PARLIER – A project to rejuvenate Veterans Park has made a significant step forward, and will soon be able to get its feet off the ground.
At the July 17 city council meeting, Parlier council members authorized City Manager Aaron Palmer to issue a task order for reconstruction efforts at Veterans Park. The funding for this project will be coming from a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant of just under $587,000, which the city secured last month, and will be put towards revitalizing the park’s baseball fields and overall safety.
“The two fields in Veteran’s Park are some of the only ones we have inside the city,” said Javier Andrade, city engineer for the city of Parlier. “It’s really important that we get those up and running the way they’re supposed to be since the community uses them every year. They’re a really valuable asset to the city.”
The city applied for the grant back in 2023 after the park suffered extensive damage from flooding caused by winter storms that occurred in March of that year. Rainfall caused the park’s basin to be filled beyond capacity, and it was ponded for weeks.
Once the flooding subsided, the city made efforts to make temporary fixes to sidewalks, damaged irrigation and caving, but this funding will help finish those efforts and bring the park back to its former glory. However, the park’s fields are still riddled with dips and uneven terrain that make it hard for teams to play, and some of the park’s irrigation systems still aren’t fully working.
The authorization to issue a work order now means that the city can receive bids and begin planning. Andrade predicts that if all goes well, work can begin and reach completion within the next four months.
The funds are expected to be disbursed any day now, and the grant will fully fund the project. Palmer and city engineers will be coordinating with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and ensure compliance with federal requirements.
