Hanford Insider: Recreation Roulette with Brad Albert

Something big is happening in Hanford this spring, and it’s not just the warmer weather. We’re seeing new signs go up in old buildings, downtown events filling the calendar, and parks gearing up for the months when everyone wants to be outside. I’m your host Rob Bentley, and I start with quick community notes, then share can’t miss dates like the downtown parade celebrating Sierra Pacific’s girls basketball state championship, the annual shredding event, and the downtown Hanford car show.

Then I’m joined by Brad Albert, Hanford’s Director of Parks and Community Services, for a fast paced round of “Recreation Roulette” updates. We talk Freddie the Firetruck rides, carousel rentals, and new ways to use Civic Park for private groups. Brad also breaks down the urban forest grant, including the urban forest master plan, a full inventory of publicly owned trees, an on call arborist team, and why Hanford’s canopy loss is showing up mostly on private property. If you care about livability, shade, walkability, and long term city planning, this is the kind of local government work that quietly changes daily life.

We also get the latest on the Plunge repairs, what it takes to reopen a slide regulated as a California attraction, and how staffing and maintenance planning can prevent future closures. Brad shares Winter Wonderland numbers and how net revenue gets reinvested back into Civic Park repairs and electrical upgrades, plus how the city is coordinating event use with new courthouse ownership. We wrap with Eric Bentley’s Hanford Insider Sports Report covering baseball, softball, and track, including wins, tournament schedules, and new school records.

Subscribe for weekly Hanford updates, share this with a neighbor, and leave a review so more locals can find the show. What’s one park improvement or community event you want to see next?

You can find the Hanford Insider at www.hanfordinsider.com and on social media at @hanfordinsider
Thank you for supporting the show!

Transcript

Welcome And Community News

SPEAKER_01 0:01

On this episode of The Hanford Insider, Brad Albert stops by to give us an update on many of the activities of the Hanford Department of Parks and Community Services. Rob will give you a look at some of this week's community events, and I'll be back with your sports report. This is the Hanford Insider for Monday, March 30th.

Parade And Upcoming Community Events

Recreation Roulette With Brad Albert

SPEAKER_02 0:52

I'm your host, Rob Bentley. From downtown happenings to local history and community voices, we're bringing you the best of Hanford straight from the insiders. So let's get started. In community news this week, after a few months of construction at the old Sizzler building at 11th and Lacey, we finally saw a sign go up for Smile and Dentistry. It's amazing how many people miss the old Sizzlers restaurant. Others have asked about the construction at the old Ride 8 at 10th and Fargo, and word has it that it will become a new facility for Davida dialysis. Later in the show, Brad Albert gives us some really good updates on community activities, so stay tuned. For now, let's take a look at this week's community calendar. There'll be a parade in downtown Hanford on Thursday, April 9th, celebrating the Sierra Pacific Golden Bears Girls Basketball Team State Championships. The parade will begin and end at the Hanford Civic Auditorium. Speaking of Sierra Pacific, their band will be holding their annual shredding event on Saturday, April 11th at the old district office across from Carls Jr. Finally, the downtown Hanford Car Show will be held Saturday, June 6th. Find out more at Carnegie Car Show.com. If you have an event coming up, large or small, and you'd like some help getting the word out, let's work together. Send your information to HanfordInsider at gmail.com. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a complete calendar of events. It's the most comprehensive community calendar available. And we have with us today Brad Albert, the Director of Parks and Community Services in Hanford, and we are going to play Recreation Roulette. What do you think, Brad? I hope I'm ready for this. Okay, I have a spinning wheel, and we have about 136 topics on the wheel, but we'll probably only get to eight of them or so. So let's go ahead and spin the wheel and see what we've got up first.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

You got it.

Freddie The Firetruck And Carousel

SPEAKER_02 3:11

Okay. Well, we see advertisements that Freddie the Firetruck has come out of hibernation for this summer. And uh fill us in on uh Freddie the Firetruck and maybe the carousel rides too while you're at it.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Yeah, absolutely. You know, with the good weather coming out in springtime now, Freddie is available to take rides uh and tours around town, as is the carousel for one hour. And also included in that is the Bastille Patio, which is a new kind of an area that will be running out to private parties and to groups throughout the spring. Uh we do run Freddie and the carousel during all of the Thursday night markets. That will be starting in a little over a month now. So we're really excited about that. Freddie's running great. Uh Albert Yarborough, our driver, is ready to go and take people on an unforgettable tour.

