As city commission meets, questions remain about slow pace of Measure P funding

---

These developments occur in this context. None of 129 arts organizations and artists awarded Measure P arts grants in October 2025 have received their full allocations, according to the City’s website. In one category, about three-quarters of the 129 have received 90% of their grants and are in line to get the final 10%. (It’s customary to withhold that amount until grantees submit final paperwork.) In a second category the other quarter of the 129 still don’t have any of the Measure P money they were supposed to get. The total in both categories exceeds $1 million, according to figures previously released by the City and calculations by The Munro Review.

The City’s website showing no payments to any of the 129 is dated Sept. 15. City officials did not respond when The Munro Review asked on Oct. 22 whether any grantees had been paid since Sept. 15.

Officials in the parks department say the release of information must go through City spokesperson Sontaya Rose Schmidt. Neither she nor City Manager Georgeanne White have responded to multiple inquiries from The Munro Review in the past.

Even in the face of the City’s silence, it appears some positive movement could be occurring in the funding logjam. A small number of grantees appear close to receiving their Measure P money, according to a knowledgeable source who requested anonymity due to the ongoing tension over delays.

‘Fix this problem’

Officials in the parks department are juggling two major tasks:

•  Authorizing the release of money to 2025 grantees once the grantees secure new funding agreements with the City. That has involved parks staff meeting – sometimes more than once – with all 2025 grantees, Aaron Aguirre, parks director, said.

•  Overseeing the grant program in 2026, when nearly $6.5 million will be available to successful applicants. The deadline for applications closed Sept. 30, and it’s unclear on the City’s website how many nonprofit arts organizations and artists will compete for a share of the $6.5 million.

The Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission provides oversight of the process, as intended by Measure P, which has a 30-year span. The Commission’s nine members (there’s currently one vacancy) are appointed by Mayor Jerry Dyer. At the Oct. 12 meeting, McCoy said again that she preferred for all 2025 grantees to receive their funding before the City launched the process for Cycle Three in 2026. But that didn’t happen.

“I appreciate all the work that has been done [by parks staff], but it’s still delaying the payments to Cycle Two. I hope we can fix this problem soon,” McCoy said.

In response, MacNab, the assistant parks director, asked the Commissioners for “a little consideration” because of problems that have arisen. Parks staff “may have found things that we can’t reimburse for because they were not part of the grant,” she said on Oct. 12. “We are holding folks accountable to what they committed to.”

McCoy responded: “Cycle Two grantees had nothing to do with the embezzlement, but it sounds like they’re not so much being reprimanded but having feet held to the fire for certain requirements that weren’t requirements before.” She added she worries that some unpaid Cycle Two grantees won’t qualify for new grants in Cycle Three because “they’re still trying to get their paperwork together. I think that’s unfair to the artist community.”

MacNab told the Commission that some grantees don’t have receipts that would show Measure P money was properly spent. “I understand the frustration [of grantees], but there are minimum requirements when dealing with public funds,” she said.

The parks department has set Oct. 31 as a deadline for 2025 grantees to submit all documents necessary to process payment of the grants.

Hunt for receipts

Parvin Malek, president/director of the Iranian Culture and Art Club, told the Commission on Oct 12 that the receipts became a problem once the City took over administration of the arts grants in the middle of Cycle Two. The club was awarded a $33,877 grant in 2025, received 90% and is now awaiting the last 10%. It used the money for cultural events and language classes.

In an interview, Malek said the City insisted on detailed receipts on how the club spent its 2025 grant money. That was different from 2024 when the Fresno Arts Council was running the grants program; the Arts Council didn’t ask for receipts when her club received its first Measure P grant.

She said she had some but not all financial documents related to her club’s 2025 grant expenditures. Frustrated that she had failed on her own to find the necessary documents, Malek told the Commission on Oct. 12: “I’m done.”

The Munro Review has no paywall but is financially supported by readers who believe in its non-profit mission of bringing professional arts journalism to the central San Joaquin Valley. You can help by signing up for a monthly recurring paid membership or make a one-time donation of as little as $3. All memberships and donations are tax-deductible.

But then on Oct. 19, she met with staff at the parks department and the staff helped her find necessary receipts, she said. Those receipts were for new dance costumes, artistic fees and sound equipment such as an extra cordless mic, Malek said.

“The meeting [with parks staff] went well. I believe they decided to go easier on us,” she said, and she now expects to receive the last 10% of its 2025 grant. City officials did not respond when asked about her account of events.

Malek said she understands the stance of City officials: “I know they have the right [to require receipts] because of all the cheating that happened [at the Arts Council]. But I think they should have started in Cycle Three. Not for Cycle Two.”

Meanwhile, McCoy reported at the Oct. 12 meeting that 111 people applied to serve on a review committee that will score 2026 grant applications. Thirty of the 111 will be chosen – and then divided into panels – with panel members each receiving $500. Paying them is new, and officials have justified that change by saying that panel members will spend at least 38 hours scoring applications.

The Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission will make final selections of the 30 after receiving recommended names from the Commission’s Cultural Arts Subcommittee. McCoy and Commissioners Jose Leon Barraza and McKay Duran are on the Subcommittee.