Mayor Lee Brand released the following statement on the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas last night:
“I want to offer my condolences and prayers to everyone affected by this act of madness. This senseless tragedy has shocked our nation, and we should be grateful for the quick response by Las Vegas police and emergency responders. My heart goes out to the victims of this deadly shooting as well as their families, and we pray for a speedy recovery for all those injured.”
Mayor Lee Brand and City Manager Wilma Quan-Schecter today announced that Jim Schaad has been named the City of Fresno’s new Director of Transportation, effective September 25, 2017. Schaad, who had been serving as Assistant Director for the Department of Transportation, replaces interim Transportation Director Bruce Rudd.
“We are fortunate to have someone of Jim’s experience and ability joining our team,” City Manager Quan-Schecter said. “He’s shown superior skill in managing complex transportation projects and he’ll make an excellent addition to our leadership team.”
Schaad served as an assistant director for the Transportation Department for the past 6 years, where he was responsible for the Department’s capital projects and maintenance operations. He recently led efforts on the City’s Bus Rapid Transit line, which is expected to start service in the first quarter of 2018.
He entered the public sector 15 years ago, where he began managing ongoing operations and capital projects for the City of Fresno’s Fleet Management Division. Prior to civil service, Schaad spent 16 years managing various manufacturing operations in the private sector. He has also taught at California State University, Fresno as an adjunct professor for the last 18 years.
Schaad has a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology from California State University, Fresno and a Master’s in Business Administration from Portland State University. He and his wife Lynn have been married for 28 years and have two adult children.
Mayor Lee Brand released the following statement on the Trump Administration’s announcement on DACA:
“I have consistently called for immigration reform, including joining my Council colleagues in December 2015 to unanimously support comprehensive immigration legislation, so I appreciate the fact that the President has given Congress a six-month window to act on this important issue.
“I would also ask Congress to immediately begin work on a bipartisan approach that provides a permanent solution to give children who were brought here by their parents the opportunity to become productive citizens, the same way most of our ancestors did when they came to this great country. America’s legacy is built on the hopes of immigrants, and our nation’s future depends on finding a full and fair resolution to our immigration issues.”
City of Fresno offices will be closed in observance of Labor Day on Monday, September 4. The delivery of some City services may be affected by the holiday as well. Please see the list below for details.
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 payments only all day Monday. New business tax online application submittals may be made throughout the Labor Day holiday.
City Clerk’s Office: Closed.
City Hall Offices: Closed.
Development and Resource Management: Closed.
Dog License Division: Closed.
Finance Offices: Offices closed. Business Tax TOT (only) Web Renewal and new business tax online application submittals may be made throughout the Labor Day holiday.
Fire/Police Departments: Administrative offices and public counters closed. Normal operations otherwise.
Fresno Area Express: Administrative offices closed; Weekend bus routes/schedules 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 Monday. Office closed for citation payments on Monday, September 4.
Parks and Recreation (PARCS): Administrative offices closed. Park facilities and recreation centers operating with the normal schedule.
Personnel: Closed. Online applications accepted at www.fresno.gov/jobs.
Public Utilities: Offices closed.
Public Works: Offices closed.
Purchasing: Office closed; Bids Online available for bids and vendor registration.
Residential Solid Waste: Administrative offices closed. Normal residential and commercial collection schedule; for questions regarding the 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.) Online and phone transactions will be available for utility payments.
For urgent matters during the Labor Day holiday, please call 621-CITY (2489) or use our FresGO mobile app.
Mayor Lee Brand introduced the new Independent Police Reviewer for the Office of Independent Review (OIR), John A. Gliatta, at a press conference this morning at City Hall. Gliatta comes to the City of Fresno from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, where he worked as a Crime Analyst for their Patrol Division.
Mr. Gliatta has an extensive history working in law enforcement having spent 27 years working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. While with the FBI, Gliatta worked as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Sacramento FBI office and also served as Assistant Inspector at the FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. where he handled compliance inspections as well as investigations of Special Agent-involved shooting and internal affairs allegations.
“We need to engage residents and bring them to the table to help build trust with the men and women who have sworn to protect them and the first step in that process was to hire a new Independent Police Reviewer, one that would live and work full time right here in Fresno,” said Mayor Brand. “I’m pleased to say that we’ve found the right man to help us.”
Mr. Gliatta is a graduate of West Virginia University Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, he also completed training at the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy in Quantico, Virginia as well as FBI training in Diversity, Crisis Management, Ethics and Integrity and Civil Rights Investigations.
Mayor Brand also announced the members of his newly formed Citizens’ Public Safety Advisory Board. The nine-member board was created by the mayor to enhance trust, accountability and transparency and promote higher standards of service in the Fresno Police Department.
Members of the board were selected with the goal of reflecting the diversity of the community. Board members range in age from 26-71 years of age and come from six of the seven council districts. Debbie Hunsaker, a business owner, will act as president of the board. Hunsaker will be joined by Pastor Jim Parks, attorney Amy Guerra, retired bank executive Vernon Crowder, business consultant Avis Braggs, Fresno County Staff Analyst Ike Grewal, businesswoman Monica Diaz and students Michael Kou Vang and Clifford Williams III.
Among the duties of the board is to advise the OIR in helping to define, assess and further develop Community Policing citywide, monitoring and developing performance metrics to measure effectiveness of Community Policing, and reviewing all legally available information regarding policies, practices and procedures of the Police Department and make recommendations to the OIR.
Mayor Brand added, “Ultimately, both the Independent Police Reviewer and the Citizens Public Safety Advisory Board will work together to increase public confidence in our Police and will help make Fresno safer for our citizens as well as for the brave men and women who protect and serve us.”
