Fans and users of Jaycee Skate Park will have to find another place to skate board come Tuesday (March 27), with the Brainerd Parks and Recreation Board coming to a unanimous decision to close the skate park until further notice.
A park that has raised concerns following excessive vandalism and damage, the Brainerd Parks and Recreation Board met Monday afternoon to continue discussion on the skate park’s fate.
“The only reason the park was put at Jaycees in the first place was because there was a cement pad already put in place and that allowed us to get the grant money from KaBoom!” said Brainerd Parks and Recreation Director Tony Sailer. “We knew that Jaycees was not the ideal place for this skate park but at the time it was the only place we had.”
Outside of the vandalism and costs that Jaycee Skate Park is accruing against the city, Sailer said that it has also become a liability issue according to the League of Minnesota Cities.
“Right now the cement pad is severely cracked and a lot of our equipment, things like ramps, are also damaged,” Sailer said. “So I spoke with Joe Ingebrand, senior loss control consultant for the League of Minnesota Cities, today and he noted that with the risk of injury due to the cracks and equipment damage, liability could very well be an issue.”
Board member Barb Egan said that with the liability issues there is no doubt in her mind the park should be closed while the board, along with input from the community, tries to figure out what to do with the skate park.
The board moved to close the park beginning Tuesday and planned to keep the skate park on each agenda while other options for the park are examined.
JESSI PIERCE may be reached at 855-5859 or jessi.pierce@brainerddispatch.com. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/jessi_pierce (@jessi_pierce).
Comments (30)
Add commentopen/closed
Is there a physical difference between being open vs closed?
I have never been there and I assume there is no fence since fencing it in was a suggested option during a prior forum discussion.
yes there is
There is a fence. All they have to do is shut and lock the gate. But this obviously would not be an issue if the original slab of cement had not been placed on a swamp. I used to skateboard there back when the original slab was put in and all that was there were 3 metal ramps....... then they put in the existing ramps with no knowledge as to what they were doing. The ramps have leveling feet under them (just like a washer and drier have) and, instead of using them for leveling the ramps, they just put them up as high as they could - rendering the ramps pretty much useless from the get go!! And all the ramps are built with special bolts that obviously require a certain tool to fix them with. So when the ramps started falling apart there was NO way to fix them.
I honestly believe this park was a way to get a certain group to shut up. So when the park inevitably deteriorated the "fad" would already be dead. But, as the city is learning the hard way, it was not a fad.
Location, location,
Location, location, location...
Skate park
You should really worry about where these kids will go now that you've closed the park. You're vandalism will be worse downtown because that's where they will go to skate on cement. Hurry up and get them corraled back at the park and put in cameras to see who's doing the damage and make them clean it up.
So much for fixing it
We "The Skaters" where going to fix the park and paint over the graffiti??? We would have done it last weekend but it WAS WET so we changed it to Friday from noon-3pm.
The Brainerd Dispatch even said they are going?
YOU ARE NOT SOLVING THE PROBLEM!!!
There will be no one back there on a dead end street with cover by the surrounding swamp. So closing the park you are stopping the people going there to use it for a park. Do you think the vandals care if its open or closed??? Way to make it so even less people go back there now...
I'm going to laugh if you close the gate on the road because then EVEN MORE people wont go back there and the park will be closed off to everyone except for the people going back there to vandalize.
YOU MUST MAKE IT SO MORE PEOPLE GO THERE.
Where they will go..
Be prepared for these kids to be skating on the streets and outside of schools, parks and businesses and this summer. Skating is popular enough now that the Parks and Rec board needs to get on this and find an alternate location. Remember if you come across kids skating where they aren't supposed to, they're just kids out skating, not commiting crimes. The Brainerd and Baxter PDs would do well to remember this as well, instead of harassing and talking down to them.
It's Not Rocket Science...
People need places to recreate. If they don't have sanctioned places, they'll recreate in unsanctioned places. If the sanctioned place isn't as good as the unsanctioned place, they'll use the latter.
The million-dollar question is "how do you make a good skatepark?"
When the Jaycees skatepark was created, we really didn't know the answer. Today we do. There are thousands of skateparks in the United States that are very successful. And that doesn't just mean that the skaters like it; the whole community likes it!
You might assume that the biggest difference between a successful skatepark and a failed one is that the successful one cost more money. You'd be wrong. Money doesn't hurt, (of course), but the significant decisions are much simpler... and somehow still elusive to a lot of decision-makers.
Location is huge. The skatepark should be located where the community gathers... and not in some remote place.
Involving the principle stakeholders is essential. The skaters should be intimately involved throughout the entire process... from raising community awareness, through fundraising, design, and maintenance. Without the skaters truly "owning" the facility, it will struggle.
Community support is important. While there will always be a vocal minority that detest the mere idea of a skatepark, most of the community will be ambivalent. It's critical that these people voice their support and rally behind their youth.
A final word: Please be expedient in developing a solution to the skatepark problems. Brainerd's youth deserve to have access to your public parks just like everyone else.
Thanks
Thanks PeterWhitley for your continuing support.
Closing the park is not going to solve anything.
I AGREE WITH PETER 100%
"IF YOU BUILD IT........ THEY WILL COME"
Get advice from Crosby
Their skate park is next to City Hall and maybe they have some suggestion as to what could help Brainerd. Just sayin,
Get advice from Crosby
Their skate park is next to City Hall and maybe they have some suggestion as to what could help Brainerd. Just sayin,
Wow lib
That took alot for you to say something nice about skaters, you didnt group them all into pot smokers like you did the disc golfers... thats quite odd..
St Cloud got it right
If you want to see a good example of a quality skate park check out the St. Cloud skate plaza.
http://www.stcloudskatepark.com/Home.html
Dude...
