A little child shall lead them
Tomorrow's editorial page will come down hard on the Fresno City Council for its lack of support for Storyland and Playland. While researching this piece, I came across a piece that Cyndee Fontana wrote last May. It's such a great example of the high esteem Fresnans hold for these little playparks. The city needs to show at least as much class as 1-year-old Sofia Fanucchi, whose birthday gifts were all turned over to Storyland and Playland.
Here's the story:
Humpty Dumpty to return to life
Fresno family does what all the king's horses and king's men couldn't do.
Humpty Dumpty soon should have a new perch at Fresno Storyland -- thanks to a birthday girl and hundreds of her friends and family.
Two weeks ago, 1-year-old Sofia Fanucchi's benefit birthday party raised roughly $23,500 for Storyland and Humpty Dumpty's return. Her parents, Eddie and Mimi Fanucchi, also hosted a similar party for the Fresno Chaffee Zoo when their son, Luca, turned a year old in 2004. That pulled in $20,000.
Wayne Thomas, president of the board of trustees for Fresno Storyland and Rotary Roeding Park Playland, said the new contributions should rebuild the attraction by the end of season.
"We really appreciate donations like this," he said. "For somebody to come in like this and restore a whole exhibit is unusual."
Both Eddie and Mimi Fanucchi grew up in Fresno and have fond memories of the zoo, Storyland and Playland. Eddie Fanucchi said it's important to help continue those traditions.
"Toys come and go," he said. "But having a great zoo ... a great Storyland and a great Playland, that's something our grandchildren will benefit from."
Thomas said Humpty Dumpty once lived in Playland. The exhibit was removed several years ago to make room for a new roller coaster and additional access.
Since then, the wild-eyed, 2,500-pound egg has languished in a storage yard. As the Fanucchis planned Sofia's party -- always intended as a benefit for Storyland -- Mimi Fanucchi began matching appetizers to exhibits: pigs in a blanket for the Three Little Pigs and gingerbread cookies at Hansel and Gretel, for example.
She envisioned quiche and deviled eggs at Humpty Dumpty, but discovered he was gone. The Fanucchis learned that the board was working to bring back the exhibit and volunteered the benefit for that cause.
The Fanucchis invited friends and family and asked for donations to Storyland rather than gifts. About 300 adults and 100 children attended the party, Eddie Fanucchi said.
Volunteers, staff and a paid crew planted 200 flats of flowers supplied by the Fanucchis to help spruce up Playland and Storyland grounds.
Storyland also has returned another familiar attraction: story boxes. When activated with a plastic key, the boxes play a one- to two-minute recorded nursery rhyme or tale in English or Spanish. Keys can be purchased for $2.75.
"The exciting thing is that old-time Fresnans remember going there with their keys and now we finally have them back," Thomas said.
Comments
The mean spirited tone of today's editorial regarding Playland/Storyland and the flat out inaccuracies contained in it compel me to respond.
Whoever wrote the editorial obviously doesn't know very much about this issue. If they did, this one would have never been written. To say the City Council and the Administration criticized the Rotary Club and it many fine members is offensive. We have concerns about those who have been managing the park and rightfully so asked some hard questions. After all, they were requesting $75,000 of your taxpayer money.
Playland/Storyland is a private non-profit agency and has been operating the park for over 50 years. It has and will continue to get strong support from the City and especially this City Council.
The odyssey with Storyland/Playland began for me five years ago when the Playland/Storyland board approached me about their difficulty of paying their insurance premium due to its explosive increase. We worked with our Risk Management Department to see if we could bring them under the City's insurance umbrella and eliminate the cost once and for all. After an exhaustive effort the best conclusion was that the City should just pay the premium. In 2004, the City Council and the Mayor agreed to help them. The Management of Storyland/Playland told us it would be only a one time situation as they were planning a Fundraising and Capital Improvement plan to resolve the issue.
Last year they came back and said again they needed some more money to pay for their insurance. We asked them about their plan and while they hadn't done it yet, they promised that they would and they would not ask for anymore funds.
Well, a few weeks ago they came back a third time to request more funding and there still is no plan. The Mayor and City Council did agree to support this private park again by a 7-0 vote with the ONLY condition being that they repair some safety hazards first. How in the world that translate into a lack of support for Storyland/Playland is puzzling to me.
Why is a fundraising and capital improvement plan important? Frankly, even the Board Members will tell you that while it certainly does not seem to be the case now, the management of this park hasn't been very effective and it suffered. A successful Fundraising and Capital Improvement Plan would insure that the park survives and thrives. It's too bad that, through the many years that the people who have worked so hard to keep the park going, companies like the Fresno Bee never bothered to step forward to offer their help or financial assistance.
Does the City Government have the responsibility to bailout private non-profit agencies in Fresno that are in financial stress? No it does not. Playland/Storyland is a community asset and it's financial future is ultimately the responsibility of the community.
I understand that Playland/Storyland is considering a corporate sponsorship program. We all look forward to seeing the "Fresno Bee Merry-go-round" sponsorship sign when they do.
Lastly, the comments relating to the Zoo are infuriating. The problems with the Zoo began decades ago and if one read the City Charter it is quite clear that the City Council doesn't and never has "managed" the Zoo. The fact that the Chaffee Zoo is now in a better position is a result a process begun by the Fresno City Council in December of 2002 when I scheduled a workshop on the financial future of the Zoo that clearly showed serious problems and that a major change was necessary. The City Council created and drove the process that established the Zoo Commission and because of the commission's hard work and the hard work of the community, including the Fresno Bee, the Zoo was saved.
Fresno would have been much better served if the editorial space today was used for a positive call to action to the community to get involved to help save Playland/Storyland rather than the direction it took.
Posted by: Jerry Duncan | September 28, 2006 11:59 AM