From left Vice Chair John O'Farrell, Sophie Fares, Director Darren Mounts, Director Ralph Carhart, and Edgar Tellez Perez. 

FAIR OAKS, CA (MPG) - At the April 16 Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District (FORPD) Board of Directors meeting, the 2024-2025 Rachel Anne Gray Memorial Scholarship winners were announced. The scholarship was established in honor of Rachel Anne Gray, who died in 2012 at age 21.

Recreation Supervisor Mary Stoakley said Gray was “a beloved community member.” Serving on the Fair Oaks Youth Advisory Board from 2006 to 2008, Gray was very involved in community and district events, and she had a significant impact on local youth leaders. 

This year’s $1,000 award was presented to Sophie Fares, a Mira Loma High School senior who plans to major in political science at University of California at Santa Cruz before pursuing a law degree. 

The $1,500 scholarship was awarded to Edgar Tellez Perez. A Bella Vista High School senior, Perez plans to study biological sciences at University of California at Santa Barbara before attending medical school. 

Stoakley said that presenting this year’s winners was a “full circle moment,” as she was a Rachel Anne Gray Memorial Scholarship recipient in high school. Over the past 11 years, 54 local students have received the scholarship, with a total of more than $40,000 awarded. 

The district’s annual Mississippi Bar Trail Run helps fund the Rachel Anne Gray Memorial Scholarship. The run is scheduled for June 7 this year and registration is open on the district website at forpd.org/422/Mississippi-Bar-Trail-Run. 

During public comment, several residents living near Bannister Park reiterated their opposition to a possible disc golf course at that location, citing concerns about safety, parking and user conflicts. However, residents said that they would like to see improvements, including a playground and picnic tables, which would bring more visitors to the park. 

One resident asked to see all district documents relating to plans for a disc golf course at Bannister Park but Director Darren Mounts clarified that there are no existing plans. He said no community outreach has been conducted yet and they are only in the discussion phase.  

Parks and Facilities Manager Sean Ventura said that a consultant has visited Bannister Park to conduct a feasibility study and that report should be submitted to the board for the next meeting. 

The board considered a $654,046 change order for paving the roadways around the district facilities in the Village, as one of the final phases of the improvement project. 

The district is responsible for paving half of each of the following roads: Fair Oaks Boulevard California Avenue, Temescal Street, Main Street and Park Avenue. The district will pave the lanes adjacent to district property, while the other half will be paved by Sacramento County at a later date.

The plans originally approved by the county were for a simple grinded overlay to the roads, with all work being done concurrently. However, the county’s recent determination is “that the road base and pavement thickness were insufficient in several areas, which forced us to move to a segmented paving approach,” said District Administrator Mike Aho. “This shift has not only increased costs but also extended the project timeline.”

The county won’t allow the roads to be fully closed during the paving process and is requiring the implementation of 24/7 traffic control, so a flagger will have to be employed at all times, even overnight. Aho said the cost for that portion of the job alone is significant, currently estimated at $250,000.

Since the county is requiring each road be completed before work on the next can begin, “the mobilization and the time involved increases substantially,” said Aho. The paving project was also bid in 2022, so labor and material costs have increased since then, adding another element to the overall cost increase. 

To fund the increase, Aho asked the board to approve the use of funding from the recent sale of the district’s cell tower leases. Unfortunately, a $1.4-million federal funding award granted to the district for 2025 through Senator Alex Padillia and the Senate Appropriations process from the Community Development Fund for Economic Development Initiatives was recently rescinded through an executive order by President Donald Trump. Aho said the district will reapply for 2026, and if re-awarded, the funding from the cell tower lease sale can be reimbursed. 

Director Ralph Carhart suggested the district should reach out to County Supervisor Rich Desmond to share their concerns about this “draconian traffic control requirement.”

If approved, the paving will start in June with an estimated completion date of Aug. 8. While the work on the buildings and parks will be completed before that, Aho said, they cannot get occupancy of the site until all work, including paving, is completed. 

The change order was approved 3-0, with Chair Delinda Tamagni and Director Raymond James Irwin absent. 

The board then considered a $300,000 increase to Bobo Construction’s contract allowance for the Village improvement project.

“We’re approaching the final stages of this renovation and Bobo has done an excellent job of navigating the weather issues, the cost increases and unforeseen site conditions,” said Aho.

The original allowance was $1.8 million, instead of the recommended $2.2 million, said Aho. This additional $300,000 will cover contingencies, reduce the risk of an overrun in the case of more unforeseen complications and prevent costly delays. 

Aho proposed that some of the funding for this increase be re-allocated from the Amphitheatre seating project, which is in its final stages and under budget. Currently, there is $138,000 available in the seating budget and, Aho said, $100,000 could be moved to the contract allowance. The other $200,000 would need to come from the cell tower lease sale funding. 

The contract allowance increase for Bobo Construction was approved 3-0. 

A proposal was presented for a new on-call theater tech position, which would serve as a backup for the full-time tech position already approved. Aho said the full-time position has been filled but the new employee has not started yet, due to the delay in opening the new Amphitheatre. 

The proposed on-call position would cover times when the full-time employee was unavailable or when more than one event was scheduled for the same day. The position would be minimum wage and funded by event costs. 

The board consensus was that the pay should be higher than minimum wage and, Aho said, they can include a pay range. 

The board approved the on-call tech position, 3-0. 

The next Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for May 21.