State grant slated for new city athletic field.

Pico Avenue’s Carols Aguilar Field is set to receive a dynamic facility enhancement shortly, as a state grant was awarded to construct a new soccer field.

The city of El Centro’s successful receipt of a California Youth Soccer and Recreation Development Program grant resulted in an award of $960,000 on Friday with the help from Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia (D-56th), chair of the California State Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife.

The competitive grant was eased through the California Department of Parks and Recreation from funds made available through Proposition 40, a $2.6 billion bond passed by state voters in March 2002.

“This significant infusion of state dollars is far more than an investment into a turf of grass; it is an investment that will pay back dividends in increased public health and quality of life for residents,” said Garcia.

Earlier in the week, the 56th Assembly District celebrated a grant for $800,339 from the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s Housing-Related Parks Program.

These funds are reserved for construction of a new park for the community of North Shore, an unincorporated, rural area that boarders the Salton Sea.

“This infusion of state funds will go a long way in bringing the North Shore Community Park project to fruition,” said Garcia. “I want to thank the Desert Recreation District and Riverside County Supervisor Manuel Perez for support to spur additional investment in outdoor recreational opportunities, particularly in disadvantaged communities that lack means to support park infrastructure.”

Also, Garcia has a bill of his own moving through the legislative process, Assembly Bill 18, the California Clean Water, Climate, Coastal Protection and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018.

The district is hopeful AB 18 will pass the Legislature and succeed onto the 2018 ballot that aims to upgrade the state’s recreational infrastructure.

“AB 18 will expand park infrastructure and safe outdoor recreational opportunities, address our state’s parks deficit and level the playing field by prioritizing investments into underserved areas, most in need of assistance,” said Garcia.

In addition, Garcia is coauthor of AB 1483, a measure that would allocate $50 million into the aforementioned California Housing-Related Parks Program. Desert Recreation District General Manager Kevin Kalman remarked this funding combined with several other grants will build a five-acre community park in North Shore and they expect to award a contract for construction this week and break ground in September.

The North Shore Community Park is the first of three planned parks in the Eastern Coachella Valley to be constructed.

Desert Recreation District is also planning community parks in the communities of Oasis and Thermal.