Skatepark will stay open

By Allison Brophy Champion

Published: August 27, 2008

The Yowell Meadow Skatepark is staying open, but rules that are enforceable will soon be rolling in, as will consequences for not following the rules.

“It would be a failure to close the park,” said Marti Williamson, member of the Culpeper Town Parks and Recreation Commission at a meeting Tuesday. “It’s not good for the soul of this town.”

That was the consensus of those in attendance, including commission members, a Town Council member, two skaters, a skater’s mom, a local youth librarian and the county’s director of parks and recreation.

But whether stepped up enforcement will include the hiring of a full-time skatepark attendant remains up in the air.
It will mean shutting down the park temporarily, however, when the rules aren’t followed.

Staying active

Meanwhile, skaters say they’re just doing what they love.

“It’s something to do instead of just sitting around,” said Dmitri Elliott, 13, who’s been skating the Culpeper park for more than a year.

The Culpeper Middle School Student used his skateboard to get to the meeting in Town Hall, riding down the sidewalk on Main Street.

“It gives you something to do instead of getting into bad stuff,” added skater Eric Hitt, 15, when asked by commission members why the skatepark should remain open.

Plus, said Eric’s mother Stephanie, the skatepark is an economic generator for the town, drawing skaters and their money from places such as Warrenton, where the skatepark is much smaller.

She also said not everyone at the skatepark uses the facility.
“The ones who are skateboarding are there to skate. The ones there to hang out are there to hang out.”

Background

Town Council recently directed parks and rec. to come up with a plan for the skatepark’s future in light of longstanding concerns about safety, namely the widespread refusal of skaters to wear helmets.

Council also voiced issues with prpofanity in the park and a report from town staff that most of the damage at the six-year-old park was caused by BMXers using bike pegs. Profanity is prohibited per the skatepark “rules,” though that is not a uniform rule throughout Yowell Meadow, an issue the commission felt needed to be addressed.

Last month, council voted against funding the repairs to send a message to skaters. At its meeting earlier this month, however, Town Council moved forward with the fixes, while moving to put new regulations in place.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Eric and Dmitiri said skaters don’t wear helmets because they are too bulky and uncomfortable.

Town Councilman Bobby Ryan, a leading voice, originally, against the ramp repairs, said helmets aren’t used because, “It’s a badge of honor.”

Either way, the parks and recreation commission spent more than hour Tuesday exploring options for the future of the skatepark, including shutting it down, giving the equipment to a private entity to run or allowing the park to be open only during certain, supervised times.

A law, not rules

Ultimately, the commission honed in on the option of keeping the park open every day year-round, but with mechanisms in place for more order.

A primary means to that end will be developing a town ordinance to give the skatepark rules more teeth. Town police can only enforce ordinances, Chuck Stephenson, the town’s director of planning said, not rules.

Therefore, a full-time skate-park attendant, if implemented, would need to be a sworn officer, he said.

Kathi Walker, parks and rec. commission chairwoman, also felt it was their charge to come up with “a practical means of closing the skatepark for maintenance or during times when staff so deems it needs to be closed.”

“Overall, no one wants to see the park closed,” Walker added, saying that it’s a constructive outlet for young people that is safe, encourages physical activity and keeps skaters off the streets and out of parking lots.

Stephenson said it was never council’s intent to close the skatepark down as the town has more than $200,000 invested in it. He also said the facility cannot be closed off with a fence because it’s in a floodplain. It can temporarily be put out of service by placing chains on the ramps.

Community support

Local businesses and the skate advocacy group known as SCOOP — Skate Culpeper On Our Park — have also donated thousands of dollars toward the park at its inception and as recently as this year.

Several commission members mentioned they had recently met with SCOOP founder Scott Found to discuss solutions. Behind the scenes, Found has also organized a fund-raiser for the skatepark Sept. 10 at Dee Dee’s Restaurant on North Main Street.

In fact, as part of the solution, the commission recommended the formation of a “skateboard board” through SCOOP. The group plans to host a meeting in the near future, Walker said.

Found, in an on-line post Tuesday, agreed that enforcement of the rules and consequences for not doing so was key.

“After a few shutdowns, the kids will either respect the rules or go back to skating around town (and square one),” he said. “Tough problem. I have no answer other than something is better than couch potatoes playing video games and becoming an obesity statistic or worse.”

Laini Bostian, new youth services coordinator at the Culpeper County Library, also volunteered to get on board, telling the commission she wished “to be involved with safety education” and helping to get local skaters “on board with that.” She said she previously worked with skate groups in New York and Illinois, where there were similar issues.

“It helps with socialization of different kids,” Bostian said, listing the advantages. “It acts like a club,” she went on, saying Culpeper lacks a youth center otherwise.

Skateparks she previously worked with were “constantly supervised,” Bostian added.

What’s next?
A part-time attendant monitors Yowell Meadow Park now, Stephenson said, but this person has to cover the entire park. A full-time attendant just for the skatepark could be a limited option because of budgetary constraints, he said.

Longtime parks and rec. commission member Kathleen Snyder, however, said she supported a full-time attendant.
Councilman Ryan wasn’t so sure of that.

“Council doesn’t want to give up the park,” he said. “But I don’t know if you need a fulltime attendant now that school is back in.”

John Barrett, Culpeper County Director of Parks and Recreation, felt skaters should take ownership of their behavior.

“Let the kids develop their own council to develop some peer pressure so the kids will start wearing the helmets,” he said.

In the end, following a positive and interactive meeting, the parks and recreation commission decided to formalize an official recommendation at its Sept. 30 meeting.

The recommendation, incorporating revised rules, a skatepark ordinance, a SCOOP board and temporary closure proce-dures, would then go before Town Council for final adoption.

The commission also agreed to the need for more trashcans around the skatepark and the introduction of some benches, preferably in the shade.

Allison Brophy Champion can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 101 or