Park Youth Committee’s Equitable Parks Resolution Passed Unanimously at Modesto City Council

PYC Members, from left to right, Akhil Patel, Angelica Aguilar, Martin Montez, and Belle Garza.

On May 7, TRT’s Park Youth Committee presented their Resolution for Equitable Parks and Protective and Healthy Environments to the Modesto City Council. After years of preparation, the resolution passed 6-0! The passage of this initiative marks a historic milestone achievement for both youth-led advocacy as well as park accessibility for Modesto citizens of all ages.

PYC is a youth-led coalition funded by All Children Thrive and supported by the Tuolumne River Trust; the Committee champions safe and equitable park access and recreation for Modesto residents. The PYC has worked in deep collaboration to develop a formal resolution solidifying the City of Modesto's commitment to its parks. 

This youth-led resolution is the first step in ensuring safe parks, healthy recreation opportunities, and equitable access for all of Modesto’s citizens. In an act of strategic civic engagement, the PYC’s Parks Equity Resolution fulfills the City of Modesto’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan Quality of Life focus, ensuring the community-centered relevance of the resolution itself. 

As the PYC gathered at the presentation podium prepared to address City Council, Natali Gutierrez, TRT Central Valley Program Assistant and Lourdes Perez of All Children Thrive set things in motion, providing context for City Council members before turning to PYC members Angelica Aguilar, Belle Garza, Akhil Patel, and Martin Montez to share the complete presentation.

As the presentation began, PYC member Angelica Aguilar shared, “we know that parks are essential protective environments for the health and betterment of the city of Modesto, but we wanted to demonstrate why parks are critical to the health of our community and we began to research data.” 

Developed through on-the-ground community data collection, neighborhood surveys, PYC visioning meetings, and collaborative decision-making processes, this resolution is the end result of years of community listening. Needs were heard and then transformed into a plan for actionable change, with a special focus on the areas around James Marshall Park and Robertson Road Park in West Modesto.

Throughout the process, the PYC diligently collected data outlining the physical and mental health challenges faced by Modesto youth, especially those in West Modesto. In Stanislaus County, PYC found that 44.5% of 5th graders are obese and that 1 in 4 adults are physically inactive. 

The resolution presentation continued with PYC members sharing that “the California Healthy Kids Survey of 2021 indicates that Modesto City School students in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade have high indicators of social and emotional distress, and chronic sadness along with hopelessness. These alarming statistics highlight the critical need for safe, accessible, and functional park spaces as they play a vital role in both the health and wellbeing of our community. This is especially true for children in impacted communities who face disparate levels of environmental, health, and socio-economic burdens.”

Beyond data collection and synthesis the PYC prepared a solutions-oriented proposal that encouraged a city commitment to parks that operate with easily accessible amenities, infrastructures, and programs that benefit cognitive development, mental health, and community well-being; Park Ranger programs that increase community-safety; and citizen-informed participation for ongoing park projects and initiatives.

After the presentation PYC members expertly fielded questions from City Council members about their data collection methods and how they define popular, yet sometimes hard to categorize terms. 

Towards the end of the Q&A session, Vice Mayor Alvarez asked, “how would you all describe equity?”

PYC member Martin Montez responded, “for me, equity is if a person has less than another person we are making sure the resources that are already provided for the citizens of Modesto are available through reallocation. So, instead of 50% here and 50% there, if one park needed one-third of the budget and the other needed two-thirds of the budget, the two-thirds would be made available to the park that needed it more.”

“I get that; well said,” responded Vice Mayor Alvarez, who continued on to say to the entire committee: “Your insight is super valuable … and I commend you all on this work.”

As the presentation came to a close, the resolution passed easily with all 6 council members voting in favor, marking a huge win for youth-led advocacy in Modesto. 

We look forward to a promising future of accessible parks throughout the entire city of Modesto and congratulate PYC for their expert stewardship of this environmentally and socially just resolution—to the benefit of all the citizens of Modesto.