Street dedicated to R.L. Moreno
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A new street sign for the late District 3 City Commissioner R.L. Moreno sits atop the newly named road for him at the corner of Grand Avenue after Thursday’s dedication ceremony. CNJ staff photo: Eric Kluth
Approximately 50 people attended a dedication ceremony Thursday as the city of Clovis renamed Bonita Street after late District 3 City Commissioner R.L. Moreno.
Daniel Chavez, a deacon from Moreno’s church, Our Lady of Guadalupe, read a poem titled “Legacy,” and told the audience Moreno “will live on through our acts of kindness.”
Moreno, who served on the city commission from 1988 until his death in February, was “always at the center of things,” said City Manager Ray Mondragon.
“Commissioner Moreno never missed the opportunity to thank people who gave of their time to the community. In January 2000 he thanked Mr. Nelson Worley ‘for the prestige and character he has passed onto the city.’ These words can easily be used for Commissioner Moreno,” Mondragon said.
Mayor David Lansford said he worked with Moreno for 8 1/2 years.
“And not one time did he treat me differently from the front than he did from the back. Not one time did he say ‘yes’ and mean ‘no.’ Bobby didn’t agree with everyone all the time, but the way he disagreed was very honorable,” Lansford said.
“He did something many city managers would like to say they did, he left the city better than he found it,” Lansford added.
Moreno was instrumental in obtaining Veterans’ Park, between Bonita, Seventh and Grand streets. He served on the city charter committee in 1994 and on the 1995 board that organized the Clovis mayor’s duties. He was on the city planning and zoning committees, the public works committee and was chairman of the city drainage committee, Mondragon said.
The most important things he did, he did for those he called “my people,” said Commissioner Robert Sandoval, who was appointed to replace Moreno when he died.
“Naming the street, although it’s an honor for him and his family, is for those who didn’t know him,” Sandoval added. “Those of us who did know him have him in our hearts.”
Commissioner Isidro Garcia, who served with Moreno throughout Moreno’s commission career, said, even though early in their public careers they had agreed to disagree, Moreno was everything the other speakers had been saying about him — “and more.”
Commissioners Lunell Winton and Gloria Wicker called Moreno an “inspiration” and “a wealth of information.”
“It was a good turnout and a very nice ceremony,” said Marie Moreno, Moreno’s wife. “He would have been proud of it. He liked to do things for the people.”
