[verbatim text] The City of Long Beach today defended the multiple community benefits of a proposed skate park expansion and rejected a Senator's assertion that the project is an inappropriate use of Stimulus dollars.

Today, Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) released a list of 100 projects that he believes are not appropriate uses of Stimulus dollars passed by Congress. Long Beach’s 14th Street Skate Park Expansion project was listed as number 96 on the list.

It is absurd that the merits of the 14th Street Park Expansion are being called into question," said First District Councilmember Robert Garcia. "This project meets so many of the Stimulus package goals passed by Congress. It creates jobs, is shovel ready, meets the guidance published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and has the added benefit of making a true impact in the lives of youth who have very little to look forward to."

The Long Beach City Council unanimously approved the 14th Street Park expansion on June 2, 2009 after passionate testimony from the community about the need for this park expansion. The project utilizes Community Development Block Grant funds to expand a 3,000 square foot Skate Park in one of the lowest-income and historically high-crime areas in Long Beach into an 8,000 square foot park at a cost of $620,000. The project is shovel ready, creates 10 full-time construction jobs, and can be awarded within 120 days from the date the funds are made available.

"The Long Beach 14th Street Skate Park is an essential recreational facility for young people in one of the most vulnerable and densely populated areas in the country," Mr. Garcia said. "It will bring jobs and an improved quality of life to Long Beach, and I would like to personally invite the Senator to visit our community and to tell the kids who want and need this park why he wants to take it away from them."

The City of Long Beach is extremely proud of its efforts in securing Stimulus funding. The City and our government partners have accepted $22,843,204 in funds thus far for the Long Beach area. We expect to receive a total of $53 million in Stimulus dollars through formulas, and are competing for $552 million in additional funds.

While Stimulus dollars cannot be used for casinos, aquariums, golf courses, swimming pools, and zoos, there is no prohibition on using this funding for skate parks. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued guidance that the funds may not be used for "recreational facilities that serve a predominantly higher income clientele." Over 85 percent of the population served by the 14th Street Skate Park are low/moderate income residents, and 44.5 percent of the youth in the neighborhood live in poverty. In addition, Long Beach has not received any official notification from HUD that this is not an allowable project under the Stimulus guidelines.

Improvements to the 14th Street Skate Park include fabrication and installation of new skate park equipment as well as associated site work, grading, concrete, fencing, shade structures, and benches. This area is located in one of the most impoverished areas in Long Beach, and the park currently has given hundreds of kids in the neighborhood an alternative to drugs, gangs and the many negatives they face each day. The City’s application shows that the project meets the goals of Job Creation, Benefiting Low Income Communities, Blight Reduction and Economic Development and Smart Growth.

Facts about 14th Street Park:

• Poverty Rate -- Within ¼ mile of the park, 47.5% of the residents live in poverty, and 44.5% of the youth in the area live in poverty.

• Number of Youth -- 3,739 youth live within a ¼ mile of the park Reduction in Crime since the Skate Park was installed: From 2003 to 2008, crime has dropped in the immediate area around the park, which has historically been a very high crime area of the city. Since 2003, drug related incidents have dropped 60.9%, violent crime has dropped 29.3% and overall incidents have dropped 22.8%. Further, calls for service have dropped 23.0%.

• Current Use of the Site -- While the 3,000 sq ft. skate park has been in operation for several years, the area identified for the expansion is currently occupied by homeless. This project will activate the park and provide a place for kids and young adults to skate, rather than the current use as a homeless gathering place.

• Design of the Park -- Youth from the neighborhood have been actively involved in the design of the park, and this has been a project that has been based in community involvement.

1st dist. Councilman Robert Garcia separately issued the following statement:

The Long Beach 14th Street Skatepark is an essential recreational facility for young people in one of the most vulnerable and densely populated areas in the country. Residents have strongly advocated for the park for many years. The park will bring jobs and an improved quality of life to Long Beach, and offer positive activities to youth who might otherwise be left to fend for themselves on the streets. I’d like to personally invite Senator Coburn to visit our community and to tell the kids who want and need this park why he wants to take it away from them.

Despite Senator Coburn's very visible opposition to federal spending on everything from bridges and wilderness protection to medical research and alternative energy, his state receives about $1.36 for every dollar it pays in Federal taxes, while California gets back just 78 cents on its tax dollar. In fact, Oklahoma receives from the Federal government approximately 1,000 dollars more per person on average than does California. This is just more evidence that Tom Coburn is out of touch and that his grandstanding about the stimulus bill is worse than irrelevant -- it's patently hypocritical.

This is a park we can all be proud of, and I'm proud to let Senator Coburn know that it's going to get built whether he likes it or not.