Urban Forest Grant And Tree Plan

SPEAKER_02 4:06

Lots of fun. Lots of fun. All right, let's hit number two. Oh, this one's interesting. Uh, we've been seeing in city council news that they've been talking about this urban forest grant. And some people would probably be led to believe, oh, they're just gonna bunch buy a bunch of trees and stick them in the ground. That I've been following this, and it's it's a lot more than that, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:32

Yes, we received a grant from the um Forest Service, a community and urban forestry grant, oh, about a year ago. And with that grant, we we've we've accomplished a lot so far. We're we're in the adoption phase of an urban forest master plan, which will really be a roadmap um for the city of Hanford moving forward uh in the importance of trees and what they contribute, you know, to the physical well-being and quality of life of Hanford um residents. Included will be uh planting 600 trees, but we've also done a tree inventory of all publicly owned um trees. Um we know what size, what species, uh, which ones are doing well, maybe some that aren't doing so well. So for the first time ever, we really have uh a catalog of everything that we oversee and manage. So this is uh a huge step forward for urban forestry. We've actually learned, kind of surprisingly, we've lost some canopy cover over the last four years, with about 90% of that happening on private property. So we're trying to figure out are people taking trees out? Um, were they the improper species and maybe lifting up driveways or sidewalks? And so part of this grant is also to do public education and outreach. We've actually developed um a tree planting guide so people know how to actually properly plant their trees and watering, and usually it takes about two years to establish uh a new tree.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

And this also includes an arborist, kind of on call, to assess uh what's going on with trees in town. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

Yeah, we've assembled actually what I call my my tree expert team and an on-call arborist, which was is West Coast Arborist. They come down and they help us consult on heritage trees, um, which in in Hanford is uh is a valley oak um species, and though those are protected. Um, in addition, um future planting sites of these trees, you know, what is the right species in that location, in that soil, and Hanford's water conditions, so everything lines up so these new trees can thrive.

SPEAKER_02 6:53

That's great. I mean, that's gonna be great to have an expert who knows about these things. And I understand that these aren't just any trees, these are actually trees that were born and raised right here in Hanford.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

That is true. So Fonseca Dursery, right down the street here, was named our um tree supplier. We went on a competitive bid, and they're gonna be growing a lot of the species right on site. So it makes it real convenient to be able to go out, pick up the trees, get them, get them in the locations. Um, we're finishing up at the Hanford softball complex. We lost about a hundred trees out there to uh the bark beetle, and we'll be moving fairly quickly into some of our parks. The youth athletic complex will get some new trees and just all around the town.

Parent Date Nights At Civic

SPEAKER_02 7:39

Okay, let's uh spin the wheel and see what we got next. Okay, coming up in the civic auditorium, you have these date nights with parents. You have mother-son date night, father-daughter date night. Tell us about those.

SPEAKER_00 7:56

Yeah, so this has been a kind of an annual tradition here, and it's looked forward to by parents and their sons and daughters. So on April 17th, we have our mother-son dance, and on the following day, the 18th, we have our father-daughter. And the theme this year is really Let's Glow Crazy, which kind of goes back a little bit to the disco days of black lights and we'll have a DJ and strobe lights and all of that. It will be at the Civic Auditorium and both events are from 6 to 9 p.m. So really neat. Um, tickets are on sale. You can go online um onto the city's website and you can purchase your ticket. We also have a QR code on on the website. And this year, Raising Canes actually donated the dinners tonight, I mean, for this dance. So, really kind of neat that a local vendor um has stepped up and really supported these these programs.

Boys And Girls Club Update

SPEAKER_02 8:55

Yeah, we've been seeing a lot of that um participation by the community. That's what's great. So um having these companies that invest in the community and the the youth, especially. All right, next up. You know, Brad, when you came on the show a year or so ago, we were so excited about the Boys and Girls Club at Co. Park and uh the uh Longfield Center. And uh let's get an update on that.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

Yeah, so the Boys and Girls Club is operating um very strongly. Our um enrollment has gone up now. I think we're reaching the numbers of 30 to 40 students. It is for grades seven through 12. What's really neat is our partnership with CART. And now any young person, seventh through twelfth grade, who would like to come to the club um literally calls up um CART. They'll pick them up at school and bring them to Cove Park to the club. So we didn't want to have transportation be a barrier for those for those young people. So they cover a wide variety of arts, recreation, um, prevention, um sports, uh, a lot of different things that interest you know young people today. Um they're getting more and more into STEM, uh, doing some robotics and some coding. So those folks that are kind of into uh the technical uh exciting things that are happening, uh it'd be a great thing to check out. And they can go over anytime and and take a look. Parents are welcome at the club, and we're just real excited to continue this program.

