Wednesday, April 07, 1999
Exercise plan for kids costly, critics say
Other ideas offered for the money
BY ANNE MICHAUD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A plan to build a city-funded exercise program for overweight kids has grown too flabby, critics charged Tuesday.
Backed by Cincinnati City Councilwoman Jeanette Cissell, the program for kids 12 and under had an original price of $40,000 when it was added to the city budget in January.
Now, the recreation department has reported, it would cost an additional $67,255 each year to run.
Critics charged that the money could be better spent.
Councilman Phil Heimlich suggested that city pools remain open an extra couple of weeks in the summer.
Boxing? Foundation?
Cliff Whigham of Cincinnati Golden Gloves for Youth said the city could support boxing.
He said the money could allow 3,000 kids a year to step into the ring.
William Harris, director of the Foundation for Hope program for expelled and suspended school children, suggested that the city continue to fund his $103,000 program.
The city ended its contract with Foundation for Hope in December, but Mr. Harris kept the program open for another three months.
Mrs. Cissell's idea is to take money from that project for her gymnasium.
“This is not additional funding, this money had been allocated for a youth program anyway,” Mrs. Cissell said after the Tuesday meeting of council's finance committee.
240 kids a day
The gym could serve 240 kids a day in the summer and 120 a day during the school year, Mrs. Cissell said. The $40,000 is to buy kid-size equipment such as stair-steppers and stationary bicycles.
Another $20,000 would renovate or lease a facility; $67,255 would pay for the staff.
The item was put on hold for further discussion. The city's director of neighborhood services, Cheryl Meadows, was asked to prepare a report on Foundation for Hope.
Money for the exercise program was part of $14.6 million in spending added to the city's two-year budget.
The extra spending includes money for the Cinergy Children's Museum, job training programs, a memorial for slain children, a riverfront park to honor former Mayor Theodore Berry and purchase of a Pleasant Ridge beauty school.
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