Posted February 9, 20214 yr Sorry to start off with a negative posting but.... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 9, 20214 yr The City of Cleveland web site has rec center schedules posted. In the case of Halloran, it looks like the schedule is for last year, although it is probably the same for this year. I sent an email to have the current schedule posted, but it hasn't happened yet. http://city.cleveland.oh.us/sites/default/files/forms_publications/WinterHalloran201920.pdf
September 23, 20213 yr Basketball courts, baseball diamond, other east side park improvements to follow sewage tunnel projects Although east siders will soon see trucks and fences at a few of their parks, they’ll see new basketball courts, a baseball diamond and expanded greenspace as well within the next few years. Cleveland city council’s Municipal Services and Properties Committee approved easements on Monday for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District to install surface-level entry points for its underground overflow storage tunneling projects at Gordon Park in St. Clair-Superior and Forest Hills Park on the border of Forest Hills and Glenville. Both parks reside just off the lakeshore along I-90. The storage tunnels, part of NEORSD’s Project Clean Lake, will capture billions of gallons of sewage overflow that would otherwise end up in Lake Erie and other nearby waterways once they’re completed. The easements for the construction on these new tunnels are worth about $547,000, said Cleveland’s real estate commissioner James DeRosa during the committee meeting. DeRosa said the sewer district will allocate $400,000 of that cost, along with an additional $100,000 grant, for park maintenance and improvements at Forest Hills park. The remaining $147,000 and change will be allocated for improvements at Gordon Park. https://www.thelandcle.org/stories/basketball-courts-baseball-diamond-other-east-side-park-improvements-to-follow-sewage-tunnel-projects
April 8, 20232 yr U.S. Soccer Foundation donates mini-pitch fields to Cleveland rec centers in Central and Jefferson BY LEE CHILCOTE "Two city-owned recreation centers in Cleveland will soon be home to mini-pitch soccer fields thanks to a donation from the U.S. Soccer Foundation. Cleveland City Council approved the donation at its regular council meeting on Monday, April 3. The fields, which are expected to be open by mid-summer, will be installed at the Lonnie Burten Recreation Center in Central and the Halloran Recreation Center in Jefferson. The mini-pitch fields are modular outdoor soccer courts that were developed by the U.S. Soccer Foundation and Musco Lighting. According to the soccer foundation’s website, the mini-pitches “provide an innovative solution for communities where space is at a premium. These small, customized, hard-court surfaces are perfectly suited for organized soccer and pick-up games. Complete with lighting, fencing, goals, benches, and more, mini-pitches provide a quality playing surface for kids and adults.” Presumably, the fields will also prove perfect for Cleveland’s chilly, wet climate, where outdoor fields can sometimes be muddy and soaked in the fall and spring months. The mini-pitches may also be attractive to kids and adults who like to play on a smaller indoor-style court. Finally, the lighting and fencing could make them attractive for nighttime games." https://thelandcle.org/stories/u-s-soccer-foundation-donates-mini-pitch-fields-to-cleveland-rec-centers-in-central-and-cudell/
April 8, 20232 yr ^ I used to see a LOT of kids playing soccer at Perk Park. I always thought something like this closer to CSU would make sense. But always nice to see more athletic resources for the community.