The Plunge Repairs And Summer Hiring

SPEAKER_02 10:39

Yeah, that's so great that it's taken off the way that it has. I know it's impacted a lot of families. All right, let's spin this wheel, Brad. Oh, the plunge. This has been a project, hasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Oh man, it it has. You know, I often tell people, you know, the plunge is is up in ears and it it's a little old and tired. And this last off season, in fact, right now we're kind of wrapping up some major repairs and renovation to the slide. I'm very, very happy to announce that the slide in the slide pool will be open uh June 1st when we open up to the public. Uh, we've been down a couple of years with the slide. Um, what people don't realize is that the slide is actually categorized as an attraction in the state of California. So it requires inspections yearly, and we've met now the criteria of those inspections, and we're very happy that um that will happen this summer. We've also done some work in the mechanical room that will help us and on the main pool. So, not too long from now in May, we'll be getting our water aerobics and our lap swimming going. And then we really open up full tilt in early June when kids get out of school. And um from the signs of spring, it may be a warm summer. Um, so we're really looking forward to that. We've got probably about three-quarters of our lifeguards returning, which is always was was always great. We do we do have some room. We're in the process right now of hiring a part-time aquatics technician that their full job will be nothing but the maintenance and the upkeep of the plunge. And hopefully we'll avoid avoid some of these, you know, bigger repairs and renovations in the future.

Winter Wonderland Numbers And Reinvestment

SPEAKER_02 12:41

Yeah, I was just gonna say, so you're gonna be hiring additional people in addition to the ones that you already have for the summer season, not only for the plunge, but the summer activities that you have planned as well. So we all we know that's a big part of it. Okay, we got a couple more here. Spinning the wheel. Winter Wonderland. I understand you gave a report to the city council recently and talked about all the great things that happened with this year's winter wonderland and how the profits are going to be reinvested back into the park.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

Yeah, we did. We're so happy. It took us a little while. All our numbers have to close out at the end of the of the year, and a little bit of revenue and expenses were trickling in. So we we provided that report, the council. You know, the big number for us is we had 148,500 visits in seven weeks, the highest number of people that we've had. Um, so we continue to grow and expand regionally. So we're very, very happy about this. Our vendors did really well collectively. Our vendors, um, their gross was over$324,000. And most of these are local Hanford vendors, so that that's pretty outstanding. When you take the revenue from the event with the vendors, it was creeping up on$900,000. So almost a million dollars for seven weeks is not too bad. And we're really, really proud about that. Um, we did end up with some net revenue. So after we paid all our expenses, we had a little bit of money. Um, that ended up coming in right around 90,000. We did some repairs to Civic Park. Yeah, we've seen it. So, one, we replaced some sidewalks and cement that the humongous ice cube out there broke. We've also done repairs to the fountain um there. We've resolted and reseeded the park, and actually, Civic Park is really looking beautiful right now. And our goal is always to get it ready for the springtime. So we're really happy. So after um you take out those repairs, we ended up with just under 50,000, and we're gonna reinvest that back into the park. Um, again, the park electrical infrastructure is like really old, and we plug so much things in for Winter Wonderland. We uh blow circuits, and what happened to those lights? So we're gonna be looking at adding some electrical pedestals in the park. Right now, all our vendors have to bring their own generators, and we're hoping to kind of cure that a little bit um in the future. So everything, all of our net revenue will be kind of reinvested back into the park. It's such an important location for all the many special events we have here.

Courthouse Changes And Carousel Upgrades

SPEAKER_02 15:37

Yeah, for sure. You know, a few weeks ago I was interviewing a steam land about the courthouse purchase and their plans for uh what they're planning on doing. Uh how is that going to impact the park park usage in the carousel and the stage? I mean, how what kind of things have you worked out with them to be able to still use that space occasionally?

SPEAKER_00 15:57

Yeah, so so now that we have new ownership, and that does include the courthouse square area where the where the faux brick and the and the stage is. So we we um send them an email and say, hey, we've got this event coming. Are we okay to use it? So far, they've been very gracious in allowing us to do that. That that is technically part of the courthouse property now. And so, and they're moving forward really quickly with the renovations inside. The carousel has remained um the city's um and is still part of quote Civic Park. So we'll be um we're actually gonna be doing some upgrades on the lighting. Um, when we got it way back, that's like a 1934 vintage carousel. And again, it's considered a traction in the state's eyes. So to get the right lights, we got to get approval from the state and do all that. But our building superintendent Randy Shaw is helping with that, and so hopefully fairly soon, it will be lit up in the reds and the yellows and the greens and maybe have a little more of an uh of a um uh an impact on that corner with kind of looking like an old-fashioned carousel. So right now it's it's going really well with the new owners of the courthouse. We seem to be working together really, really well. Um, we'll see as they progress um what will happen. But right now, um everything's been working wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 17:27

Yeah, that's great. It it is going to be more of an attraction as businesses continue to move in and eventually the restaurant and the brewery. Uh I can see that really a big that corner that just has the carousel. I bet there's some more things that are gonna end up going in there.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

I think so. And I think it's gonna be a great partnership because you know, our events will drive folks in in in indoors, and I think they'll come out of the courthouse into some of our events. So it's gonna be a really nice indoor-outdoor, I think, experience for folks.

