Public outcry broke in Fullerton City Hall on Tuesday after the city council voted 3-2 to reallocate funding from the second phase of the Union Pacific Trail project.
This trail project is part of a Union Pacific Right-of-Way Trail and Park Project that was approved by Fullerton City Council in September 1999. The first phase was completed in 2006 as a half-mile bikeway and trail running from the Transportation Center to Highland Avenue, according to the agenda report. The second phase started from Highland Avenue to Independence Park and was approved by the city council in August 2020.
In April 2021, the California Natural Resources Agency awarded the Urban Greening Program grant to the Parks and Recreation Department which contained $1.78 million to fund the project, while the city paid for the remaining $330,000.
Tensions escalated during the public comments portion of the meeting when Fullerton resident Carime Calixto voiced her frustrations towards Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung about him not considering the survey sent out to residents about the trail.
“You guys don’t care about the families,” Calixto said. Afterward, Calixto was escorted by police.
Alongside Jung, Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Whitaker and Council Member Nick Dunlap voted in favor of reallocating the funding.
Jung said the project should have more of a focus on an interconnected trail system.
“That project should be as most of your trails should be, either be part of a larger comprehensive trail system or have you know good to even better or remarkable or excellent connectivity,” Jung said.
Council members Ahmad Zahra and Shana Charles voted against the reallocation of funds. Zahra expressed that not backing up their word could lead to the city losing trust from the public and the state.
“If we go back on our word, not only do we lose the trust of the public but we’re also going to lose an opportunity from the state to even listen to us in the future about anything we’re trying to do,” Zahra said during last Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Charles said she felt that a council majority vote was a disservice to the individuals who filled out the surveys and communicated about the matter.
“They were saying ‘you don’t deserve nice things’”, Charles said. “It really felt as a slap in the face and honestly it kind of physically felt like a slap in the face.”
Another advocate for the Union Pacific Trial, Egleth Nuncci, said she was concerned about the idea of the city returning the grant money despite the purpose of the grant.
“This is something we need in our areas and it will unite us,” Nuncci said.
Nuncci also recalled when she, along with a couple of individuals who attended the meeting, organized a walk with representatives from the Parks and Recreation commission to understand the distance from Highland Avenue to Independence Park. Despite the harsh weather on the day of the scheduled walk, Nuncci advocated the importance of the trail.
“It was so hot even people told us, ‘It’s so hot, I don’t know I can go to the walk,’” Nuncci said. “I looked and told them, ‘Look at me sonny, you think I have my air conditioner installed in my body? No, I don’t but we’re doing this because we want a better future for our children.”
