SKATE PARK LEADERSHIP GROUP MEETING MINUTES

TOWN HALL – ESTACADA COMMUNITY CENTER

July 21, 2004 - 7:00 P.M.

WELCOME – Mayor Bob Austin

Mayor Austin welcomed everyone to the town hall to discuss the siting of a community skate park. He introduced facilitator Craig Smith.

ROLL CALL

Present: Becky Arnold, Randy Ealy, Kevin Olds, Dianna Turk, Cindy Baker, Denise Carey.

Absent: Richard Bodreau, Susan Viviano, Holly Helzerman.

TOWN HALL – Skate Park Siting – Facilitated by Craig Smith

Mr. Smith had everyone introduce themselves and state what they liked about Estacada. There were 53 people in attendance.

Mr. Smith then introduced Becky Arnold who gave a brief background on the skate park leadership group and how they have gotten to this point. She also showed a short video of activity at Clackamette Skate Park.

Mr. Smith introduced Ken Warner, City of West Linn to discuss their skate park and the issues they faced when placing their park. Mr. Warner stated that their park was placed inside an existing city park so they would only need to build restrooms and other infrastructure one time for many to share. He stated that noise is not a big issue with a skate park. The City of West Linn conducted sound studies and the conclusion was that skate park noise is comparable to a basketball court or the street traffic that is already there. He stated that most of the noise stays down in the bowl.

Lt. Patrick Finn of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office stated that the Sheriff’s office likes skate parks. He stated that rural areas, such as Estacada, need to provide activities for the kids. Skateboarding is a sport and skaters take pride in what they are doing. Skate parks provide a place for kids to go, getting them away from the local businesses and skating where they are considered a nuisance. Lt. Finn stated that crime actually goes down in areas where skate parks are developed.

Ken Van Gordon, resident of Whispering Pines, presented a petition signed by 44 residents of the building against the skate park at the pond site because of the noise it will create. He stated that the mill noise was so great that they didn’t want the noise from the skate park hitting them from the other side. Mr. Warner again reiterated that the noise from the skate park would be no greater than the traffic noise they already hear from Wade Street. Mr. Warner stated that since the noise from the mill was so great, they would probably not hear the skate park at all. Mr. Van Gordon also stated that the residents were worried that the skate boarders would not stay on the skate park area and would skate board on the trails. Mr. Warner stated there are many ways you can design a park and trails to keep riders from using the trails.

The school site was discussed. Ms. Arnold stated that the school is offering a 60’ x 90’ space but the city would have to pay to relocate the parking spaces. This would be approximately $20,000 if the city could do the work themselves but substantially more if they have to contract the work. This space would not allow for restrooms or observation areas and would limit the hours of use to when school was not in session.

Turk explained that the Parks and Recreation Commission sent out a survey a few years ago about what people wanted to see at the Wade Creek Park and nobody responded that they wanted a skate park. Turk was asked how the surveys were distributed because no one in attendance had received one. Turk stated they were distributed through the schools. Some felt the response would be different now if another survey was conducted and a skate park was listed as an option.

The citizens discussed both sites with most favoring the Valberg Lumber site. Mr. Smith asked for the pluses and minuses of the Valberg site:

Disadvantages Advantages

Noise Cost

Grant issues Time Frame

Safety, Health issues of seniors Meets criteria

Does not match park vision of some Library

Abandoned building gone

City owned

Mixing generations

Other amenities will be available

Family use – multi uses

Design to control skating

Exclusion of problem people

Dean Baker stated that the grant for the Valberg property was based on a nature park, not a park with a skate park in it. He does not feel the skate park is compatible with the new library. Others felt the library was a perfect match for the kids that would also use the skate park. Families could visit the park and the library at the same time.

After discussing the advantages and disadvantages, Lisa Homan, manager of Whispering Pines, stated that the residents are willing to work with the committee on the park as long as they were involved with the design stage to keep the skaters in the designated areas. Ms. Homan stated that it would be nice to hold some of the meetings at Whispering Pines since the residents do not like to go out at night and then they could attend the meetings. It was consensus to hold the August 18, 2004 meeting at Whispering Pines. This would also give the residents and the skaters a chance to get to know one another.

Mr. Smith took a thumbs up, down or sideways poll on the Valberg site. Thumbs up meaning yes to the site, thumbs down meaning no and thumbs sideways meaning you are still deciding or unsure. All but approximately 4-6 people voted thumbs up on the property. The results of the town hall will now go back to the Skate Park Leadership for discussion and a possible recommendation on a site to forward to the council.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm.