GRANT PROPOSAL
Skatepark Project Name: Fort Myers Skatepark
Location: Fort Myers, Lee County, Florida
2017 STATISTICS
Retrieved from City-data.com (n.d.-a.)
Population: 79,943
Gender makeup: 50.9% Female, 49.1% male
Median resident age: 40.2 years
Median household income: $45,511
Median household value: $230,800
Estimated per capita income: $28,545
Median gross rent: $982
Recreational facilities (Fort Myers Parks & Recreation, n.d.):
- Billy Bowlegs Sports Complex: playground, basketball courts, multipurpose field
- Golf: two 18-hole municipal courses
- Three aquatic centers
- Lighted tennis courts
- Riverside Community Center: meeting area with outdoor nature trails, kayaking, and fishing
- Skatium: gym and ice skating
- STARS Complex: a youth center
Nearest skate parks (Google, n.d.):
- Eagle Skate Park, Cape Coral (9.2 miles from central Fort Myers)
- Captain Don Cerbone Memorial Skate Park, Punta Gorda (24.3 miles from central Fort Myers)
- Bonita Springs Skate Park, Bonita Springs (29.2 miles from central Fort Myers)
SUMMARY
The Tony Hawk Foundation (n.d.) has several criteria for awarding grant dollars to the organization. The most important for our purposes is that the city’s median income be lower than the statewide average. Florida’s estimated median household income is $52,594 (City-Data.com, n.d.-a.). Fort Myers thus meets the basic criteria for the application.
Fort Myers has been without a skate park since 2017, when the city tore it down in favor of beach volleyball courts, citing a greater demand for that sport over skateboarding (Dulaney, 2017). A group calling itself the Fort Myers Skatepark Foundation (n.d.) had been in talks with city leaders as of early 2019 about a new location. However, its Facebook page has not been updated with any new information since.
There should be at least one skate park for every 50,000 residents in a city, according to the Tony Hawk Foundation (2019). That Fort Myers lacks a single site for skateboarders then is rather troublesome. While neighboring Cape Coral does have one, it is unrealistic to expect skaters to travel nine miles for access to it. One such reason is that they may lack sufficient transportation to get to Cape Coral. City-Data.com (n.d.-b.) shows that 14.4 percent of the population in Fort Myers lived below the poverty level during 2017. This includes a significant portion of children between the ages of 12 and 17.
Fort Myers also has a higher crime rate than the national average, though it has decreased from 2005 to 2018 (City-Data.com, n.d.-a.). Many of the 323 signers of a Change.org petition put forth by the Fort Myers Skatepark Foundation point to skateboarding as an activity that is both productive and physical. Most importantly, it deters residents from becoming involved in illegal activity, say the supporters (Fuscardo, n.d.).
Of course, there are several other steps that organizers have to take to secure funding. But at the minimum, Fort Myers has a case to make for a skatepark if it so chooses–and the backing of people in the community.
References
City-data.com. (n.d.-a.). Fort Myers, Florida. Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/city/Fort-Myers-Florida.html
City-data.com. (n.d.-b.). Fort Myers, Florida poverty rate data. Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Fort-Myers-Florida.html
Dulaney, C. (2017, January 23). Fort Myers skate park out, volleyball court in. News-Press. Retrieved from https://www.news-press.com/story/news/2017/01/23/fort-myers-skate-park-out-volleyball-court/96945278/
Fort Myers Parks & Recreation. (n.d.). Facilities. Retrieved from https://cityftmyers.com/1396/Facilities
Fort Myers Skatepark Foundation. (n.d.). In Facebook [Page type]. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.facebook.com/pg/FMskatepark/posts/
Fuscardo, J. (n.d.). Support Fort Myers skatepark. Retrieved from https://www.change.org/p/fort-myers-skatepark-foundation-support-fort-myers-skatepark
Google. (n.d.). [skatepark]. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/maps/search/skatepark/@26.6192448,-82.1135286,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m8!2m7!3m6!1sskatepark!2sFort+Myers,+FL!3s0x88db420189a85429:0xc62908530aba258a!4m2!1d-81.8723084!2d26.640628
Tony Hawk Foundation. (2019, April 9). Where are all the skateparks? Retrieved from https://tonyhawkfoundation.org/2019/04/where-are-all-the-skateparks/
Tony Hawk Foundation. (n.d.). THF skatepark grants. Retrieved from https://tonyhawkfoundation.org/skatepark-grants/