May 25, 20232 yr Cross-posting here since the report is on parks in the city 1 minute ago, Luke_S said: Cleveland scored lowest on acreage, which should improve after the completion of Irishtown Bend, hopefully pushing our rank up a few notches. Trust for Public Land puts Cleveland at No. 26 in rankings of best parks Kim Palmer | May 25th 2023 "Parks within the city of Cleveland are among the best in the country, though they dropped slightly in the annual Trust for Public Land (TPL) ParkScore rankings. The 2023 rankings, released Wednesday, May 24, put Cleveland at No. 26 out of 100 U.S. cities measured by TPL. In 2022, Cleveland was No. 23 in the rankings. This year marked the first time in three years that Cleveland has seen a drop, rather than a gain, in the nonprofit TPL’s rankings of parks in the 100 most-populous U.S. cities. Cleveland received its highest marks in the area of park access, one of five categories that comprise the rankings. (The other categories are park amenities, investment, acreage and equity.) Cleveland received an overall score of 60.5 points out of a possible 100, based on an average of the five categories." https://www.crainscleveland.com/government/cleveland-no-26-out-100-national-city-park-rankings Here is the report from Trust for Public Land: https://www.tpl.org/city/cleveland-ohio
July 13, 20231 yr Long-awaited park in Hough looks to break ground in 2024 BY ELIJAH HAKIM JULY 12, 2023 Quote By the end of 2024, the Hough community is slated to begin construction on a sprawling, 2.6-acre neighborhood park. This is approximately two times the size of the neighborhood park I grew up with in Hempstead, New York. It all started back in 2021, when the city of Cleveland and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District released a request for proposals (RFP) for several school sites that were slated to be sold because they were no longer needed. The Western Reserve Land Conservancy (WRLC) pitched the idea of building a park in Hough on the former site of the John W. Raper Elementary School, and the proposal was accepted by the city. The now-empty school site is located on E. 85th St. between Wade Park Ave. and Hough Ave. next to Thurgood Marshall Recreation Center. For now, the new park in Hough is simply being called the Hough Community Green Space to reflect its roots as both a community-centered space as well as a passive green space that’s about nature, health, and beauty in addition to recreation. At some point in the future, Ali said, the organizers will decide what to call it. Once it’s built, the park will be owned, operated, and maintained by the city of Cleveland, in conjunction with Thurgood Marshall Recreation Center, he said. https://thelandcle.org/stories/hough-doesnt-have-a-public-playground-but-thats-about-to-change/
July 13, 20231 yr ^ For those who prefer visuals to text. My favorite part about this new park is that by being right next to the rec center it should function as a much larger park.
January 18, 20241 yr A couple interesting points made in this article. Given how good Cleveland Metroparks is, the inadequacy of the City Parks is pretty stark and we shouldn't discount just how important smaller, city owned/maintained green space is for everyday access of residents. I haven't had a chance to look at the full report yet, but this article provides just the top line numbers. I would hope the survey has a breakdown by neighborhood, or at least ward, so the city can know which city park and rec facilities are lowest rated and need the most work. The top reasons for not going to city parks was 50% cited poor maintenance; 40% do not know where to go, or what programs and activities are offered; and 38% cited poor or uncomfortable atmosphere. Importantly not a top cited concern, at least from cleveland.com's reporting, is crime and safety. I think this is very encouraging, changing the perception of city parks as poorly maintained would seem easier than changing the perception that city parks are unsafe. Olin, the Philadelphia-based landscape firm hired by the city to help put together a 15-year master plan is expected to release their plan late summer / early fall. So that will be something to keep an eye out for. I also did not realize that part of the money from the recently proposed TIF district could be directed towards capital improvements in city parks and rec centers, but it sounds like the Bibb administration is planning on directing at least some of that money towards those projects. Half of Clevelanders avoid city parks and rec centers for one reason, survey shows Published: Jan. 16, 2024 By Courtney Astolfi, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Half of surveyed Clevelanders avoid visiting city parks and recreation centers because they are not well-maintained, according to a community needs assessment ordered up by City Hall as part of its master-planning process for parks and recreation. Poor maintenance was the top response given in the survey that was taken by 528 Cleveland residents and stakeholders, when they were asked to identify the top barriers that stop them from visiting parks and rec centers more often. Fifty percent of respondents selected poor maintenance as their reasoning. Forty percent said they don’t visit parks and rec centers because they do not know where to go, or what programs and activities are offered. And 38% said parks and rec centers offer a poor or uncomfortable atmosphere. https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2024/01/half-of-clevelanders-avoid-city-parks-and-rec-centers-for-one-reason-survey-shows.html Cleveland.com also posted a follow up photo gallery to document the state of city parks. https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2024/01/cleveland-parks-need-some-tlc-check-out-our-2022-photo-gallery-of-poor-conditions.htmll
