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| City seeking skate park designer |
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| Written by John Saiz / Patterson Irrigator / | |
| Saturday, 20 October 2007 | |
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“Kids are getting kicked out of everywhere. It’s pretty hard for us. We can’t skate anywhere without getting yelled at.” - a skater said  Courtesy Photo The council called for staff to start the search for skate park architects with a 5-0 vote after close to a dozen skaters attended the council meeting to support the skate park project. Mostly teenage boys addressed the council to let them know a skate park would be a great addition to the city. “Kids are getting kicked out of everywhere,” one skater said. “It’s pretty hard for us. We can’t skate anywhere without getting yelled at.” Council members, staff and attendees all gushed with enthusiasm for the project. “I’m very happy to see all the youth come out to advise us,” Councilwoman Dejeune Shelton said. One boy already asked the council where he could sign up for tournaments. However, the park is still far from becoming reality. Councilman Sam Cuellar pointed out that no one has identified where the estimated $400,000 needed to build the park will come from. “I don’t want to present the illusion that this is ready to go,” Cuellar said. “Let’s be realistic; we have some hurdles. Without funding, we’re not going to be able to do anything.” The size and location of the park also need to be ironed out. Parks and Recreation Department Director Adrienne Chaney suggested either building the park near the city aquatics center at Ward and Las Palmas avenues or in a park at Sperry and Las Palmas avenues near the Patterson Gardens housing development. If the park is built near the aquatics center, it would be incorporated into a community center plan created for that location. The city already has master-planned that area and set aside about 10,000 square feet for a skate park. However, some people felt 10,000 square feet would not be enough. Planning commissioner Elias Funez, who serves on a city skate park task force that is helping organize the project, said 10,000 square feet would not accommodate a full variety of skating styles. He said that “10,000 square feet could only cater to one type of skating.” In addition, the master plan at the aquatics center site does not provide room for park expansions, he said. Chaney said there is plenty of room at the Sperry and Las Palmas site. However, there could be a conflict because it is close to houses. She envisions a lighted park that could stay open as late as 11 p.m. Some council members said they felt the aquatic center site would work better. “I like (the aquatics center site) specifically for the nighttime activity,” Councilwoman Annette Smith said. If the aquatics center site is selected, Chaney said she would like to establish smaller parks throughout the city that would have a couple of features. “There are a lot of youth looking for activities,” Councilman Dominic Farinha said. “This is something they need.” To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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