APRIL 9, 2009 ISSUE
Future of Skatepark Still Undecided
Appalachian Skatepark To Stay Open Into May With Attendant
After entertaining the idea of closing the Appalachian Skatepark, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners this week agreed to keep the skatepark open with an attendant until sometime in May. Photo by Sam Calhoun
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners this week agreed to keep the Appalachian Skatepark open with an attendant until sometime in May. The board’s decision is the latest twist in a saga that, over the past year, has seen the skatepark go from unsupervised, to supervised by a security firm, to supervised by a community member and, finally, to facing closure after the Watauga County Parks & Recreation Commission voted 13-1 in March to cease operation of the park based on conduct and budget concerns.
The Appalachian Skatepark opened in July 2006 after four community members co-signed a loan from High Country Bank to purchase an $80,000 pre-fabricated skatepark setup. Watauga County provided $20,000 toward the purchase and a space for the skatepark at the Watauga County Parks & Recreation Complex off State Farm Road in Boone, and the Town of Boone donated in-kind paving services. Currently, three of the original co-signers—Buzz Berry, Brian Mueller and Ken Gordon—still owe roughly $30,000 on the skatepark loan.
At last Monday’s commissioners’ meeting, Brian Mueller, representing the Appalachian Skatepark Council, addressed the board during its public comment session.
“We are very concerned why there is not an attendant out there now because we believe the attendant worked,” said Mueller, who suggested paying for a new attendant using a portion of the $25,000 the commissioners originally promised in 2006 for the proposed phase II of the skatepark. Mueller also said W.A.M.Y Community Action offered to administer the funds, if allocated by the commissioners.
Because the request was made during the public comment session, the commissioners did not take any action. After closed session, however, the commissioners instructed Watauga County Parks & Recreation Director Stephen Poulos to hire a new attendant who will supervise the park until sometime in May, according to Watauga County Manager Rocky Nelson.
“The commissioners decided to look at [the skatepark situation] for an additional month and then get more information during one of their May meetings,” said Nelson. “At that point, [the commissioners] will entertain recommendations to take action or not. This basically is a continuation of what is already going on.”
Nelson said Watauga County will pay for the attendant using funds from the Watauga County Parks & Recreation budget. At the commissioners’ meeting on either May 4 or May 19, Nelson said, Poulos will present a report to the commissioners that will, in theory, define the success or non-success of operating the skatepark with an attendant.
After the decision last Monday, Mueller drafted a letter to Poulos asking what parameters will be used to define success. According to Mueller, Poulos replied that the commissioners will define success and that it would have to do with attendance numbers at the skatepark when it was supervised.
“We simply need to know what the expectations are for success,” explained Mueller. “The goal is for this to work.”
Appalachian Skatepark Council members Berry, Gordon and Mueller believe skatepark attendance prospered when an attendant, not the security firm, was in use. All three members hope the skatepark can remain open, supervised by an attendant, to give skateboarders a safe place to skate, away from county highways, streets and the ASU campus. Mueller estimated that approximately 35 to 40 skateboarders use the park on fair weather days.
“When the attendant was out there, kids were there. When the security guard was out there, kids were not there,” said Berry. “We, as the Appalachian Skatepark Council, believe 100 percent that these kids need to wear helmets, but right now we don’t have the power/right to tell users to leave [the park if they are not following the rules]. That’s up to Parks and Recreation.”
Skatepark attendance dwindled last summer when the county placed a security firm in charge but rebounded last fall when part-time attendant Mason Jones took over supervisory duties for one month. The commissioners paid Jones using funds from the $25,000 promised for phase II of the skatepark. The park has been unstaffed since the tail end of 2008, which is frustrating Appalachian Skatepark Council members who believe the supervising needs to be more consistent.
“Everyone knows you have to be consistent with kids to reinforce the rules. We lost consistency,” said Mueller.
In March, Poulos agreed that the best method to ensure proper conduct at the skatepark was to only open on a supervised basis, but said “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.”
“I’m ready for the [Watauga County Board of Commissioners] to have some follow-through on this situation. It’s not the prettiest situation in [Watauga County] Parks & Recreation right now but it’s one that needs to be addressed,” said Gordon. “If you are going to support something, you need to have some follow-through.”
Berry suggested that the commissioners define success by how many participants wear helmets over the next month while an attendant supervises the park.
“I hope that the local skate community wears helmets out there. They need to do their part, too,” Berry said.
Gordon hopes that Poulos and the commissioners will involve Jones when deciding how to integrate a permanent attendant at the park. Once a plan is established, Gordon hopes Watauga County Parks & Recreation will become more self-sufficient in supervising the public facility.
To help pay for a future park attendant, Mueller suggested selling family and annual passes to the skatepark, similar to a season pass to Tweetsie Railroad; hosting contests and fundraisers; and/or selling daily tickets to the park, which would help keep a tally of park use and allow for each user to sign a waiver of liability, if the commissioners so desire.
“If they close that park, these kids will be right back where they don’t want them,” Berry added, “and they won’t be wearing pads and helmets.”
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