CLEVELAND — The City of Cleveland’s newly-established Department of Parks and Recreation is unveiling a “master plan” to improve conditions in their facilities, including a potential parks levy on the ballot in 2028.

What You Need To Know

  • Council members, including Anthony Hairston and Kevin Conwell, are already pushing back on the idea, raising concerns about whether increasing the tax burden on residents is the best way to fund the department

  • “What is broken needs to be fixed,” Parks and Recreation Director Alexandria Nichols said in an interview. “Whether or not it's a park bench or a roof on a gazebo or, trash cans even outside, we need to take care of those things”

  • The unveiling of this plan is the first of many steps before anything becomes official

“What is broken needs to be fixed,” Parks and Recreation Director Alexandria Nichols said in an interview. “Whether or not it's a park bench or a roof on a gazebo or, trash cans even outside, we need to take care of those things.”

This week, Nichols and other parks leaders shared the plan with city council, who appeared skeptical of the approach.

It’s no secret that many of Clevelands parks and rec centers are in need of an update. Nichols said the unveiling of this plan comes after 18 months of collecting and analyzing the responses of residents, stakeholders and city officials. With the help of consultants, her team determined the best way to reach the magnitude of investment needed to improve Cleveland’s recreation landscape, is by putting a parks levy on the ballot in 2028. 

“The recommendation from the consultants, one of the primary consultants, was that a levy would help ensure longevity in terms of funding,” Nichols said. “So, that we would not necessarily be subject to changes in the operating funds that would come and be approved by city council on an annual basis.”

Council members, including Anthony Hairston and Kevin Conwell, are already pushing back on the idea, raising concerns about whether increasing the tax burden on residents is the best way to fund the department.

“At this moment, at this time, I just don’t think that that is the right thing to do,” Hairston said.

Nichols said much of the city’s recreation landscape was built decades ago, when Cleveland’s population was higher — leaving the department with more than they’re capable of maintaining today. 

The plan also proposes closing some facilities, like potentially ending the lease at the Cary Rec Center, so the department is able to keep up with maintenance moving forward and provide programing at a higher standard.

“I don't support closing, and let me put that down on the record, Cory Recreation Center,” Conwell said. “I would have reached out to the residents first.”

The city has long taken a “worst first” approach to park maintenance, meaning they prioritize fixing the parks or rec centers that are in the worst condition, no matter where they are. But, under the new plan, the department would take an “equity-based” approach that uses nine criteria to determine where improvements are needed and could have the greatest impact. 

Nichols said her team is listening to the community, and she’s hopeful in the coming years, they’ll prove to council — and residents — it’s worth investing in parks.

“I've used this 100 times, and I'll say it again, we have to clean our house before we invite our friends over,” Nichols said.

The unveiling of this plan is the first of many steps before anything becomes official.

Parks department leaders said there will be plenty of opportunity for public input moving forward.