Gahanna Sets Capital Plan Vote After Restoring Action Sports Park
Council postponed consideration of the capital plan until Nov. 2 after requiring the action sports park be added back.
Second reading of the ordinance adopting the 2027–2031 City of Gahanna Capital Improvement Plan was postponed to Nov. 2, 2026, according to municipal legislative records. Councilmember Kaylee Padova moved to postpone consideration until Nov. 2, 2026, after adding the action sports park back into the capital plan. The motion carried to postpone the ordinance to Nov. 2, 2026, and return it to the Committee of the Whole for further discussion.
Padova expressed concern that removing the project would cause future council members and staff to lose track of community interest and potential grant opportunities. She stated that the city had removed all equipment at Shull Park and no longer had a skate park. She also noted that the Parks Master Plan process occurred when Gahanna still had a skate park and therefore did not reflect the current absence of that facility.
Senior Director of Operations Kevin Schultz told council members during an Oct. 12 Committee of the Whole meeting that the city removed the Shull Park skate park around 2022–2023 because materials placed within the flood zone deteriorated, making maintenance impractical and creating unsafe conditions for users. Schultz explained that parks and recreation staff conducted a 2023 conceptual assessment to explore replacing the facility with an action sports park concept with amenities such as BMX pump tracks and a tree canopy zipline, but the city paused the project in early 2024 after proposed placement at Lower McCorkle Park lacked sufficient community support.
Padova pointed to a community petition supporting the return of a skate park and emphasized the importance of considering the needs of the broader community rather than relying solely on those who expressed the strongest opinions. Padova also observed that increased summer use of electric bicycles and scooters among young people gave an action sports park greater relevance as a location where young people could safely ride rather than using public trails. Schultz estimated the original action sports park concept would cost $1 million to $1.5 million, explaining that without an identified location or proven feasibility, the proposal fell between the assessment and identified phases of the capital plan framework rather than advancing to an actionable phase.
Councilmember Merisa Bowers urged preserving the project as visionary or identified to maintain continuity and the city's earlier commitment to replace the skate park without necessarily allocating 2027 funds. Schultz described actionable projects as under design, assessment projects as still addressing feasibility or financing, identified projects as drafts with significant unresolved issues, and visionary projects as less defined. Schultz stated he had removed the project based on his understanding that it would not proceed, apologized if that understanding was incorrect, and affirmed that a skate park remained achievable within existing resources compared with substantially larger visionary projects like a community center.
Schultz offered to restore the project to the plan, and President Trenton Weaver proposed referring the item to committee and considering another substitute exhibit on Nov. 2. Municipal legislative records list Second Substitute Exhibit A as a final revision among the attachments for the capital plan ordinance. Under terms of the legislation, the adopted five-year plan will guide the preparation of the annual capital budget and future municipal appropriations. Councilmember Schnetzer moved to amend the ordinance by substituting Exhibit A after Schultz explained that staff reconciled category tables across the six capital-plan categories with detailed tables so that five-year expenditure figures matched, noting an earlier version had inadvertently included 2025 sheets.
Previously, Pique reported that Gahanna amended the capital plan on Oct. 30 ahead of the scheduled vote, and reported that Gahanna halved its income tax growth forecast on Oct. 23 as remote work squeezed capital revenues.
How we know this
The sources and records behind this story, with the facts they support.
Committee of the Whole · 2026-10-26
Supporting evidence (1)
Second reading of the ordinance adopting the 2027–2031 City of Gahanna Capital Improvement Plan was postponed to Nov. 2, 2026, according to municipal legislative records.
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Returning for further discussion (Second Reading Postponed to 11/2/2026): ORD-0038-2026 · AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE 2027-2031 CITY OF GAHANNA CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, SUPERSEDING ALL PRIOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLANS, AND PROVIDING FOR FUTURE SUNSET
Supporting evidence (10)
Councilmember Kaylee Padova moved to postpone consideration until Nov. 2, 2026, after adding the action sports park back into the capital plan.
