Skate Park

[Jdarg]

Y'all are going to have a hard time getting me out of my Nervous Nellie ways- my family was in the insurance business, my kids wear helmets for everything...now Kate wants to surf and she is perfect size for shark bait.

I think your desire for a skate park, and our desire for enhancing the limited recreational facilities are compatible. My perspective represents what I am hearing at the elementary school every day- we have a few things going on for the kids, but the area's recreational structure has not caught up to the actual demographics of the area, which are families with children in school, looking for the team sports programs, tennis courts, swimming pool, and playground, found in most small communities. We have a lot of catching up to do around here! Don't get me wrong- I love this area- but it grew quickly and not all aspects of a "community" grew with it.

This is similar to another thread, where are government representation does not seem to represent the residents and interests of SoWal.

 

[Bear]

When I first got married my wife and I lived in Estes Park Co. And belive it or not the high school atually had a full skate park. . I would sneak in and skate the half pipe on the weekends. We definitely need a park.

 

[Bobby J]

Y'all are going to have a hard time getting me out of my Nervous Nellie ways- my family was in the insurance business, my kids wear helmets for everything...now Kate wants to surf and she is perfect size for shark bait.

I think your desire for a skate park, and our desire for enhancing the limited recreational facilities are compatible. My perspective represents what I am hearing at the elementary school every day- we have a few things going on for the kids, but the area's recreational structure has not caught up to the actual demographics of the area, which are families with children in school, looking for the team sports programs, tennis courts, swimming pool, and playground, found in most small communities. We have a lot of catching up to do around here! Don't get me wrong- I love this area- but it grew quickly and not all aspects of a "community" grew with it.

This is similar to another thread, where are government representation does not seem to represent the residents and interests of SoWal.

Well put. Now is the time for our representation to step up. The community has grown very fast and I would like to see our government step up to the growth. Many children do not like team sports.
I think the numbers to build the skate park are around $300,000. I bet we could get it privately funded. All the county would have to do is come up with the land. Heck, if you charged $5.oo a day per person it would probably generate $300 to $500 per day. The monies would easily maintain and staff it for that matter.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Bobby, I notice the word, "limits" in that law. Limited liability is not the same as no liability. I'm sure the intent involves negligence of proper maintenance or maybe security, such as lighting or cameras.

I will add that it may be a law, but it may be an unconstitutional law which doesn't provide for protection of the people -- protection not being a lack of injuries, but a way to seek damages if one is "injured."

 

[Smiling JOe]

Thinking more about this, maybe someone needs to open a skate and surf park. Your choice, ride some waves, or ride some concrete. I bet there are already some of these in Cali.

 

[SGB]

My two cents - I agree with jdarg that the usual sports and recreational facilities should be built first. The number of children we currently have enrolling in the county sports programs completely overwhelm the facilities. The county (Cindy Meadows and Ronnie Bell specifically) have done a great job in moving on getting us more facilities but it's been a slow process. The hardest part seems to be buying the land needed. The latest 10 acres that the county purchased to expand Helen McCall has pretty much been spoken for and there are projects still without a home. The hope is that the latest 10 acres will include a great playground (thanks to Mission Playpark!) a multipurpose sports field (football and soccer) and perhaps a pool. It will also include a running/walking trail that will be paved so that skateboarders can use it.

The county is also in the process of purchasing 7 acres near the high school. We recently applied for a grant for $1.4 million to purchase and enhance this land. We don't yet know if we scored high enough to get the money. (Thanks to many parents and recreational football players we did get the maximum amt of points for excellence for just showing up at a meeting in Tallahassee.) This 7 acres is supposed to include tennis and basketball courts and a small playground. A community center building is also planned.

Having said all that, I do think that the kids in area would benefit greatly with a safe place to skateboard. The Mission Playpark group had suggested a "skate spot", which isn't as large or as challenging as a full skate park, and hopefully not as much trouble. It would attract the local kids, but wouldn't be big enough to attract kids from out of the area. The county hasn't totally bought into this concept, but it hasn't really been a priority either. Our first focus was in getting a playground for the kids. The problem again is having enough land for all the recreational needs of the county. Perhaps the county should have attended the latest auction and purchased the 10 acres on JD Miller road....

