The College Park (Ga.) City Council voted Friday to keep a climbing wall where it stands at Tracey Wyatt Recreational Center after city officials inexplicably suggested removing the donated structure.
Last month the council had voted unanimously to give the city manager a $60,000 budget to investigate the location of the wall and determine whether it needed to be moved to another location or completely dismantled.
WSB-TV reported at the time that taxpayers were never given a reason as to why the wall's future was in question.
“I don’t think there has been a reason why, a legitimate reason as to why this wall should come down,” said Shekita James whose son uses the wall at summer camps. “Safety is not a factor. The experts have deemed that this wall is safe. We have the technology for this wall to be safe. I absolutely do not think it should come down.”
Professional Climber Kai Lightner’s non-profit, Climbing for Change, and a second non-profit called 1Climb donated the wall after securing $100,000 from Adidas in 2020. The wall opened in 2021.
In April, Lightner said he received an email from the director of Recreational & Cultural Arts, Michelle Johnson, asking how much it would cost to remove the wall.
“I never heard a complaint. So, my first question was why,” said Lightner. “Nobody wanted to tell me why or give me a response.”
The council's director for City Manager, Dr. Emmanuel O. Adediran’s $60,000 budget was to “make the best administrative actions on determination of relocation of the rock wall, to investigate the wall and decide where it should be moved.”
“Not a single safety issue has ever been reported on this wall at all,” Lightner told WSB-TV. “Everything is in perfect condition, and we purposefully partnered with Stone Summit, the local gym, because they treat this facility as a sister location.
The wall currently costs the city about $34 a year to insure, and removing the walk would likely cost more than $100,000.
