JUNE 4, 2009 ISSUE
Watauga Commissioners Close Appalachian Skatepark
Two Parties Step Forward Offering To Relocate Facility
One month short of its third anniversary, the Appalachian Skatepark will close its doors next week at its location at the Watauga County Parks & Recreation Complex. On Monday, June 1, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to close the skatepark, ending a tumultuous two years that has seen the park 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 commissioners instructed Watauga County Parks & Recreation Director Stephen Poulos to close the skatepark by Monday, June 8, and gave the Appalachian Skatepark Council (ASC) until the end of the month to remove the prefabricated skatepark.
According to ASC member Buzz Berry—one of four private citizens who took out a loan three years ago to purchase the skatepark—the ASC currently has two parties interested in relocating the skatepark to new locations. Berry could not provide more information as to the identity of the entities as of press time, citing respect for the ongoing negotiations. Berry said, however, that an announcement would be made soon.
On Monday, Poulos opened the discussion with the commissioners by claiming that negative conditions at the skatepark—participants not wearing pads, low attendance—were ongoing and that efforts to correct the problems by both Parks & Recreation staff and the ASC were not working.
“It’s basically the status quo from the fall. When we provide supervision, attendance is low. It’s the same old story as we had a year ago,” said Poulos.
“I haven’t seen any change in what we are dealing with for two years now,” said Board Chair Jim Deal.
Appalachian Skatepark users organized a Keep Our Skatepark Show of Support Day last Saturday, May 30, handing out used and new pads to attendees, hosting competitions, offering food and drink and, most importantly, stressing to other skateboarders that they needed to step up, take responsibility by wearing pads and helmets and utilize the skatepark before it was taken away. Twenty-seven skateboarders showed up for the event, as well as a handful of mothers, fathers and grandmothers who tried skateboarding for the first time. During the meeting on Monday, Poulos and the commissioners argued that 27 users on one day was not a significant attendance number, while ASC members argued that it was and that it further highlighted the need for a safe place to skate.
According to the commissioners and the Watauga County Parks & Recreation Commission, problems at the skatepark have still not been solved—users are not wearing pads without supervision, and attendance drops when supervision is provided.
“I’ve been disappointed for a long time. We’ve given a pretty long rope,” said commissioner John Cooper. “I personally supported this park financially and thought it was a good idea. Perhaps it is better suited as a private park somewhere else because the skaters just didn’t follow the rules? You have to understand that the recreation commission is our advisory group and we give them respect on their decisions. I would say give [the ASC] the equipment back and hope they establish a private park somewhere else.”
“We’ve reached a time when we need to make a decision,” added commissioner Billy Ralph Winkler.
“We consider this very much a success,” said Berry, who wore a new, non-binding type of safety pad to the podium during the meeting to demonstrate new solutions to the skatepark’s problems. “If you make the decision today to close it, we all lose.”
Berry argued that the commissioners never gave the ASC the authority to tell kids to leave the skatepark if they were breaking the rules, which, he said, limited the amount of positive change he, the ASC and parents could create at the park. Deal argued that the ASC routinely asked the commissioners to “break the rules” concerning wearing pads at the park instead of asking for more policing power.
“The rules need to be followed and the users haven’t followed the rules,” said Deal. “This is by far the most frustrating issue I’ve dealt with as a commissioner. Now that I think about it, I think the skaters decided what would happen.”
ASC member Brian Mueller spent the last couple weeks meeting with ASU Department of Health, Leisure & Exercise Science Professor Dr. Erik Rabinowitz, who presented at Monday’s meeting. Rabinowitz questioned the commissioners’ proposed decision to close the skatepark and offered solutions to the problems, such as hiring a recreation management student who is trained to supervise the skatepark—a student who would treat the users as athletes.
“You don’t put a climbing instructor in charge of a climbing wall without teaching them, do you?” asked Rabinowitz. “There are more than 150 skateparks in the state. I question, what makes us so different?”
Rabinowitz suggested staying open for the summer—usually a peak attendance time—or just keeping the park open on weekends. Rabinowitz said he and two other colleagues were interested in helping find solutions, and that he was also interested in creating team sport opportunities at the park.
“Have we exhausted all solutions?” asked Rabinowitz.
Rabinowitz said a group of ASU students are trying to get skateboarding allowed on campus, although he doesn’t think it will work. With limited space at ASU and an underutilized skatepark in Watauga County, Rabinowitz said working out a partnership would be beneficial to both parties.
Rabinowitz’s comments and ideas did not sway the commissioners’ collective opinion.
“I haven’t seen anything new that would allow me to believe things will be different in the future,” said commissioner Tim Futrelle.
“We would have never done this in the first place if we didn’t want it to succeed,” said Deal. “But I’m not going to do something that the recreation commission is against.”
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—Berry, Mueller and Ken Gordon—still owe roughly $30,000 on the skatepark loan.
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