West Fresno community center closed over toxic chemicals

The Maxie Parks Community Center in southwest Fresno has been evacuated and barred to the public since Sept. 3, after testing found contamination in and around the building, likely from toxic chemicals used by Imperial Cleaners, a former dry cleaning business.
City officials say the health risk is low. But, the West Fresno Family Resource Center, which operates from the Maxie Parks Community Center, built in the 2000s, will not move back into the building on California Avenue until the pollution has been removed.
“We’re keeping people off the facility until we take the next step that’s required by the water board,” Miguel Arias, president of the Fresno City Council, told The Fresno Bee. “Now we have to give them a work plan on how we’re going to mitigate and clean up the site . . . and the state board will tell us the level of mitigation that we