A skate park for the older kids would fill a great need. Although my daughter is not a skater really, many of her friends are and they have to get shuttled over to Niceville or FWB by their parents. They do try to skate in places here, such as Gulf Place, Seaside, and Rosemary, but always get shooed away by security. These aren't "bad" kids that security needs to worry about, just kids that love to skate. To be fair the security is looking out for the potential property damage.

For those interested in pursuing a skate park - there is some money available for the skate park. I wish I could remember the man's name, but some of you probably do... The mother of the young man that died in a car accident on 30A in front of Redfish Village a few years ago sued the builder and some of the contractors and won more than $1M. At the time she won the suit, she said she was going to donate some of the money (I think $250K) to building a skate park in the area since it was one of her son's passions. Sounds like a good place to start. There was also a group of people that were trying to get a county skate park about a year ago. I remember reading an article in the Walton Sun. Just please don't take away any of the land that is currently slated for other recreational purposes that are desperately needed! I still can't believe we don't have a community pool for swim lessons!

 

[Romeosmydog]

Why don't the kids just use Foley's? Some teens down the street from me set up a rail and ramp in the street every day. No one seems to be complaining about it.

Foley has all his crapola on it. We need to get the boys over there and clean it off. That was a great ramp. It was the best one in town until Pete and Paula built one. It's all fancy smancy with J. Asher graffiti.

 

[Romeosmydog]

Okay more on this. I think it is sad that we use words like "usual" sports, and want to dump all of our dollars into finding something for the "kids" to do. Well, we need to think hard and fast about what we are going to do with out "tweens" and our teens! What does this county offer them, other than getting pregnant, smoking a big j or tweeking their myspaces? I am grateful for the bike path, but honestly it can't be any safer than a skate park....I have see 3 bikers get smashed by cars pulling out of driveways. Our teen pregnancy rate is higher than state average --that scares the pajeebies outta me. Good for you BobbyJ, fight the good fight for teens in our area. I got your back.

 

[Smiling JOe]

I, too, don't like the words, "usual sports." First of all those "usual sports" are team sports. Is it the idea of having a coach (someone to hold accountable and give the kids direction and instill morals) which makes a sport, "usual?" I remember seeing stats on the skating population and they were as Bobby J stated -- overwhelmingly, they show that more kids skate than play any other team sport in the US. To play baseball or football, you need more than one kid. To skate, all a kid needs is a board and a place to do it. There is no time limit, either. No point system to keep score. Instead, kids learn tricks from other kids, and that seems unique as opposed to the world of "usual sports." Little land is needed for building a skate park, as compared to a baseball field or football field. No grass to mow and paint stripes upon, no dirt to rake, no bases to put down. Just some concrete and rails, and occasional repairs or patches. Seems to me that if we are going to classify an activity as "usual," we should consider the more common activity of skating to be the "usual sport."

One other thing comes to mind when I think of skating -- movies and photos. I see many kids getting into the photography behind the sport where I see nothing of the sort when it comes to any other sport.

I know you the park system is limited on funds, and that you are likely competing for the same dollars, but I think in many ways, you are also fighting for the same thing, activities and recreation for our youth, so that they can grow, mentally and physically.

 

[Bobby J]

SGB,
I agree with a lot of what you are saying but the "usual sports" is where I disconnect. Every time I visit a skate park, I see a packed skate park and empty fields. As adults we have lost touch with what the kids really want. The reason we are not educated on this issue is we have not offered choices. We tell our kids here you go, a beautiful field to play your sport. The majority do not want it. The majority of the parents want another field. The kids want a skate park. Skating has become the usual sport in most other areas. Once again we will arrive at this conclusion 10-20 years from now. I mean no disrespect but it just seems like such an obvious thing to do. We should build what they want not the what the parents think they want.