Item 9: Resolution Approving PROS Project and Priority Plan

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. , As the report points out, there are only 5 community skateparks in Eugene and all are very modest in size. In light of Eugene's population, the continuing growth of and interest in skateboarding from our local youth, and the community's lack of skating facilities, it is perfectly clear that the city of Eugene needs to build another skatepark as soon as possible. On page 48, the report notes "the City Central sub-area should be a priority." Other parts of the report point out that youth, especially teens, should be the highest priority for increased services. All of these factors point toward constructing Eugene's first flagship covered skatepark at the underutilized Washington-Jefferson Park. The Washington-Jefferson Park 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. In order to gauge interest in a skatepark at this location, Tactics Boardshop skate team members circulated a supporting petition last year and received over 1,600 signatures from local residents in just a few weeks. A copy of this petition is attached, along with the explanatory cover sheet that accompanied the signature form. Andrea, the time has come to make building a large covered, lit skatepark at the Washington-Jefferson skatepark a priority for the Eugene Parks and Recreation Department. This skatepark could even be part of a larger public plaza upgrade to this urban park. We are acutely aware of the financial restraints your department faces in these times. However, we are willing to personally dedicate our efforts and resources to helping your Department acquire the funds necessary to build this skatepark. Although we have not received any formal bids, our preliminary research indicates that we will need to secure between $350- 400,000 to build a large and diverse, covered, lit skatepark at the Washington-Jefferson Park. If the city commits to siting a skatepark at this location and cannot secure cornplete funding to build the skatepark, we are willing to spearhead efforts to attempt to raise up to half the total funds from private donors. Our hope is that we can work together to obtain any remaining funding from other government sources and matching grants. The time is now to get this project off the ground. The PROS Comprehensive Plan has been a valuable tool for charting the future of Parks & Recreation in Eugene and we are very pleased to see the most recent Draft plan list providing a covered centrally located skatepark as a Priority 1 initiative (p. 60). We hope your Department will formally articulate a, commitment to building a skatepark at the Washington- Jefferson Park in the final PROS Plan. We look forward to hearing from you in the near future so that we can talk about making this vision a reality. Thank you for your time; Best regards, Robert Chandler & Matthew Patton cc: Eugene Mayor, Kitty Piercy Eugene City Council Members Lane County Commissioners 4J Board of Directors 4J High School Principals 4J Middle School Principals Eugene Chief of Police, Robert Lehner Kidsports Executive Director, Jim Torrey (j)