Easter Egg Hunt And Park Rules

SPEAKER_02 18:00

Well, I don't have to spin the wheel again because we just have one topic left, and that is Easter at the parks. And I have a couple questions, but let's start with the Easter egg hunt and the day camp that you have going that week.

SPEAKER_00 18:13

Yeah, absolutely. So the Easter egg hunt is actually sold out. We have um eight hundred young people signed up. 800. 800, our biggest ever. We have purchased 9,000 eggs with various goodies uh inside. So we have four different age groups. They'll report it. It begins um at 10:30 for ages one through three, at 11 o'clock for ages four through six, eleven thirty, seven to nine, and then at twelve o'clock for the little bit older, the 10 to 12 year olds. So if you do go online, you're gonna see that we're we're we're tapped out um right now. I I tell people if you come, if we have folks that don't come that might have registered and not come, but this event is absolutely free. Uh again, talking about the community support, we've um we've have several sponsorships that love to sponsor this particular event. That day, in addition, we'll have free uh train rides and free pony rides for all young people. Sorry, adults, you can't you can't do those two, but it's usually a very, very busy morning. Hopefully the weather looks like it's gonna be really nice. And so it's something that we've done it, it's become a tradition now that I think people look forward to. The spring camp, we run camps every summer, winter, and spring. So this year we are working uh and having campers age five to twelve. Starts on March 30th, all the way to April 3rd, which is spring break, and it goes from 7:30 to 5:30, and it's actually going to be in a new location in the Veterans Memorial Building. So a little bit different that puts them literally right in Civic Park, and they do a lot of field trips and things like that. And we will actually be kind of um, it's almost like cooking camp. So we call it Become a Junior Chef. Okay. And so they'll be able to come and they'll be able to learn how to make different dishes. Uh, in addition, we provide snacks and lunch free uh for all children, and that is available online right now on our website.

SPEAKER_02 20:39

Well, we know the Civic Auditorium Park is going to be busy that week, but Easter Sunday is a day where we like to get out and we like to go to Freedom Park or Hidden Valley Park or Centennial Park or Lacey or any of these little pocket parks in neighborhoods. And uh I know that you have some of the arbors uh for rent in the and you can go on the website and do that. But what are some tips that you have for residents that are celebrating Easter with their families in the parks this year?

SPEAKER_00 21:05

Yeah, absolutely. Easter Sunday is always, you know, by far our biggest day in all of our um city parks, community parks, even some of the smaller pocket parks. And what we ask people really, number one, is be respectful um of one another. Try to avoid real loud music, um, uh pick up your belongings and your trash. Um, usually it takes us a couple days um afterwards to kind of pick up after everybody. You know, park your vehicle correctly. Technically, we're not no car should ever be on turf. Um, believe it or not, it looks harmless, but there's sprinklers and we bust sprinkler heads, and now we've got water shooting up, and and we have to go and repair all that. So we just ask people to stay in the designated areas, and we know in some parks it's Street parking because they filled up you know the park's parking lots. So we just ask that people, you know, have a great time. Alcohol and and smoking is not allowed in any of our parks at any time. All of our public parks are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. That is, you know, seven days a week. And you know, be be respectful of the restrooms and you know the playgrounds get very, very crowded and things like that. So we just want everybody to have a great time. Our park resource officers and the heart team will be out um quite a bit and monitoring our parks those days. So we just want everybody to have a fun, safe Easter, enjoying the wonderful weather.

SPEAKER_02 22:42

Brad, it is so wonderful to have you on the show uh a lot. People are used to hearing you, but you've got so much going on and you've got a wonderful staff, including the office staff and your part-time employees that uh make all these events happen. Plus, the maintenance uh we can't leave out the city maintenance staff. They did such a wonderful job tearing down Winter Wonderland. The park looks great, and I think Hanford really has some enjoyable spaces to uh hang out.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

Yeah, I I really believe our parks maintenance crews have done a wonderful job of getting the parks ready, really, for kind of busy season. In May, the splash pads will be opening up for folks to go out there pretty soon. Before we know it, the plunge will be open, and it's gonna be summertime. And and here we go, um uh another summer. So we're looking forward to it. It's a very busy time for us, and we just we love having people being outdoors, uh recreating, socializing, and really what I think is it it creates community um and togetherness in in our community, and really uh it's quality of life, and that's what we strive for every day.