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Councilmember Padova moved to postpone consideration until November 2, 2026, after adding the action sports park back into the CIP.
The motion carried to postpone the ordinance to Nov. 2, 2026, and return it to the Committee of the Whole for further discussion.
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A motion was made by Padova, seconded by Bowers, that the Ordinance be Postponed to Date Certain of November 2, 2026, and return to Committee of the Whole October 26, 2026 for further discussion. The motion carried by the following vote: Result: Pass
Padova expressed concern that removing the project would cause future council members and staff to lose track of community interest and potential grant opportunities.
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Councilmember Padova expressed concern that removing the project would cause future Councilmembers and staff to lose track of the community\rquote s interest and potential grant opportunities.
She stated that the city had removed all equipment at Shull Park and no longer had a skate park.
Read supporting passage
She stated that the City had removed all equipment at Shull Park and no longer had a skate park.
She also noted that the Parks Master Plan process occurred when Gahanna still had a skate park and therefore did not reflect the current absence of that facility.
Councilmember Merisa Bowers urged preserving the project as visionary or identified to maintain continuity and the city's earlier commitment to replace the skate park without necessarily allocating 2027 funds.
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Councilmember Bowers stated that she did not believe staff had removed the project for improper reasons. She recalled strong opposition to the earlier proposal and difficulty identifying a path forward. She suggested retaining the project as visionary or identified to preserve continuity and the City\rquote s earlier commitment to replace the skate park without necessarily allocating 2027 funds.
Schultz described actionable projects as under design, assessment projects as still addressing feasibility or financing, identified projects as drafts with significant unresolved issues, and visionary projects as less defined.
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He described actionable projects as under design, assessment projects as still addressing feasibility or financing, identified projects as drafts with significant unresolved issues, and visionary projects as less defined. He considered the location the principal unresolved issue.
Schultz stated he had removed the project based on his understanding that it would not proceed, apologized if that understanding was incorrect, and affirmed that a skate park remained achievable within existing resources compared with substantially larger visionary projects like a community center.
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Senior Director Schultz cited the community center and southwest floodplain as examples of substantially larger, less-defined visionary projects. He considered a skate park more achievable within existing resources and potentially suitable for earlier funding or a supplemental appropriation. He stated that he had removed the project based on his understanding that it would not proceed, apologized if that understanding was incorrect, and offered to restore it.
Schultz offered to restore the project to the plan, and President Trenton Weaver proposed referring the item to committee and considering another substitute exhibit on Nov. 2.
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He stated that he had removed the project based on his understanding that it would not proceed, apologized if that understanding was incorrect, and offered to restore it.
Schultz offered to restore the project to the plan, and President Trenton Weaver proposed referring the item to committee and considering another substitute exhibit on Nov. 2.
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President Weaver returned the discussion to postponement. He stated his understanding that Council could substitute an exhibit but could not amend the exhibit itself that evening. He proposed referring the item to Committee and considering another substitute exhibit on November 2.
Committee of the Whole · 2026-10-12
Supporting evidence (5)
Senior Director of Operations Kevin Schultz told council members during an Oct. 12 Committee of the Whole meeting that the city removed the Shull Park skate park around 2022–2023 because materials placed within the flood zone deteriorated, making maintenance impractical and creating unsafe conditions for users.
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He explained that the City removed the skate park around 2022-2023 because the facility had deteriorated, primarily due to the materials used within the flood zone, which made maintenance impractical and created unsafe conditions for users. He noted that Shull Park had never served as an appropriate location for such a facility.
Schultz explained that parks and recreation staff conducted a 2023 conceptual assessment to explore replacing the facility with an action sports park concept with amenities such as BMX pump tracks and a tree canopy zipline, but the city paused the project in early 2024 after proposed placement at Lower McCorkle Park lacked sufficient community support.