Morquin, did you see my response? As I said that was not a serious comment. Sorry if it was confusing. The rest of my comment about space and other uses for Whipple was the serious part of my comment. I've played disc golf in the past and while I have no comment on my condition at the time, I'm sure some stoners enjoy the activity as well;)
Good example
If you want to see a quality local skate park, google the St. Cloud skate plaza. I tried to post their website but its not letting me.
Correction...
"IF YOU BUILD IT.... THEY WILL GRIND IT"
The problem is....
Brainerd doesn't seem to like getting advice from other cities as to what has worked for them in the past.
Get advice from Crosby.
CROSBY SKATEPARK IS VERY WELL BUILT. THE MINI RAMP COULD BE A LITTLE TALLER/WIDER, (ABOUT EQUAL TO THEIR QUARTER PIPE) AND HAVE A LONGER FLAT-BOTTOM, (SO IT'S NOT SO DIFFICULT TO SET UP FOR YOUR NEXT TRICK ON THE OPPOSING WALL) OTHER THAN THAT.... VERY VERY NICE SKATEPARK.NICE SMOOTH SLAB (NOT EVEN ONE CRACK, AND IT'S BEEN THERE FOR YEARS NOW)...... AND NO MONEY WAS WASTED ON A 20' CHAIN LINK FENCE. WHO'S IDEA WAS THAT AND WHY? IT LOOKS LIKE A PRISON YARD.
Heed advice from Crosby.
CROSBY SPENT THE MONEY THE KIDS RAISED ON THEIR PARK...... BRAINERD DID NOT. (PERIOD)... I ASSURE YOU.... THERE ISN'T $100,000.00 WORTH OF CHOICE TRU RIDE SKATEBOARD RAMPS @ JAYCEES.
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skate boarding
From what I have witnessed Brainerd kids can't skateboard worth a hoot anyways. Every time I watch them all they do is fall or at the very least fail at the trick they are trying to do.
cyclerod48
If that were to be true at all, it's perhaps due to the fact that they don't have a viable skatepark to practice at.
FIELD OF DREAMS
http://www.skatepark.org/park-development/fundraising/2011/01/skateparks...
PeterWhitley says, " If they don't have sanctioned places,
they'll recreate in unsanctioned places." Oh and spending more money on a "sanctioned" place will of course keep them out of anywhere else, right? Bullhockey! Kids these days are too lazy to go where they should, and will continue to go where they are not wanted. It is part of their culture to constantly have their hands out looking for a free ride while disrepecting anyone and everyone, just to get what they want. Stop trying to make skateboarders out to be little angels.
Yes, that is correct.
As a matter of fact, we SHOULD be providing public recreational spaces for the youth. It's a pity you describe it as a "handout." Would you, if you had your way, remove all of the public parks in your community? The cost to maintain them could be consider a "handout."
Skateboarders skate where they can. It's not as complicated as you make it sound. If a skatepark is good and easy to get to, that's where they'll skate.
You should consult your "lazy" kids to find out where the LAST skatepark came from. Those "lazy" kids were involved with its creation. (Where were you?)
"Their culture" is my culture. I work very hard pursuing the things that I love. I'm not sure where you get the idea that I "constantly" have my hand out looking for a free ride while disrespecting anyone and everyone. I have never met you, and yet already you've already disrespected me.
I am a professional, a father, a homeowner, a tax-payer, a volunteer, and I am a skateboarder. My name is Peter Whitley. I am proud of who I am and have nothing to hide. (Who are you, RichRule?)
L O L
"Kids these days are too lazy to go where they should, and will continue to go where they are not wanted."
Skateboarding is not synonymous with lazy. Sounds like a bunch of hate and no real solution. And, judging from the way you talk about "kids these days", you don't care for a solution.
Huh?
"Stop trying to make skateboarders out to be little angels."
I didn't see that claim made anywhere. Skateboarders are just like any other group of kids. Some are nasty little troublemakers and others are perfectly behaved honor students. I seriously think that most are somewhere in between. Also, giving kids an outlet for their interests is always a good idea.
who's lazy?
The Crosby skate park and youth center are successful because of the community and a few amazing people. Sure the kids helped raise some money (with the help of adults setting up fundraisers) but the majority was grants that members of the community spent months applying for. People who don't even have children that skateboard!!! Without expecting any compensation for their time, not taking credit, not even wanting a thank you. They did it for their community, for their youth! Brainerd/Baxter is over 5 times larger then Crosby/Ironton, shouldn't there be 5 times the amount of people trying to get a real skate park? So who's lazy? I'd say the adults of Brainerd! The kids can't do it alone. Especially since the skaters are looked at like a bunch of vandalizing lazy brats, the city will never give them anything other then a cage in a swamp. The skaters are not going away just because the park is closed, so why not work together as a community and get a decent park. Take pride in your community and take some action! Some ideas of where to start- call the Crosby youth center, I'm sure they would be willing to help. Call the city of St Cloud and see how they did it. Go to the city meetings. Kids, you're not going to get people to go to the St Cloud Plaza, take video and photos and bring them to the city meetings. It is a very beautiful, family orientated park and something like that would look great in Gregory park! I never see more then a few people in Gregory park, the St Cloud skate park has hundreds of people there everyday it is nice out. And yes people, not just kids!
Peter
To answer your question of where was I when the skate park was built in Brainerd, the same one they destroyed; I was in school in Edina. Now my question to you, why are you trolling this newspaper? Looking for a job?
Actually...
I am the Programs Director for the Tony Hawk Foundation. We are a nonprofit organization that provides technical assistance, guidance, and financial support for skatepark projects. I am actually doing my job by responding to this thread.
How about you? What are you doing here? Are you here to help find a identify a solution for your community?