SPEAKER_02 23:49

Certainly. Well, thanks again, Brad.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

You're welcome.

Local Sports Report Highlights

SPEAKER_01 23:58

And now it's time for Hanford Insider Sports with Eric Bentley. Make it eight wins in a row for the Sierra Pacific baseball team after winning all three of their games last week to improve to eight and five overall and four and oh in league play. Monday's crosstown clash with Hanford High saw each team played a run in the first two innings before the Golden Bears scored four in the third to lead five to one. The Bullpups answered with two in the bottom half of the inning before Sierra Pacific scored four more to take a nine-three lead. Hanford High scratched one across in the seventh, but the Golden Bears prevailed nine-four. Tuesday, it was a steady dose of offense propelling Sierra Pacific to a 12-3 non-league win over Exeter. Then in league play on Thursday at Washington Union, the Golden Bears were only able to muster up one run on one hit, but on the mound, Caleb Coolwine and Bryce Costa combined to shut out the Panthers as Sierra Pacific secured the one-to-nothing win. Easter classic action awaits the Golden Bears this week. Despite the Monday loss to Sierra Pacific, the Hanford High Baseball team is picking up momentum off to a 4-0 start in league play after winning both games against Tular Union last week. Wednesday's game at home saw a nine-run second inning propel the Bullpups to a 13-1 victory, while Friday's contest was more of the same, the Bullpups taking down the tribe 11-1. At 6-5 overall, Hanford High will look to keep the momentum rolling in the Fresno Easter Classic this week. And the Hanford West baseball teams split their pair of league games last week to find themselves at 2-2 in league play, 5-6 overall. In Tuesday's win versus Emmanuel, it was tied at 5 in the bottom of the sixth when the Huskies struck for four runs, putting all the pressure on the Eagles, who were unable to respond, as Hanford West picked up the 9-5 win. Then Thursday, it was a 12-4 defeat at the hands of Selma. The Huskies will also be in action this week with four tournament games on the docket. In softball, still no league play for any of the three teams, but all have seemingly hit a rough patch in their seasons, as the only win on the week came with Hanford West bookending Tuesday's game with Hanford High, with a pair of four-run innings in route to an 11-4 victory. After the victory, the Huskies traveled to Garcis Thursday, where the Rams won four-to-one, dropping Hanford West to eight and four on the year, with a tough slate of tournament games ahead this week. The loss to Hanford West was the only game for Hanford High Softball last week, as the Bullpups fall to four and eight on the year with tournament action on the schedule this week. And for Sierra Pacific Softball, it was a grind of a three games last week, an 11-8 extra innings loss to Lamore on Tuesday, a 12-10 loss to Kalinga on Thursday, then an 11-6 defeat to Sanger West on Saturday to fall to 3-9 overall, with only one game scheduled this week, Monday at home versus Exeter. And before we go, how about a track and field update? Last week, Sierra Pacific and Hanford West went first-second in both boys and girls at the TCC three-way meet, with the Golden Bears claiming the top spot by a significant margin. Sierra Pacific also saw a pair of new school records set in the Madeira Classic over the weekend, with Niang Ayuen going 35 feet two inches in the triple jump, and the boys' four by four team of Jeremiah Cortez, Derek Lugobi, Baudie Gutierrez, and Jaden Forey blazing into the record books with a time of 334.54. As always, if you have a score report or a team update for any team in any sport at any level, you can let us know by emailing HanfordInsider at gmail.com. I'm Eric Bentley, and this has been your Hanford Insider Sports Report.

SPEAKER_02 27:55

And that wraps things up for this week's show. If you enjoyed this podcast and you'd like to show your support, you can go to buymeacoffee.com forward slash Hanford Insider to make a donation. Or you can Venmo me. If you'd like to join the Hanford Insider email list, stop on my website at HanfordInsider.com to sign up for updates. You'll also get an exclusive copy of my newsletter in your inbox each week. I also need your help getting the word out about the show by liking and sharing on social media, or like most people, just tell in a friend. For more information about the show, you can find this podcast on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and YouTube at Hanford Insider. If you have a show idea, be sure to email me at HanfordInsider at gmail.com and I'll look into it. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Hanford Insider Podcast. Have a fantastic week.