March 12, 2009 Issue
Budget Concerns May Ax Supervisory Position at Appalachian Skatepark
The Appalachian Skatepark, located within the Watauga County Parks and Recreation Complex off Hunting Hills Lane in Boone, is currently unstaffed and could remain that way if budget considerations dissolve the supervisory position.
Watauga County Parks and Recreation Director Stephen Poulos presented a report to the Watauga County Commissioners during the county’s budget-planning process that recommended axing the supervisory position and redirecting the funds to other programs that are seeing more use.
On November 19, 2008, the Watauga County Recreation Commission passed a motion to open the skatepark for a six-month period with only periodic supervision. In a memo to the commissioners this week, Poulos said, since November, the usage of the park has remained low because of weather and school schedules and skaters using the park are still not wearing helmets or pads.
Also in the memo, Poulos touched on what would happen if the park were closed.
“I had a conversation with Bill Post, chief of the Boone Police Department, who informed me that, if the skatepark were closed, the Town of Boone Police Department has the resources and manpower to handle skaters in the town jurisdiction,” wrote Poulos. “Mr. Post continued that, in his conversation with his staff, they have seen a 30 percent to 50 percent decrease in skater-related issues in the Town of Boone since the skatepark opened, but a slight increase in problems on the Greenway related to skaters.”
According to Poulos, when the security firm supervised the park, an average of nine skaters per day utlized the facility. When the security guard was replaced by a skatepark attendant, usage increased slightly but did not approach the levels prior to the supervised period.
“Watauga County Parks and Recreation and the Recreation Commission are of the opinion that the best method to ensure proper conduct at the skatepark is to only open on a supervised basis,” Poulos wrote. “However, the Recreation Commission also felt that, with the Town of Boone’s unexpected budget cut of $44,800 as well as current economic conditions, it would be difficult to recommend monies to supervise the skatepark, due to the low usage numbers during and after the supervised period.
“From a budgetary standpoint, other parks and recreation programs serve a significantly greater number of county citizens,” Poulos continued. “For example, in 2007 our youth soccer program fielded 68 youth teams and involved 693 participants. The program generated an estimated $36,090 in revenues with an estimated cost—not including full-time staff salaries—of $39,457. If the skatepark was opened every hour available—snow/rain days not included—it would be open approximately 2,330.5 hours annually. If an attendant were paid $8 per hour, this would equal $18,644. Based on participant numbers during supervised usage, this does not seem to be an effective use of County monies.”
Poulos said the Watauga County Recreation Commission is meeting again next week to discuss the issue further.
Currently, the Appalachian Skatepark is open seven days a week from dawn to dusk, weather permitting. Use of the park is free.
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