The City of Fresno announced today that it will open the northern and southern “superblocks” of Fulton Street to traffic in late August with the grand re-opening and celebration of the entire Fulton Street Reconstruction Project set for Saturday, October 21, 2017. The northern super block is the section of Fulton Street that runs between Tuolumne and Fresno Streets, while the southern super block is the section of Fulton Street between Tulare and Inyo Streets.
Crews are currently working on the central superblock which is Fulton Street between Fresno Street and Tulare Street.
The reopening of Fulton Street to traffic represents a significant milestone in the revitalization of downtown Fresno. The reconstructed Fulton Street will have two-way traffic, on-street parking and wide pedestrian-friendly sidewalks. The project also includes the restoration and reinstallation of all of the existing Fulton art pieces and 16 of the 21 original water features.
“It’s thrilling to finally see the light at the end of the project,” said Fresno City Manager Wilma Quan-Schecter. “As someone who has lived and breathed this adventure from the very beginning, I can promise you that witnessing Fulton Street finally come to life will be a special event that will mark the rebirth of our downtown and the rejuvenation of our great city.”
The original Fulton Street was converted into a six-block pedestrian mall in 1964 but the Fulton Mall began to decline in the late ‘80s as Fresno grew to the north. Like many pedestrian malls around the country, the Fulton Mall has long since been plagued by high vacancy rates, declining foot traffic and vagrancy.
Cities that have removed their pedestrian malls have seen an increase in activity on those previously closed streets due to the increased foot and vehicular traffic. Fresno has already seen a renewed interest from potential merchants on Fulton Street with over $100 million in private investment added since the announcement was made to reopen the street to traffic
New Fresno City Manager Wilma Quan-Schecter begins her post today, July 10, 2017, replacing Bruce Rudd, who is wrapping up 41 years of service to the City of Fresno. Mrs. Quan-Schecter is the first woman to hold the top administrative post at Fresno City Hall.
Mrs. Quan-Schecter previously served as both assistant city manager and deputy city manager where she was instrumental in the Fulton Street Reconstruction Project and negotiated numerous agreements for the City, including joint use agreements with Fresno and Central Unified School Districts to expand Fresno’s open space. Prior to her time in the City Manager’s Office, she was the Urban Planning Specialist with the City’s Downtown and Community Revitalization Department where she served as the project manager for the Fresno HSR Station Area Master Plan, the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan, and the Downtown Development Code. Prior to joining the City of Fresno, Mrs. Quan-Schecter worked for the California Department of Transportation.
She was raised in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area and earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Penn State University and her Master of Business Administration from California State University, Fresno. Mrs. Quan-Schecter is married to Dr. David Schecter and has two sons.
Mr. Rudd will serve as interim PARCS Director until a new director can be hired and remain will part of the Administration as an adviser through the end of the year.
The National Weather Service in Hanford has forecasted the temperature to be at, or above, 105°F in Fresno for Friday, July 7th through Sunday, July 9th, 2017. Therefore the City of Fresno Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services Department (PARCS) will be opening its cooling centers during this time.
Cooling centers will be open at the following locations:
In addition, the City’s FAX bus system will provide free transportation along normal routes to and from cooling center sites when the centers are open. To ride free, residents must indicate they are traveling to a cooling center.
Individuals should refer to the FAX schedule to determine the final evening departure time for buses providing service near cooling center locations. The FAX schedule is available on the City’s website.
Please note that the following City of Fresno swimming pools are free for recreational swim from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday:
Residents may also take advantage of the new Blue Space program, a partnership between the City of Fresno and the Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) that provides recreational swim and swim lessons at Fresno high school swimming pools.
FUSD swimming pools that will be open on Friday July 7th are:
Hoover High School from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Roosevelt High School from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00p.m.
McLane High School from 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
These pools, along with the pools at Fresno High, Sunnyside High and Edison High School will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
All City and FUSD pools will be open and free of charge due to the cooling centers being open.
For more information on our cooling centers please visit our website
Mayor Lee Brand released the following statement on the passing of Poverello House founder Mike McGarvin:
“As I have said many times before, collaboration makes things happen and Mike McGarvin was Fresno’s symbol of collaboration. When poverty and homelessness seemed impossible to change, ‘Papa Mike’ showed us the way. His courage and compassion will be sorely missed and our prayers go out to his family, friends, as well as the volunteer community he led through his tireless ministry.”
City of Fresno offices will be closed in observance of Independence Day on Tuesday, July 4. The delivery of some City services may be affected by the holiday as well. Please see the list below for details.
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 payments only all day Tuesday.
City Clerk’s Office: Closed.
City Hall Offices: Closed.
Development and Resource Management: Closed.
Dog License Division: Closed.
Finance Offices: Offices closed. Business Tax TOT (only) Web Renewal and new business tax online application submittals may be made throughout the 4th of July holiday.
Fire/Police Departments: Administrative offices and public counters closed. Normal operations otherwise.
Fresno Area Express: Administrative offices closed; Weekend bus routes/schedules 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 Monday. Office closed for citation payments on Tuesday, July 4.
Parks and Recreation (PARCS): Administrative offices closed. Park facilities and recreation centers operating with normal schedule;
Personnel: Closed. Online applications accepted at www.fresno.gov/jobs.
Public Utilities: Offices closed.
Public Works: Offices closed.
Purchasing: Office closed; Bids Online available for bids and vendor registration.
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.) Online and phone transactions will be available for utility payments.
For urgent matters during the 4th of July holiday, please call 621-CITY (2489) or use our FresGO mobile app.