Read supporting passage
Senior Director Schultz explained that the Department of Parks and Recreation conducted community engagement and a conceptual assessment in 2023 to explore replacing the facility with an action sports park. The concept extended beyond a traditional skate park and included potential amenities such as a tree canopy zipline, BMX pump tracks, and other recreational features. The City identified Lower McCorkle Park as a potential location. He noted that the project generated substantial public comment during discussions surrounding the development of the CIP. Following the community engagement process, the City paused the project in early 2024 and ultimately removed it from the formal CIP, partly because the proposed location lacked sufficient community support.
Padova pointed to a community petition supporting the return of a skate park and emphasized the importance of considering the needs of the broader community rather than relying solely on those who expressed the strongest opinions.
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Councilmember Padova referenced a community petition supporting the return of a skate park to Gahanna. She asked how staff balanced opposition to the previously proposed location with more recent community interest in restoring a skate park. She emphasized the importance of considering the needs and preferences of the broader community rather than relying solely on those who expressed the strongest opinions at a particular time.
Padova also observed that increased summer use of electric bicycles and scooters among young people gave an action sports park greater relevance as a location where young people could safely ride rather than using public trails.
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Councilmember Padova observed that the increased use of electric bicycles and scooters among young people had become particularly noticeable during the summer, following the development of the Parks Master Plan and the Our Gahanna Strategic Plan. She suggested that an action sports park might now have greater relevance as a location where young people could safely ride bicycles and scooters and engage in recreational activities with friends rather than using public trails.
Schultz estimated the original action sports park concept would cost $1 million to $1.5 million, explaining that without an identified location or proven feasibility, the proposal fell between the assessment and identified phases of the capital plan framework rather than advancing to an actionable phase.
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He estimated that the original action sports park concept carried a cost of approximately $1 million to $1.5 million. He explained that the project would likely fall between the assessment and identified phases of the CIP framework, approximately between Sections 3.2 and 3.3, because staff had not established a location or determined the project's feasibility. Without an identified site, the project could not advance to an actionable phase.
Supporting evidence (1)
Municipal legislative records list Second Substitute Exhibit A as a final revision among the attachments for the capital plan ordinance.
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8. Second Substitute EXHIBIT A - DOS-ATT - 2027-2031 Gahanna Capital Improvement Plan - Final r3
Supporting evidence (1)
Under terms of the legislation, the adopted five-year plan will guide the preparation of the annual capital budget and future municipal appropriations.
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Section 4. The adopted CIP shall guide the preparation of the annual Capital Budget and future appropriations, subject to applicable law and budgetary authority.
Supporting evidence (1)
Councilmember Schnetzer moved to amend the ordinance by substituting Exhibit A after Schultz explained that staff reconciled category tables across the six capital-plan categories with detailed tables so that five-year expenditure figures matched, noting an earlier version had inadvertently included 2025 sheets.
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Councilmember Schnetzer moved to amend the Ordinance by substituting Exhibit A, and Councilmember Renner seconded. Councilmember Bowers requested a summary of the changes. Senior Director Schultz explained that staff reconciled summary tables for the six capital-plan categories with detailed tables later in the document so that five-year expenditure figures matched. He stated that an earlier version had inadvertently included 2025 detailed sheets, which accounted for some discrepancies and questions.
Gahanna Council Amends Five-Year Capital Plan Ahead of Nov. 2 Vote
Supporting evidence (1)
Previously, Pique reported that Gahanna amended the capital plan on Oct. 30 ahead of the scheduled vote, and reported that Gahanna halved its income tax growth forecast on Oct. 23 as remote work squeezed capital revenues.
Read supporting passage
Gahanna Council Amends Five-Year Capital Plan Ahead of Nov. 2 Vote
Gahanna Halves Income Tax Growth Forecast as Remote Work Squeezes Capital Plan
Supporting evidence (1)
Previously, Pique reported that Gahanna amended the capital plan on Oct. 30 ahead of the scheduled vote, and reported that Gahanna halved its income tax growth forecast on Oct. 23 as remote work squeezed capital revenues.
Read supporting passage
Gahanna Halves Income Tax Growth Forecast as Remote Work Squeezes Capital Plan