Recordpub.com - Grant may fund whitewater park Kent seeking downtown attraction

By Matt Fredmonsky

Record-Courier staff writer

The cost to design and build a whitewater park along the Cuyahoga River in downtown Kent could be reimbursed through a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

This year, the ODNR awarded $3.6 million in grants for improving public boating access facilities across the state through its Cooperative Boating Access Facility Program.

Though traditionally the grants support boat ramps, docks and even dredging bodies of water, the money can also be applied to the canoe and kayak river modifications proposed in Kent.

Julie McQuade, capital improvements administrator for the ODNR division of water craft, said there have been no whitewater projects in the state, so the grant has never had a chance to support such an endeavor.

"It's a very unique project," McQuade said. "That's why I'm interested in attending the meetings."

McQuade will be in town Tuesday to attend a 7 p.m. project meeting at Kent Fire Station No. 1. A representative from Recreation Engineering and Planning, the Colorado-based consulting firm, will meet with members of Main Street Kent and the Kent Parks and Recreation department to discuss a whitewater adaptation in Kent.

Main Street Kent and the parks department have agreed to pay $2,600 and $1,100, respectively, to the Colorado firm for the first phase of the project planning process. In August, the firm submitted its proposal, which outlines six planning phases and carries a price tag of $20,090.

The firm is the nation's leading whitewater park consulting firm and is responsible for 70 in-stream design and consulting projects. The firm helped design the Clear Creek Whitewater Park in Golden, Colo., which cost $170,000 to build and generates approximately $1.8 million in revenue annually for the town.

In Kent, initial proposals have been to create whitewater modifications along the banks of the Cuyahoga River stretching from the point near Brady's Leap south to John Brown Tannery Park. Whether those modifications are applicable to the ODNR grant will not be known until August.

Mary Gilbert, executive director of Main Street Kent, said ideally the REP study would be completed by March 2008 with the grant application then turned in by April and the results announced in August.

"We could actually break ground in 2009," Gilbert said. "Because they've never really funded anything like this before, we'll really have to convince them this fits, which I think we can."

The ODNR grant program receives approximately $7.2 million bi-annually for disbursement.

Posted by local paddler December 5, 2007

If this project is completed, it will be designed around natural flows and not rely on Akron to release water from Lake Rockwell.

Any activities will be reviewed/permitted by EPA/DNR/etc to ensure that it meets their criteria for environmental/ecological standards. Its more about providing the public with access to the river for not only recreation, but also teaching about water quality and environmental awareness/stewardship. Most paddlers are constantly removing debris/trash from the rivers during our outings and are generally very conscientious about the environment and our impacts. Thats why we are usually the ones participating in and organizing river cleanups.

And yes we "scout" the sections before we paddle them, but not everyone does. The Kent Fire Department has expressed a great interest in working with local paddlers to "work" on their swiftwater rescue training skills and learn from our experience. we can also use this "water park" to teach people about water safety and paddling awareness.

As far as imposing humanity's imprint on the river, well that has already been done over the last 200 years due to industry and ignorance. But why not take this formerly abused section of the Cuyahoga River use it as tool to show the next generations how to live in harmony with the river and learn from past mistakes. Let's allow Kent to "think outside the box" and create the idea that the Cuyahoga River can be used for recreation uses and learning about environmental issues instead of being the river that caught fire. After all, the Clean Water Act was sparked by the fires on this river and what better way to celebrate the rivers turnaround than putting Kent on the front page of national news with a positive story about their embracing the river and its potential for downtown redevelopment?

To me, this seems like a wise investment for Kent and the Cuyahoga River.

Posted by bogomir December 1, 2007

I hear you philosophically, Rob, but I think the footprint a water park would leave would be fairly ecologically benign within a short time. I think it would give Kent a great spark of life to have it downtown. Is it worth the cost? Hard to say. And will Akron let loose enough water to make it viable?

As for a waterpark amusement ride -- I assure you, that's a completely different experience -- it's a passive, please-let-me-pay-money-to-be-entertained-in-a-completely-artificial-environment kind of experience. Being on a river is something we should promote wholeheartedly. It's a life-affirming experience that takes skills and I would argue soothes the soul and makes you a better steward of the earth.

Posted by Rob Anderson December 1, 2007

Um...let me get this right, folks?

Just how many public tax dollars were spent recently under an EPA edict to lower the level of the Kent dam; said goal being to "return the river ecology to a more natural state"!

Now certain citizens want to spend more public tax dollars in order to reimpose humanity's imprint over the region???

Any citizen, canoist or kayaker already has a right to traverse the section of river in question, whether or not it's located in the City of Kent; let's just hope they have the good sense to scout same first. Otherwise, Kent's Firefighter/Paramedic forces had best brush up on "river rescues", eh?

This citizen might suggest that if certain folk in the area want to visit a waterpark amusement ride that they truck their butts on up to Geauga Lake Park.