DINUBA – The city of Dinuba has set its sights on improving a multi-purpose, open-to-all facility — if it can secure funding from the next round of the state’s Community Development Block Grant program.
Following a public hearing on Jan. 27, the Dinuba City Council voted unanimously to apply for CDBG funds with a proposed project that would make improvements to the Dinuba Sportsplex, including the installation of proper cooling and heating systems. City staff brought six project possibilities to the council, with council members all agreeing that renovations to the Sportsplex would be the best use of potential CDBG funds.
“Ever since I decided to run, Sportsplex was one of the big issues that concerned me — being involved in our sports with the youth and at the high school level for many years, having to see the puddles and the kids playing and the liability that it brings to us,” Vice Mayor Benjamin Prado said. “It’s what I’ve been behind since day one.”
Public Works Director George Avila said that of all the projects the city identified for CDBG funding, staff felt the Sportsplex would be the preferred project.
“I think the Sportsplex, we all agree, is a great facility,” Avila said. “Lots of people use it, it brings the community together, it provides a lot of recreational opportunities for city residents; however, it can get very hot in the summer, and it can get very cold in the winter.”
Formerly a 40,000-square-foot fruit packing shed, the Dinuba Sportsplex is a metal building that lacks insulation and has no air conditioning or heating system. Although the facility is used for birthday parties, recreation programs and individual playing time on its basketball and volleyball courts, soccer fields and batting cages, its infrastructure makes it difficult to be used year-round.
Avila said the city can apply for up to $3.3 million, which might not cover the full scope of work the city would like to do to the facility, but would certainly go far to add insulation, an HVAC system, new roofing and interior lighting.
Other projects city staff identified for CDBG funding included modernization of the wastewater treatment plant, sewer main improvements along Sierra Way, drainage improvements along Nebraska Avenue, streetscape improvements downtown and infrastructure improvements in the Delgado neighborhood.
For some of those projects, Avila said the city has the opportunity to seek out other funding mechanisms, which is one reason staff suggested the priority be the Sportsplex. Additionally, projects like the modernization of the wastewater treatment plant would cost far more than the $3.3 million available through the CDBG program, so the city would still have to find other funding.
Only one member of the public, Wyatt Tomlinson, spoke during the hearing. Tomlinson said he would be most in favor of downtown streetscape improvements because he felt it would have the largest potential impact in the long-term.
However, council members said the Sportsplex is a project they have wanted to see done for some time. City staff have attempted to find funding for the Sportsplex project in the past, but other grant applications have been unsuccessful so far.
If Dinuba can make these improvements to the Sportsplex, it would be able to better utilize the space and also work toward turning the Sportsplex into a facility equipped to act as an emergency shelter. Assistant City Manager Daniel James said the city is also looking into funding that would help purchase a generator so the Sportsplex could be used as a safe location in times of need.
