Wednesday, October 20, 1999
City idea: State park on the river
Cleveland Lakefront cited as precedent
BY LUCY MAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The city may ask the state to pay for a new central riverfront park by making it part of Ohio's state park system.
Developing the area as a state park could bring enough state money to pay most of the $71 million costs without tapping into local resources, said Steven Schuckman, acting director of the Cincinnati Park Board.
The proposed 51-acre park has been billed as one of the major public benefits of the more than $1 billion taxpayers are spending to spruce up the riverfront with a new football stadium, a new Reds ballpark and the reconfiguration of Fort Washington Way.
But neither Cincinnati nor Hamilton County has committed any money to the park. The county owns most of the land.
“The less city and county dollars we have to put in, the easier it is to get the project done,” said Cincinnati City Councilman Phil Heimlich, who could team with other council members to introduce a resolution requesting state park des ignation as early as today.
State park designation doesn't come easily, though, said Dan West, chief of Ohio state parks. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources must determine whether the park has regional or statewide significance, and whether the state could do a better job building and maintaining the park than the local community, he said.
Mr. Schuckman said park planners are looking to the state park on Cleveland's lakefront as a precedent. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources leased lakefront park land from the city of Cleveland in 1978, said Wayne Warren, chief of the agency's division of real estate and land management.
The land consisted of five run-down park areas scattered along 12 miles, he said. The state spent $5 million initially to fix up the parks and another $2 million to hire the necessary rangers and other personnel to staff and maintain Cleveland Lakefront State Park.
The Cleveland park provided the state's northern gateway, and Cincinnati's park would provide that same gateway from the south, said City Architect Bob Richardson.
And the state already has helped fund Cincinnati's riverfront parks, said former Ohio Senate President Stan Aronoff, a lobbyist who has been consulting the park board about the idea.
“This would just be a continuation,” he said.
Still, staff at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources might object to the idea initially because there are already 73 state parks and limited resources to maintain them, said Larry Henry, a former assistant parks chief.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources staff fought the move to declare Cleveland's lakefront a state park, said Mr. Henry, who now works to preserve land in Highland County.
But political clout helped the Cleveland park get the designation, Mr. Henry said, adding that he now sees the wisdom in having the state designation for the lakefront “jewel.”
“Get the movers and shakers that move and shake the politicians,” Mr. Henry said. “If Cleveland can do it, why can't Cincinnati?”
The city resolution that Mr. Heimlich may introduce seeks $15 million in the state's year 2000 capital budget for the first phase of the park's development. It lists the total project budget as $75 million.
Mr. Heimlich said park board offi cials have approached various council members about introducing the resolution. He thinks such a resolution would need unanimous support before sending it to Gov. Bob Taft and other state leaders.
“This is something that every council member needs to get behind,” he said. “If they're comfortable, we'll do it (today).”
The Cincinnati Park Board has been working with the Cincinnati Recreation Commission and the city's Department of Public Works to create a plan for the park.
Officials unveiled a preliminary plan in August and are working to refine it, Mr. Schuckman said. Construction of the park could not begin until 2003, and the project likely would not be finished until 2005 or 2006.
EDITORIAL: Sex-ed: Who's in control?
Excerpts from CDC sex education
State says it won't force plan on local schools
What you can do
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Auditor cries foul on stadium tax use
City idea: State park on the river
Shirey urges moratorium on spending
Tax levy foes howling at Drake surplus
Tobacco payment spending unsettled
Drivers ease off pedal on I-275
Inmates do good as they do time
Teen moms settle suit over honor society ban
2nd man charged in drive-by
Children's agency responds to criticism
Elsmere ready to fight new jail
Playhouse version of 'Glass Menagerie' reflects the new
Best Halloween treats aren't tricky
GET TO IT
If patients define goals, doctor says, they cultivate good habits
Sure it's sinuses?
'Team Shelley' back for strides against cancer
Local radio giveaways aren't always local
Boy, 5, hospitalized; legal guardian charged
Finneytown superintendent to retire
Gathering in Butler County remembers victims of crime
Lakota ponders merits of school for freshmen
Low-rate loans planned for Price Hill homes
Marriott drops plans for assisted-living complex
Mayors, Olympians have message for kids: Get fit
Middletown builders blast fees
Milford has growing pains
Mining bid wins 1 vote in Boone Co.
Mother, daughter plead guilty in theft
Ohio takes voucher case to U.S. Supreme Court justice
Rep. Watts to speak at Clermont Co. fund-raiser
Scientist fair puts emphasis on people
Teacher accused of striking 8-year-old
Teen cleans up with $1,000 prize
tires turned in
United Way two-thirds to its goal
