Skate park slides into familiar debate

Natick's skate park was closed and dismantled in 2003, after the town had trouble enforcing a rule requiring the use of helmets. There are no plans to revive the facility, an official said. (Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff/File)

Ashland has become the latest area community to engage in a debate about skate parks.

The town's School Committee recently expressed qualms about a proposal that would set up a facility in a parking lot at the middle school, and has asked selectmen for more specifics. In the meantime, a committee working on the project has scheduled a public information session for 7 tonight in Town Hall.

"The sentiment was against approving it," said School Committee chairwoman Marcia Reni, who said her panel tabled a discussion to give selectmen the opportunity to better address its concerns, which include the loss of 29 parking spaces.

"Can the schools afford to give up space?" Reni asked. "I don't want to deny kids the opportunity to have a skate park, but school resources are scarce nowadays and we don't want to give up something we need."

She said that the School Committee has other concerns, including whether a school is the proper location for the park. "If the problems of vandalism, noise, and issues of trash and graffiti have been addressed, then there's no reason not to put it back where it was - a town park," she said.

Skate parks have been a source of debate in a number of area communities, including Medfield, Natick, and Watertown, while in others, such as Hudson, the parks have flourished.

At a Medfield selectmen's meeting in August, residents living near a proposed site at Metacomet Park expressed concerns about noise, increased demand for emergency services, and the potential for lawsuits against the town if a skater got hurt.

Last month, the town's Parks & Recreation Commission put plans for a skate park on hold until supporters could raise enough money to construct it, said James Snyder, the parks department director.

Medfield does not "have the money to do it, so it would have to be raised through private donations," Snyder said.

In Natick, the Recreation and Parks Department closed and dismantled the local skate park in 2003 after officials had trouble enforcing a helmet rule, said Dick Cugini, the town's recreation superintendent.

"I think everybody tried to work with the kids," Cugini said. "Everyone really tried to emphasize that if they were not going to follow the safety rules, it would be torn down."

There are no plans to revive the facility, Cugini said.

In Watertown, the Recreation Department has had some issues with graffiti at the skate park in Arsenal Park, director Tom Sullivan said. Since the park is behind a mall, away from houses, there has been little opposition from residents. However, when the town was considering sites for the skate park, there was substantial opposition to locations closer to neighborhoods, Sullivan said.

In Hudson, the town has embraced a skate park adjacent to Cellucci Park.

"It's the one park in town where you can drive by on any nice day and see 30 to 40 teenagers, and, for the most part, they're good kids," said Steven Santos, assistant director of Hudson's Division of Recreation.

Santos said that since the skate park opened last year, there have been few incidents. And those have declined since Cellucci Park fully opened in June.

"Because there's so much going on, some of the incidents we initially had we no longer have," Santos said. "Parents are right across the brook, so they can see what's going on."

In Ashland, Selectman Paul Monaco, who heads the committee working on the skate park, said his panel wants the School Committee to formally outline its concerns about siting the park at the middle school.

"Rather than pick out pieces from their meeting, we're asking them to send us the concerns they expressed, as well as any other concerns they might have, so we can hopefully address them," said Monaco, who also serves as chairman of the Board of Selectmen.

In February, selectmen decided to close a skate park that had been in operation in Stone Park, near the center of town, since 2001, after neighbors complained about excessive noise, both from the sound of skateboard wheels grinding against the park's metal ramps, and from youths hanging out and using foul language at all hours.

The skate park committee was authorized soon after and charged with assessing whether the town should have such a facility, and, if so, where it should be built, said Monaco.

The committee reviewed four locations in town and found that three of them - another area at Stone Park, a parcel on Olive Street, and a site near the Department of Public Works yard - were "extremely challenged," Monaco said, whether due to lack of sidewalks, costs of construction, or a remote location.

The committee favored the middle school's parking lot based on its easy access, low neighbor impact, and high population of likely users, according to the report. The committee is recommending using concrete ramps, which would be quieter than the metal ones and mobile in case the skate park were to be moved at any point, Monaco said.

"We tried to include elements to address and thwart the problems from before," Monaco said. "Nothing is perfect, but we felt this is one of the better sites."

The total budget for the proposal is $291,500, which included $180,000 for the equipment, $65,000 for site preparation, $20,000 for safety considerations, and $26,500 to cover any contingencies.

Monaco said that after tonight's Town Hall session, he plans to recommend the project for Community Preservation Act funds at the Community Preservation Committee's public hearing on Monday, and bring it in front of Town Meeting for final approval.

Globe correspondent Brian Benson contributed to this report.