jobs.

Planning and Development:  Office closed.  Permit applications can be submitted, and progress can be monitored, online through our FAASTER portal at any time during the Labor Day holiday.

Public Utilities:  Offices closed.

Public Works:  Offices closed.

Purchasing:  Office closed; Bid opportunities and updated information are available on the City’s website, under the “For Businesses” tab, then click on bid opportunities.

Rental Housing:  Closed

Residential Solid Waste:  Administrative offices closed.  Normal residential and commercial collection schedule; for questions regarding residential solid waste collection, please call the Solid Waste Management Division at (559) 621-1452.

Utility Payments/Business Tax:  Payment counters closed (Fresno City Hall and Manchester Center) remain closed due to COVID-19.  Online and phone transactions available for utility payments.

For urgent matters during the Labor Day holiday, please call 3-1-1 or use our FresGO mobile app.