Committee asks administration to review four cultural and recreation projects for capital reserve funding

Vice Chair Scotty Johnson said the Budget & Finance Committee asked the city administration to prepare short reports on four cultural and recreation projects so council members can consider using a newly created capital project reserve for funding.

The motion, introduced on behalf of Council Members Evan Nolan, Walsh, Owens, Jeffreys, Krammerding and Vice Mayor Jan Michelle Kearney, directs the administration to provide a brief (roughly two‑week) history and assessment of the Camp Washington skate park project and three arts projects so council members may decide whether to move forward with funding recommendations.

The reports were requested because the committee created a capital project reserve during the most recent closeout process with roughly $1.4 million available and rules restricting direct allocations until after Jan. 1, 2025, Council Member Walsh said. "Any direct asks of this cannot come until after 01/01/2025," Walsh told the committee, adding the administration should review past city funding, remaining gaps and provide a recommendation.

Why it matters: The reserve represents one-time funds that council members say they want to use for catalytic neighborhood investments. Committee discussion focused on speeding administrative review while ensuring the administration has adequate time to prepare accurate histories and recommendations before council votes on any allocations.

Council Member Evan Nolan, a sponsor of the skate‑park request, said the Camp Washington project already has partial funding commitments and that city spending would be on city property managed by the Cincinnati Recreation Commission (CRC). "The council allocated $250,000 in the FY 24 budget to show our commitment to the project," Nolan said, and he reported outside commitments that, taken together with the city allocation, bring total commitments to $650,000: $300,000 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and $50,000 each from the DeVu Good Foundation and the Hale Foundation.

Nolan and other members said the administrative report will let councilors decide whether to fund the project in a single phase to avoid higher costs from multi‑phase construction.

Committee members debated the requested two‑week turnaround for the administration. Walsh said the intent is a short, focused report; administration official Dr. Dutis said the administration would prefer more time but that reports for projects already in progress "probably could be done" in the requested period. "My concern would be adding additional [items] — once we hit a quantity — that turnaround time may become problematic," Dr. Dutis said.

Vice Mayor Jan Michelle Kearney asked for advance notice of deadlines so council members and the public have time to submit ideas for the fund. Another member urged colleagues to file possible projects promptly so the capital reserve is not allocated before others can compete for it.

The four requests that the committee moved forward as administrative report requests are: - Camp Washington skate park (motion filed by Council Members Nolan, Walsh, Owens, Jeffreys, Krammerding and the Vice Mayor) - ArtWorks Creative Campus Art Park (motion filed by Council Member Walsh) - Clifton Cultural Arts Center headquarters (motion filed by Council Member Walsh) - Cincinnati Art Museum expanded ADA connection project (motion filed by Council Member Walsh)

Each motion asks the administration for a concise summary of project history, past city funding, outstanding funding needs and a recommendation about whether the capital reserve is an appropriate funding source. The motions do not allocate dollar amounts; any future allocation would require a separate council vote.

Ending: Committee members moved all four report requests to pass; the committee did not take final funding votes. The administration agreed to attempt the requested turnarounds and to notify the committee if more time is needed.