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Chukchansi awards grants

Supervisors feel many groups overlooked

Brian Wilkinson

(Updated: Thursday, September 02, 2010, 12:00 AM)

The Madera County Board of Supervisors accepted the submission of 14 Chukchansi Community Grants for 2010 totaling $1 million Tuesday, but not without comment.

Supervisors were not totally happy with Chukchansi's list because they felt some organizations and programs were overlooked due to the large amounts given to five groups on the list.

"With $262,000 going to one agency, you close out a lot of others," Supervisor Vern Moss said. "We're talking about good faith here."

Moss stated after the meeting that his concern was that all five districts in Madera County were not treated equitably through the grant process. "This is not what the original procedure was when we set it up." Moss also stated he did not think it in the best interest of the county to have one of the larger grants go to an organization in Fresno.

Moss stated that during the first year of the grants in 2007, the supervisors made recommendations in cooperation with the tribe and they were all accepted.

Board Chairman Tom Wheeler stated that in the past three years all the grants were kept under $100,000 so more groups would benefit. "Today's list is totally opposite of anything we have planned and designed in the past," Wheeler said. "In the past we kept the grants smaller so a lot of the smaller and needy groups and organization in the county could receive some funds."

Wheeler said his hope is that in the future the board and the tribe can get back to working closer together on the selection of the recipients so they can be spread out more. "That is the process we have used in the previous three years."

The foothill and Mountain Area was represented by seven approved proposals totaling $440,316. Those grants include:

$100,000 to Minarets High School for their football program.

$99,950 to Oakhurst's Cornerstone Family Counseling for crisis intervention counseling for elementary schools.

$79,573 to Coarsegold Elementary School for playground equipment.

$52,198 to Oakhurst Elementary School for the installation of playground equipment and expansion and improvement of the playground.

$50,000 to Tiny Acorn Community Development, a new youth and senior program headquartered at the Chukchansi tribal offices in Coarsegold.

$32,329 to Friends of the Oakhurst Library for air conditioning, heating and security.

$26,266 to Sugar Pine Christian Camps for single parent family adventure.

The largest grant given was to Children's Hospital of Central California in the amount of $262,080 for medical equipment. The First Tee of Fresno, a youth golfing program with a satellite operation in Oakhurst, received $114,875.

Other grants on the list were the Community Action Partnership of Madera ($51,900); City of Chowchilla Fire Department ($48,849); Camarena Health Center in Madera ($48,696); and Madera County Office of Education for Foster Youth Services tutoring program ($26,284). An additional $7,000 is budgeted for the grant award dinner

This is the fourth year of the 10-year grant program that was established with the tribe as settlement of four legal issues according to Moss.