Skate plaza proposed for Hanna Park

 Notes

Commissioner Leslie Rich called the Oct. 21 meeting of the Cincinnati Recreation Commission to order at 4 p.m. There was a full room of attendees, with the following commissioners in attendance:

• Leslie Rich (commissioner)
• Eve Bolton (commissioner)
• Tom West (commissioner)

Pat O’Callaghan Jr., board president , attended the meeting over a video link. Director of Recreation Daniel Betts and Commissioner Kick Lee were absent from the meeting. Their absence was not addressed aloud.

Battle of the Badges donation

Ron Gore, business development officer for the Cincinnati Ohio Police Federal Credit Union, presented briefly on the recent Battle of the Badges charity softball game between the Blue Ash police department and fire department. Gore presented a check for $1,000 as a donation to the CRC.

A new skate plaza in Hanna Park

The commission voted to allow the Mohawk Neighborhood Community Development Corp. (CDC) to acquire Hanna Park to build a new skate plaza in collaboration with Cincinnati Skatepark Project, which project leaders say will reduce crime in the park by activating the space. Commissioner Eve Bolton requested an addendum to get assurance from the city that the CDC will have limited liability in the acquisition.

Representatives from Mohawk Neighborhood CDC said Hanna Park, in its current condition, is beset with “active prostitution” and “active drug dealing.” The park was also the site of multiple shootings this summer. There is also a large crack in the existing basketball court near the pier supports of the hoop and a lock on the broken children’s playset, presenters said.

The presentation included renderings of a proposed design for a new skate plaza, which would be fully ADA accessible and include basketball courts and space for pedestrian access, in addition to a paved area for skateboarding. Inspired by a similar project in San Francisco, the designation of the project as a “skate plaza” rather than a “skate park” reflects its multi-use intent. The Mohawk Neighborhood CDC and Cincinnati Skatepark Project have collaborated to host multiple events, including community meetings and a pop-up skatepark to engage the community and to gather input and support for the project.

Beyond acquisition of land –which the Mohawk Neighborhood CDC needs in order to seek grant funding for the project – the group is not seeking any additional funding from the city.

“This we would like to see as a Mohawk CDC project. What we’re asking for is a space in order to do it, to help unify the heart, to help engage the partner,” said Chris Gerke, a trustee of Mohawk Neighborhood CDC.

Gerke later added, “We’ve increased the activity significantly in the park, throwing our own events, making sure that people came from other areas of the city to use this park, and this is just one more thing we can do to help our neighborhood without a lot of lift from the city. We know your resources are thin.”

The Mohawk Neighborhood CDC is also working to acquire vacant properties in the business district to reactivate the neighborhood through local leadership.

Staffing updates

The CRC welcomed Austin Lubbers, who previously worked for the city’s Department of Public Services, as its new interim division manager and chief financial officer; and Alexander Lott, who previously worked for 3CDC, as an accountant. The CRC also expressed gratitude for recent retiree Dan Jones’ years of service as division manager for Planning and Development.

Building on success, Youth to Work (Y2WK) program seeks to improve and expand

Y2WK coordinator Brandon Elliot and Business Services Division Manager Tim Heyl presented data on the 2025 operation and enrollment of the Y2WK program, which connects youth to summer jobs and provides training in professional and social/emotional skills. The program is open to youth ages 14 to 24, but 97% of participants this year were under the age of 18.

Y2WK is funded with Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Due to federal funding cuts, delays and uncertainty earlier this year, Y2WK operated at a lower capacity in 2025 than in previous years, which meant the program only employed 123 youth this summer. Interest in the program vastly exceeded this capacity, as more than 585 teens who applied were not able to be hired. As part of the hiring process, Y2WK interviewed over 300 teens.

Heyl and Elliot said communication was among the greatest challenges for recruitment, as many teens did not provide up-to-date contact information or respond to emails. As 80% of the youth participants come from families with poverty-level household incomes, Elliot noted that low-income youth tend to face the most barriers to communication.

In the coming year, Y2WK is looking to increase the number of employers and job opportunities and to expand the program’s funding base.

“We did lose some of our community partners this year because the funding came in so late, we weren’t able to keep them engaged at the same level,” Heyl said. “But we need a robust partner network in order to have different opportunities for kids other than rec centers and pools.” Heyl said rec center and pool staff are at capacity with how many Y2WK participants they are able to mentor.

Y2WK is also looking to improve collaboration with city leadership, implement a new standard operating procedures guide, streamline the hiring process, and launch a more proactive offseason program. In 2025, some youth were not able to begin work until as late as July.

Commissioners Rich and Bolton suggested that Y2WK leadership also connect with the Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education to reach more youth.

CRC summer camps and programming

Summer Camps

CRC summer camps welcomed 1,544 campers to teen, STEAM, and therapeutic summer camps, according to  Supervising Recreation Coordinator Kristen Riggins. This year, programs offered 35,000 activities linked to K-12 learning standards to improve summer retention, increased parent communication and engagement, increased field trip supervision, and trained 60% of employees in trauma-informed care.

Aquatics

CRC aquatics introduced new adult programs including floating meditation, grown-up swimming meets, and Splash Bash family events in collaboration with radio station 101.1 The WIZ, said Supervising Recreation Coordinator Blake Williams.

A pilot program offering free pool admission for children age 17 and under at Bond Hill, Filson, Hanna and Millvale pools generated an increase in pool attendance. Revenue at Bond Hill and Millvale increased this year, reflecting an increase in adult attendees accompanying children, while revenue at Filson and Hanna decreased.

Rec @ Nite

Rec @ Nite, a popular program offering a fun and safe space for teens on Saturday nights in the summer, ran this year from June 7 to Aug. 9, alternating weekly between Lincoln and Hirsh Recreation Centers, which Operations Division Manager Brandi Sanders said “were still identified as the hot spots for teen violence and/or victimization.”

In addition to team sports, music, and school supply distribution, Rec @ Nite offered skill-based educational programs in culinary arts, technology and cosmetology. Youth made charcuterie boards with chef instructors from New Leaf Kitchen and assembled bluetooth speakers and remote control robots. In response to surveys asking for more programming oriented to girls, Rec @ Nite introduced a weekly cosmetology program, which was less popular than expected.

“We do think that the longer it stays, the more the girls will get inclined to it, because, had they stayed for the entire period, then they would have received a certificate that would have allowed them to work under a licensed cosmetologist to do hair braiding,” Sanders said. Some recreation centers will continue the cosmetology program into the fall.

These notes can be found on documenters.org.

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