May 14, 20241 yr https://cleparksrecplan.com/ Cleveland seeks feedback on draft parks and recreation master plan Ideastream Public Media | By Zaria Johnson Published May 13, 2024 Cleveland kicks off open houses Tuesday for community input on needed park and recreation investments. During the open house, attendees can view the city's draft parks and recreation master plan, which aims to put facilities within a 20-minute walk of homes, according to Jay Rauschenbach, parks and recreation planning manager. ... The city hosts six open houses through May 20 along with an online survey open until the end of the month for those who can't attend an in-person open house. https://www.ideastream.org/environment-energy/2024-05-13/cleveland-seeks-feedback-on-draft-parks-and-recreation-master-plan
May 27, 20241 yr This is a longer article so tough to grab a few paragraph summary; it's worth the read. I thought Bibb was going to simplify the city government, so why is park administration split between two different departments? I would think if there was one department there would be one point of contact for these volunteer groups and a list could be made so their efforts could be more formalized and effective. That said, from the reporting, these groups already seem to be very effective. Beyond the manual labor effort they are putting in to cleaning up, planting, and general maintenance, these groups are getting improvements like benches, bike racks, and chess tables by contacting their council person or writing grants. This work is so beneficial and probably underutilized. Volunteers take it upon themselves to maintain Cleveland parks BY GRANT SEGALL MAY 22, 2024 Westbrook is among an unknown number of volunteers who help to tend some of Cleveland’s 155 municipal parks, from the .7-acre Simpson to the 254-acre Rockefeller Park. Officials appreciate these volunteers. ... There’s no official list of the volunteer groups. The parks’ administration duties are split between the Mayor’s Office of Capital Projects and two public works divisions: the recreation division and the parks maintenance and properties division. The volunteers mostly contact their council members, community development corporations, and neighborhood nonprofits. A four-year-old Parks and Greenspace Coalition under the Trust for Public Land includes groups that tend 10 Cleveland parks — Abbey, Calgary, Clark, Clemente, Cudell, Dunphy, Impett, Lincoln, Simpson and Woods — plus Lakewood’s Madison Park and all of Cleveland Heights’ parks. https://thelandcle.org/stories/volunteers-maintain-cleveland-parks/
May 27, 20241 yr 6 hours ago, Luke_S said: This is a longer article so tough to grab a few paragraph summary; it's worth the read. I thought Bibb was going to simplify the city government, so why is park administration split between two different departments? I would think if there was one department there would be one point of contact for these volunteer groups and a list could be made so their efforts could be more formalized and effective. That said, from the reporting, these groups already seem to be very effective. Beyond the manual labor effort they are putting in to cleaning up, planting, and general maintenance, these groups are getting improvements like benches, bike racks, and chess tables by contacting their council person or writing grants. This work is so beneficial and probably underutilized. Volunteers take it upon themselves to maintain Cleveland parks BY GRANT SEGALL MAY 22, 2024 Westbrook is among an unknown number of volunteers who help to tend some of Cleveland’s 155 municipal parks, from the .7-acre Simpson to the 254-acre Rockefeller Park. Officials appreciate these volunteers. ... There’s no official list of the volunteer groups. The parks’ administration duties are split between the Mayor’s Office of Capital Projects and two public works divisions: the recreation division and the parks maintenance and properties division. The volunteers mostly contact their council members, community development corporations, and neighborhood nonprofits. A four-year-old Parks and Greenspace Coalition under the Trust for Public Land includes groups that tend 10 Cleveland parks — Abbey, Calgary, Clark, Clemente, Cudell, Dunphy, Impett, Lincoln, Simpson and Woods — plus Lakewood’s Madison Park and all of Cleveland Heights’ parks. https://thelandcle.org/stories/volunteers-maintain-cleveland-parks/ First of all bravo! To these volunteers. They are doing God's work. But second of all, immediately fire everyone who works for the city in parks and rec. I'm serious. Three absolutely scandalous paragraphs from the article. (Emphasis mine). " “If we want to go outdoors and do some cleaning and plant some flowers, no union person would do that anyway,” he said. "Bonnie Perry, president of AFSCME Local 100, which represents Cleveland workers, said in an email that the local “often works closely with park volunteers to promote our city and region’s beautiful parks and green spaces. When there are questions about job titles or job responsibilities assigned to union positions, AFSCME Local 100 addresses those issues with the City of Cleveland.” "Perrin Verzi, who manages the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse, said her volunteers do chores that her staff wouldn’t, such as tending the gardens and fish tanks. " To be clear, I'm fully serious. These people aren't doing there jobs, so they shouldn't have them. Clean house! Get the current employees out and hire some people who want to work. Maybe some of the volunteers would prefer to be paid for their work. If not, I'm sure there are some recent immigrants willing to get their hands dirty.
