Item 9: Resolution Approving PROS Project and Priority Plan

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. . Vobl)L f=-DfUr--. Ltt \\J\ ~\l Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Projects and Priority Plan. My name is Bob Chandler and I too am one of the owners of locally owned Tactics Boardshop and have also lived in Eugene for over 10 years. Tonight I am advocating you to think about one of Eugene's most under-utilized open space / assets - the Washington'-Jefferson Street Park. In sum, I believe this Park would be the perfect location for a new downtown skate park and that the city of Eugene needs a flagship covered skatepark in this location. This would be the right project to include in a city bond measure: The Washington-Jefferson Park corridor area is perfectly situated to support a large covered skatepark by incorporating the bridge overpass into the skatepark siting. Furthermore, due to its urban location, the facility could be lit without disruption to residential uses. As you know, after years of hard work from Parks Department staff, and through interviews, surveys, workshops, and focus groups, the final PROS plan was recently completed. This plan listed providing a centrally located skate park as a levell priority for the City Central sub-area. This decision was not 'J;p'ive~afwithout a great deal of input and support from the community. )' For those of you who don't a dy know, skateboarding is huge! In 2003, skateboarding participation nationwide was pstimated to be over 11 million. This is roughly the same participation level as baseba: American Sports Data group projected that skateboarding may have had over 14 million participants in 2005. Overall, skateboarding participation grew over 80% between 1998 and 2002. Most importantly, participation in the Pacific Northwest has probably grown even faster than the nation on the whole. Skateboarding provides an active, . healthy activity for our youth and is particularly appealing to kids not interested in traditional team sports such as basketball and football. ~ ., Building a flagship covered, lit, skatepark, will not be cheap. Our preliminary research shows that we need to budget at least $400,000 to do it right. Recognizing that the private sector may need to help fill any funding gaps, we have formed a 501(c)(3) non-profit, the Eugene Skateparks Fund, and are awaiting our tax exempt letter ruling from the IRS . We are committed to helping Eugene and its skateboarders get the flagship skatepark that it deserves and hope you will be too. Thanks for your time. Ct)