City Hall's action came despite a high-visibility Sept. 2008 City Hall organized event that touted plans for the skatepark and included then-1st dist. Councilmember Bonnie Lowenthal just six weeks before she faced election to state office. LBReport.com has no evidence that Lowenthal knew about the switch...which apparently took place after she exited her Council office for the state Assembly in late November 2008.

From December 2008 until early May 2009, the 1st dist. had no Councilmember and was under the administrative oversight of the office of Mayor Bob Foster.

LBReport.com began pursuing this story after recalling a Sept. 27 media event at 14th St. Park attended by us and other media outlets. That event was the subject of a pre-event City Hall release headlined as: "Councilmember Bonnie Lowenthal to lead the Long Beach Housing Development Company's Demolition of Blighted Buildings, 14th Street Skate Park Improvements to be Unveiled."

The release stated that then-Councilwoman Lowenthal would "unveil the proposed improvements and expansion of the 14th Street Skate Park...joined by representatives from the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Marine, The Long Beach Housing Development Company, the City of Long Beach Housing Services Bureau, and the City’s Police and Fire Departments. The public is invited to attend...The 14th Street Skate Park improvements include an expansion of the park from Pacific Avenue to Pine Avenue."

At the event (LBReport.com prior coverage reproduced below), plans for the skatepark were prominently displayed. Councilwoman Lowenthal spoke and LBReport.com provided on-demand audio coverage.

Also present was Press-Telegram reporter Kelly Puente who separately reported that city funds were indicated as the funding source for the project. Her report is consistent with our recollection at the time.

It's also consistent with what city officials acknowledge now...but they now say that the city funding source wasn't "set in stone" at the time of the event.

City of LB Government Affairs Manager Tom Modica tells LBReport.com that funding for the skateboard project was envisioned at the time of the Sept. 2007 event using city monies generated from the sale of bonds for park uses, floated against previously obtained federal CDBG funds.

Mr. Modica said he didn't know exactly why that money wasn't used at 14th St. Park and indicated it was a Parks & Recreation decision...and said the park bond/CDBG money is now depleted or otherwise unavailable. He said the city believes the skatepark is appropriate on its merits for federal funding and the city is continuing to pursue it.

A call to LB's Parks, Rec. and Marine Dept. produced a return call from a staffer who said the budget had "evolved" subsequent to the Sept. 2008 media event.

From LBReport.com's coverage of the Sept. 27, 2008 event:

On Saturday Sept. 27, Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal, current and former city officials, reps of LB's Housing Development Co. and several dozen neighborhood residents/advocates gathered in 14th St. Park between Pacific and Pine Aves. to witness demolition of two park-adjacent properties between Pacific and Pine Aves...

...and to view unveiled plans for an expanded Skate Park -- to be built on the land they were standing on -- that will stretch the entire block from Pacific to Pine.

1st district Councilwoman [and 54th district Dem Assembly candidate] Bonnie Lowenthal told the gathering that she felt "extremely proud to be here and participate in a project that has been a number of years in the making," thanked multiple people and entities for their participation and said:

Councilwoman Lowenthal: Today is really critical for a part of Long Beach that before I took office was very neglected...This has been over seven years in the making to improve this area, and I'm very grateful to the leaders of this community and city staff and to the skateboard experts and supporters for making this happen.

To hear Councilwoman Lowenthal's remarks in extended form, click here. [MP3, "whoosh" sound indicates edit for pause/non-substantive digression].

Former 7th district Councilman Mike Donelon (left in photo below), a professional contractor who's advocated skateboard parks in various parts of LB, is very enthusiastic about the block long Skate Park expansion. BBLB/NLB CAG member Dan Pressburg looks on.

These plans were unveiled:

...[end Sept. 27, 2008 coverage]

As previously reported by LBReport.com, the 14th St. skate park wasn't on a detailed list of projects produced by the city in the fall-winter 2008 that the City called "shovel ready" for federal stimulus dollars.

Pursuit of federal dollars for the skate park project was first revealed publicly with a June 2, 2009 item agendized by city management seeking Council approval to seek the federal CDBG stimulus funds.

The application sought federal CDBG monies for two items: WLB Arlington St. storm drain project (to address chronic flooding on that street) and the 14th St. Park skateboard project.

During the agenda item, Councilman Robert Garcia, elected to the 1st Council district seat in an April 2009 winner-take-all special election with less than a majority of votes cast and now facing reelection in less than a year, said he'd pressed city officials almost immediately fund the park project...but didn't mention publicly that City Hall had previously indicated it planned to fund the project using city funds.

In its application seeking federal funds for the 14th St. skatepark, city management said it qualified for funding by promoting "smart growth" and "reducing pollution emissions" as follows:

Description of how activity will achieve above items:

The project is a "smart growth" in that it provides surrounding youth with a nearer local recreation choice that will reduce trips to faraway similar facilities within the City, hence, reducing pollution emissions.

In a story broken in LB by LBReport.com, on June 16 U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (R., OK) issued a report listing the 14th St. skateboard park as among 100 projects the Senator considers a questionable use of federal stimulus funds.

As also first reported in LB on LBReport.com, the Obama administration issued a response to the Senator's report, that called the report's citation of the LB skateboard project "misleading" and stated: "This project would be funded under the CDBG grant program, and no CDBG grants have been awarded yet."

Developing...with further to follow on LBReport.com.

Previous LBReport.com coverage: