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Abusive behavior could shut down skate park
(by Mike Klimko - August 21, 2008)
Abusive behavior could shut down skate park
By MIKE KLIMKO
Skateboarders could lose the use of the skate park at Solon Community Park after five years, due to repeated reports of vandalism, spray painting and disruptive behavior, city officials said last week.
All options to resolve the conduct of juveniles who frequent the skate park are on the table, Councilman Edward K. Suit said during City Council's safety and public properties committee meeting.
The skate park was closed July 21 to allow use of the area by Solon police and was reopened after the Solon Home Days festival concluded, said Russell Schneider, assistant director of the recreation department.
A small group generally has been responsible for the misconduct occurring in the past two years at the skate park, Mr. Schneider said. That includes a lack of respect for property, city officials and others at Solon Community Park, he said.
Police said 20 incident complaints were handled between May 5 and Dec. 19, 2007, including suspicious persons and vehicles, assault, drug abuse, domestic violence and fighting. Officers filed reports on assault, child abuse, drug abuse and injury. The committee directed police to compile a summary of complaints for this year involving the skate park for review in September.
"The skate park was built in 2003," Mr. Schneider said. "It was to be a place for kids in Solon to skate. A lot of people requested it. We looked into it and found it was a viable project."
The project was completed at a cost of about $80,000 in equipment and $40,000 in site preparation, he said. The skate park was well received and is still popular, he said.
"We've always had problems to a certain degree," Mr. Schneider said. "Now, it's escalating into a major problem. It's kind of disappointing to me. We want to come up with some ideas other than closing it down," he said.
"There's a very strong possibility it will be closed. It's very tough to police, very tough to monitor. Kids are there from morning to evening. It's very expensive to staff," Mr. Schneider said.
"The kids should be aware. I've made it clear to them. They're close to losing the park. Their response is unprintable. You can't imagine the lack of respect for authority."
There was a time when skateboarders and other visitors to the skate park would walk up to him, Mr. Schneider said. They would talk to him and iron out things, he said.
"The kids we have in the skate park are Solon and out-of-towners," he said. "I don't think they realize they can lose the park. Or they realize it and just don't care."
Some of the juveniles abuse municipal employees and others at Solon Community Park, he said. Juveniles surrounded and threatened to beat an older man, Mr. Schneider said, after he complained about a loud radio.
"If this continues the way it's going, the park will be gone. Kids who skateboard are just dropped off. When kids don't have parents watching or hanging out, bad things happen," he said.
"They're not all bad kids. This is a small group that I know. They say, if we don't spray paint here, we'll paint somewhere else. They say they have a different culture."
The recreation department hired a couple of monitors in past years, Mr. Schneider said. A couple of 15- and 16-year-olds were given a lifeguard chair, watched and taught younger children how to skate, he said.
"Even then, it's hard for kids to reprimand their peers," Mr. Schneider said. Juveniles who abuse the skate park are beginning to fan out to other areas, he said.
"These kids have begun to what I call 'infiltrate' the other communities of community park," Mr. Schneider said. "They're bothering picnics in the pavilion community, the log cabin community and the baseball community. They're skating in the pavilion, on top of the pavilion."
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