SkateparkNews

MARSHFIELD, MISSOURI – Many of the 60 Strafford residents at the Tuesday, Nov. 10, Parks and Recreation Committee meeting brought their transportation into City Hall with them. Others left a jumble of bicycles outside the door as they went inside to learn what it would take to build a municipal skatepark.

Often using their skateboards to rest their feet or elbows on, the youngest of the attendees listened for more than an hour as an American Ramp Company representative and a Strafford BMX biker discussed park options.

Strafford BMX biker Mitchell Vicat, far right, speaks at the Strafford Park Committee meeting Nov. 16 about the growing popularity of skateboards and BMX bikes.

Afterward, resident Alice Hale said it was the courtesy and interest of the youth at the meeting that caused her to reconsider her opposition to building a skatepark in Strafford.

“I came in here 95 percent against this,” Hale said after the hour-and-a-half discussion. “I am so impressed with these young people.”

Hale added that if adults were as enthusiastic about civic projects, more would be accomplished in communities.

“This is one of the reasons I love my job,” skatepark specialist Jason Stouder said of the large turnout for the meeting. Stouder, now in his 30s, said that when he was a teen in Springfield, he and his friends “always got run off” when they skated in town.

Construction options

Stouder showed slides of several skateparks American Ramp Company recently built across the country. He detailed five building materials commonly used – steel, concrete, plastic, pre-cast concrete and concrete sprayed onto forms – to create ramps for any non-motorized vehicles, including BMX bikes and roller blades.

Stouder said the park is actually a “ramp” park, rather than one only for skateboards.

The amount of money cities have spent to build parks varies greatly, Stouder said, comparing a $2.2 million, 40,000-square-foot park in Louisville, Ky., to a $30,000 park for 20 to 40 children.

“Usually, there needs to be a goal in mind first,” Stouder said, using $60,000 as an example. “From there, we give you a plan.”

Stouder said American Ramp Company works with municipalities on consultation, planning, design and construction. The company has thousands of designs on file. Equipment can be factory installed or by volunteer work.

Park funding

“What does it take to start a fundraiser?” a youngster asked.

“Can we go around with a coffee can?” Strafford youth Bradley Lee asked.

“Yes, it’s a start,” Stouder said, adding that businesses frequently contribute by buying one piece of equipment. The gift can be tax deductible and the equipment can include a sign with the sponsor’s name, he said.

“And the kids won’t be skating in their parking lot,” an adult in the audience said.

Stouder said the Tony Hawk Foundation grants money to cities when there is much community involvement. American Ramp Company matches grants from the Hawk foundation.

The state of Missouri also offers land-use and wildlife grants that could be tailored to skateparks, Stouder said.

Another resident asked what the typical time-frame is from the time a community begins a park plan until it is completed. Stouder responded that it could be done in less than a year or in more than two years.

Strafford City Administrator Tom Vicat asked if the city could build a park in stages, as it did with the splash pad in the city park.

Stouder said it could, in which case using pre-cast concrete ramps is best.

Growing sport

Responding to a question about noise at the park, Stouder said steel ramps are loudest, but could be coated with rubber. At about 60 to 100 feet away, the skatepark noise blends with other city noise, he said.

“The noise of the kids is louder than the park,” Stouder added.

Strafford BMX rider Mitchell Vicat, 20, on crutches following a recent bike accident at the Springfield skatepark, talked about how skateboarding has changed activity levels for many young people.

Mitchell Vicat initiated a city petition last month that circulated through town, asking the city to consider building a municipal skatepark.

“Kids that used to sit on the sidelines during basketball games now are out there on skateboards,” Mitchell Vicat, the city administrator’s grandson, said. “Kids who love to skateboard are just as much an athlete as those who play football.”

Mitchell Vicat said to keep kids off city and private property, cities should not charge fees at skateparks, and should make youth responsible for helping maintain the park.

The city of Springfield has had to install skate stops on downtown handrails to “keep kids from grinding them up because they don’t have $5 for the skatepark,” Mitchell Vicat said.

Committee President Linda Mauney said the committee agrees a skatepark would benefit the city, but anticipates “speed bumps” along the way, just as it faced building Howard Smith Park.

The committee will continue researching the proposal, she said.

[ Marshfield Mail ]