School, city and recreational officials are determined to get neighbors of a proposed portable skate park on Dana Street to express their opinion.
And fast!
The Fort Bragg Unified School District Board spent more than an hour last Thursday night talking in painstaking detail about how they could hurry the skate park into existence. They plan to push a door-to-door effort, as well as encouraging, radio, MCTV, Advocate-News and school newspaper coverage to get the public more involved now. So far virtually all the input has been from those who want the skate park.
Why the rush?
While the school board, City of Fort Bragg and the Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District want to take all the time needed to make a decision that will affect the town for decades to come, getting available grant money has put a rush order on the process.
Last Thursday night, Fort Bragg City Manager Linda Ruffing and the school board discussed in great detail the steps needed to acquire between $120,000 and $200,000 in Community Development Block Grant money.
“The problem is it is an opportunity we have to act on very quickly,” Ruffing told the board.
“It”s doled out on a first-come first-served basis. They actually have a very small pot of funds available this year. Our feeling is we need to submit the grant application ASAP. We realize it puts you in the position of having to make a decision on the site rapidly,” she said.
All three public agencies will need to finalize their plans and present them on a grant application as soon as possible after a Tuesday, Sept. 11 community meeting that will also be a joint meeting of the three.
The timeline for public input will have to be shorter than anyone at the school board meeting wanted. A memorandum of understanding between the three will need to be revised by each, which will require a series of special joint meetings in mid-September following the Sept. 11 community meeting. A memo of understanding (MOU) is a legal contract that allows agencies to cooperate in a way that would not be legal without it.
Skate park at top priority
In a community determined to find more for its youth to do, building a skate park has been identified as a top priority among local governments.
The three agencies together studied possible sites for the skate park and found several. But the only city, schools or recreation district-owned property is the location on Dana Street. Using another site would mean an expensive land purchase or lease, which would cut into the scant funding available. Not only that, but building a permanent skate park was also beyond the current budget, hence the removable, all-above-ground and modular facility now proposed.
Ruffing and school officials said the grant money being discussed would be about enough to pay for the kind of park being proposed.
Mendocino County Supervisor Kendall Smith has also been part of the discussion and has pledged $25,000 in matching county money.
But many questions remain unanswered. The MOU has not been revised by the boards, much less the public or lawyers. Lund said input from neighbors, principals and teachers should be obtained on issues like hours and rules for the skate park.
“I have a strong opinion that if we are going to do this, the skate park needs to be controlled in terms of access time,” Lund said. “My opinion is that it should be restricted access during school hours.”
“Start that way ? And then open it up more later,” Lund said.
The school board president said that illustrated one of the problems with a fast track. “We have been told it was premature to talk about operational hours.”
“Parks that are successful are open from dawn to dusk and there aren”t restrictions,” said DeeLynn Carpenter. “That makes me feel this is not a good site.”
Ruffing said once the grant is in, there would be 24 months to work out details. If things fell apart, the city could find another way to spend the grant money during that time, she said.
While the three agencies have been working together toward a goal, the school district is adamant that the skate park not be permanent, but above ground and removable to another location in two years, should that become necessary.
Carpenter expressed concerns that city packet materials from staff have not effectively communicated the temporary nature of the park. Ruffing said the temporary issue would also need to be aired in the Community Development Block Grant process. The city would be given “site control” through a joint powers authority authorized in the MOU, in order to get the funds.
School board member Jennifer Owen disqualified herself because she is the city grant writer and such funds help pay her salary. Board member Wendy Boise will be absent, meaning a unanimous vote would be required, Lund explained. Of the three members left to vote, Carpenter expressed opinions about the skate park that didn”t sound like she was ready to vote a quick “yes.”
She said 85 percent of skate park users were men and boys, which called into question whether this was the highest and best use of money for all the youth of Fort Bragg.
“But in Willits the number of girls has begun to increase,” Carpenter said.
Board member Linda Rosengarten said there were no other items to provide recreational opportunities to young people with the momentum and support of the skate park.
“If there were and they were more gender equal, I would be more concerned,” Rosengarten said.
Rosengarten looked into the camera to make a special plea to women and girls about whether they want the park or not.
“Right now on the air, I want to say to women young and whatever age, if you are interested in a skate park, please come to our meeting on Sept. 11,” she said. “We want to know what you think.”
Interest broadening
Studies show that adolescent girls are the age and gender group most in need of exercise opportunities.
In 1993 there were 7,576,000 male and 2,495,000 female skateboarders, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. While more recent information was not immediately available, articles about skateboarding indicate the number of girls involved has been on the rise.
Skateboarding ranks as the sixth largest participant sport in the U.S., and the third largest for participants between ages 6-18. The average age of skateboarders is 14.
According to the Website www.skatepark.org, there have been more public skate parks built in the last three years than in the previous 20. Surveys report an estimated 50 to 100 users at any park on any given day, weekdays and weekends, at any time, much more than a baseball field or tennis courts.
According to the Tony Hawk Foundation, skateboarding has exploded into one of the most popular sports in the U.S. Today, an estimated 12 million Americans own and use skateboards, with more than a million new kids picking up the sport every year.
Yet despite this phenomenal growth, there are only about 1,000 skate parks nationwide where skaters can legally skateboard. Willits built a skate park about two years ago, and Fort Bragg officials hope to get input from that city about how the skate park is going.
The location of the 6:30 p.m., Sept. 11 meeting has not been finalized, but Dana Gray Elementary School is being discussed.
