Cleveland to settle battle for Blythe Park

Cleveland, Tenn., Mayor Tom Rowland gives his 2015 State of the City address during a recent meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Cleveland.
Cleveland, Tenn., Mayor Tom Rowland gives his 2015 State of the City address during a recent meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Cleveland.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- A modular building housing the Blythe Early Head Start program, located in Blythe Park since 2010, has become a major source of contention for members of the Blythe community as well as members of the Cleveland City Council.

The Blythe neighborhood association wants the temporary structure removed from the park so its space may be fully utilized by the community; the Family Resource Agency wants the building to remain in the vicinity.

The building occupies about 9,000 square feet of the park's 59,000 square feet, or about 15 percent of the park's property, according to the agency.

On Monday, the council asked city staff to determine what options are available for repositioning the modular building within a parking lot belonging to the nearby Family Resource Center, which serves as an operational hub for the Early Head Start program.

photo Bill Estes of the Cleveland City Council

"It's a great program, it's a great neighborhood," said Mayor Tom Rowland. "Somewhere in the middle, there's a balance."

The "middle ground" has already been reached, said Councilman Bill Estes, citing the Family Resource Agency's 2010 lease agreement with Cleveland that allowed the agency to place a modular building on the park property for two years.

The agency has had three extra years to find another location for its Early Head Start program, said Estes, who proposed giving them until June 30, 2016, to relocate.

"We have not been able to identify another location that makes sense," said James Anderson, the agency's CEO. "A random lot is not going to meet the needs of the children and allow us to serve people as economically and efficiently as possible."

Family Resource Agency assets within the resource center provide food, security and supervisory services, said Anderson.

If the modular building -- and the Early Head Start program -- are removed, it will cause the community to lose "foundational educational services for 16 children for this year and every year thereafter," according to a Family Resource Agency fact sheet distributed to Cleveland leaders.

Community representatives have questioned how many Early Head Start students come from within the neighborhood.

The Family Resource Agency has not provided a specific breakdown of addresses but said they generally originate within Southeast Cleveland.

If Cleveland does not allow the modular building to remain in close proximity to its current location, the program may be relocated to another county, taking nearly $250,000 "in ongoing funds" with it and costing four staff members their jobs, said Anderson.

"It's a park -- that's all it boils down to," said Kim Lorello, with the neighborhood association. "The neighbors and the neighborhood want their park back."

Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.

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