"Cleveland Skate Park in the Flats Wins!"

From Public Square Group and cleveland.com:

Cleveland Skate Park in the Flats Wins!

Monday evening Cleveland City Council had a heated discussion about the fate of the planned Cleveland Skateboard Park in the Flats. In the end only ONE council person voted against the skate park. 

Thanks to all who wrote emails, called and most importantly attended the committee and council meetings. There is nothing better than showing up and getting involved. It's still going to take lots of work to get this park open so please do what you can as we finish raising money for the landscaping and final items. 

Check the progress and updates of the Cleveland Skateboard Park

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Cleveland rolling ahead with Flats skate park

Published: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, 12:55 PM     Updated: Wednesday, May 18, 2011, 11:50 AM

 By Thomas Ott, The Plain Dealer 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The city will press ahead with plans to build a skateboard park in the Flats, 

even as the city moves to close other recreation facilities for budget reasons.

City Council voted Monday night to issue bonds for various improvements, including the $550,000 skate park. Despite whispers of a revolt among lawmakers upset by the proposed cutbacks, only Councilman Jeff Johnson opposed the measure.

The city is threatening to shutter Cory Recreation Center in west Glenville, which Johnson represents. Johnson called the skate park a "misplaced priority" that will serve a "niche community.

"There is a niche community over in west Glenville that is losing in this equation," he said at an afternoon committee meeting.

The concrete skate park is expected to open next year on the east bank of the Flats, next to the Rivergate Park rowing facility.

The new skating area will replace a worn-out plywood and steel model formerly located on the East Ninth Street pier. A California foundation started by skateboarding legend Tony Hawk has pledged $25,000 to the project.

City officials said the new park will require little maintenance and provide a designated space for a pursuit now practiced randomly on Cleveland's streets, sidewalks and other public property.

"The question is not whether we are enabling the activity," Ken Silliman, chief of staff for Mayor Frank Jackson, said at the committee meeting. "The question is whether we are enabling the activity in the safest and most responsible fashion."

Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes the park site, said skateboarding is "no more a luxury or a niche than baseball." He rallied skating enthusiasts who packed the hearing room in the afternoon and applauded the evening vote.

Vince Frantz of Lakewood heads the volunteer Public Square Group, which helped design the park. He said skating is a "force of nature" that will draw visitors and help revitalize the Flats.

Many of the skaters who attended the committee meeting work for Jakprints, a fast-growing printing company at East 30th Street and Chester Avenue.

Co-owner Jacob Edwards said more than half of his 128 employees are "active skaters," and that having the park nearby would be an incentive to continue commuting from the suburbs. He expressed frustration after the committee's debate.

"We have been asked to leave Cleveland many, many times," he said. "This is one more reason to question why we stay. Where is the benefit?"

Follow Thomas Ott on Twitter @thomasott1

Plain Dealer Reporter Michelle Jarboe contributed to this report.