Supporters back skate park

COLUMBUS -- Skate park supporters, young and old, attended Tuesday’s public meeting to convince the city to relocate, rather than remove, the current facility at Gerrard Park.

More than 40 people attended the meeting to discuss with city officials their plans for the skate park and what they must do to keep one in Columbus.

A joint effort by the city and Columbus Public Schools to renovate the six tennis courts at Gerrard Park is the reason for the consideration of either permanently removing or relocating the skate park.

The renovation is part of an effort to provide tournament competition-quality courts at Pawnee Park and Gerrard to create more opportunities for Columbus High School boys and girls tennis teams to host tournaments.

City Administrator Joseph Mangiamelli said the only criteria for the city to invest an estimated $20,000-$25,000 for a new concrete pad is that those who use the skate park will wear protective equipment, obey the established rules and be considerate of others in and around the skate park, which includes monitoring noise levels and using appropriate language.

According to state statute, the Nebraska Legislature’s inclusion of municipalities under Nebraska’s Recreation Liability Act requires the city to take every precaution to minimize potential harm, Mangiamelli said, which includes wearing protective helmets. The city will seek clarification if the Unicameral’s intent also was to include pads as part of the requirement.

The current skate park was opened nearly six years ago after a two-year campaign from the now inactive Columbus Extreme Sports Association with a contribution of $30,000 by the city.

Greg Schaefer, former president of the association, said he would like to see the park relocated but was skeptical a liability agreement with the city would be upheld despite the expressed intent for compliance stated by the 30 youth in attendance.

“I’ve heard this story before, boys. It lasted one month,” Schaefer said of the youth wearing helmets, picking up trash and maintaining the park.

He said the pervious agreement with the city was upheld for a month or two, but was subsequently violated to the extent the association decided to temporarily close it in October 2003 for repeated violations.

The association use to monitor the park’s use when it first opened, but more than two years ago participation dwindled and frustrations arose as some “bad apples,” according to Schaefer, began to abuse the privilege of the park.

“You individuals are going to have to self-police yourselves,” he said, “(otherwise) you guys might lose your park because of it.”

Mangiamelli said he was encouraged by the turnout and response from those at the meeting, but the ones who are involved are not likely to be the ones creating the problems.

“We will probably never get their attention,” he said, but those who are expressing support “are the people who will hopefully help us gain order and maintain compliance.”

Brian Brownlow, president of the Columbus Softball Association, said he supported Columbus having a skate park, but due to problems, including vandalism to his organization, is opposed to it being relocated in Gerrard Park.

When the skate park was initially opened it was monitored and maintained appropriately, Brownlow said, “(then) slowly but surely supervision was lost, and a couple bad apples ruined the barrel.”

A recent example, he said, was a “potential skateboarder who drove a car through the fence (of the skate park). That is the type of thing we are worried about.”

When Property Superintendent Mark Kudron said the intent for the relocation is to not include a fence around the facility, a few parents objected, citing concerns about children’s safety as they may wander onto the pad and become injured by someone skating.

Schaefer said the burden should not be placed on the city to provide for the park, but rather the parents and kids themselves should meet their own needs through fundraisers and active participation.

“The more burden we put on the city, the less help we are going to receive,” he said, adding that the city has been more than generous for providing the land and money to install the concrete.

Mangiamelli said the city understands if the park is not relocated, it may create problems through the rest of the city.

“We understand if we don’t provide a space it will be every other place,” he said, but that does not override the fact that the city must minimize it liability and establish rules to prevent nuisances.

With the city’s current plan to rehabilitate the tennis courts, the skate park is expected to be closed in June, he said, and, if the city chooses to relocate, it could be reopen in a matter of months.

“The skate park will be out of commission for a period,” Mangiamelli said, although he could not give an exact window.

The city administrator will give his recommendation to the City Council, which will then make its own decision on the issue.

Schaefer said it is now up to the users and their parents to keep this project aloft, and hopefully this will be enough of a wake up call to make sure the facility is used responsibly now and in the future.

“Self-policing is the easiest way to take care of the park,” he said. “It isn’t dead yet, but if you guys continue to abuse it, it is going to die. It’s your park.”

For those who want to get involved, the Columbus Extreme Sports Association will meet 7 p.m. May 8 at the Columbus Public Library to discuss how to proceed.