May 28, 20241 yr 100% agree. I think the work should be contracted out. we're paying twice as much for half the quality in many of the city departments.
May 30, 20241 yr There may be some staffing changes coming, though I wouldn't expect any changes over night this does seem like a first step in the right direction. Cleveland poised to undo Frank Jackson’s public works merger May. 30, 2024 By Courtney Astolfi, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio – City Hall is preparing to undo a 2010 mega-merger of the Public Works Department in hopes of providing more attention to city parks and recreation centers. If approved by City Council, which could happen as soon as Monday, Mayor Justin Bibb will have the greenlight to create a new standalone Parks and Recreation Department, resulting in a slimmed-down version of the Public Works Department as it exists today. ... With a dedicated department and director focused exclusively on improving parks, Teeuwen said, the city could potentially revise rental fees and other park-related money-makers. The idea is to generate more money that could then be reinvested in parks, to improve programs and amenities for the Clevelanders who use them. https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2024/05/cleveland-poised-to-undo-frank-jacksons-public-works-merger.html
July 11, 2024Jul 11 Cleveland Council to vote on creating standalone parks and recreation department by Dakotah Kennedy July 10, 2024 Cleveland could get a shiny new department dedicated to its parks and recreation centers. Council is expected to vote today on legislation introduced in May to create the standalone department. Currently, the city’s parks and recreation centers are split up and overseen by the Department of Public Works, the city’s third largest department. ... If a new department is approved, the public works director would pass the torch – and the responsibilities – of overseeing the city’s parks and recreation centers to a new director of Parks and Recreation. The director would be paid between $150,000 and $175,000 a year, according to an online job posting. Aside from staffing and maintaining the city’s 172 parks and 22 recreation centers the department would also be responsible for city-owned golf courses and big performance venues such as the Public Auditorium and Music Hall and the Cleveland Browns Stadium, according to the proposed city ordinance. https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-parks-recreation-department/
July 11, 2024Jul 11 And the legislation passes: Cleveland establishes parks and recreation department, forestry division Ideastream Public Media | By Abbey Marshall Published July 11, 2024 An amendment introduced Wednesday afternoon by council members successfully created a Division of Forestry within the new department to specifically focus on Cleveland's treescape. ... The legislation will eliminate what is now the Division of Recreation and Parks Maintenance and Properties and the Office of Special Events and Marketing from the Department of Public Works. The Office of Special Events and Marketing will now be housed under the Department of Parks and Recreation and will oversee planning and permitting for special events, including the filming of movies or television shows in the city. https://www.ideastream.org/government-politics/2024-07-11/cleveland-establishes-parks-and-recreation-department-forestry-division
April 1Apr 1 Cleveland’s plan to close rec centers, raise taxes through levy faces immediate opposition from council Published: Mar. 31, 2025 By Sean McDonnell, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland unveiled a Parks and Recreation masterplan Monday that proposes closing some recreation centers on the city’s east side and placing a levy on the 2028 ballot – both of which faced immediate pushback from City Council members. The plan calls for increasing spending on parks and recreation, investing in a dozen facilities and eventually building a new recreation center in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. But it also suggests closing Cory Recreation Center and considering whether to close Woodland Recreation Center in the next few years. ... Cleveland’s masterplan includes raising the operating budget for Parks and Recreation from $26 million to $43.5 million by 2032, mainly through a Parks and Rec levy on the 2028 ballot, along with some other revenue-increasing strategies. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2025/03/clevelands-plan-to-close-rec-centers-raise-taxes-through-levy-faces-immediate-opposition-from-council.html
April 1Apr 1 Here's a non-pay walled article from Cleveland Signal: Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration floats new tax for Cleveland parks. City Council is skeptical by Nick Castele March 31, 2025
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