Skate park finally gets council's OK

Pasadena Star News - January 18, 2002

By Mary Schubert
Staff Writer

SOUTH PASADENA -- An on-again off-again two-year campaign to build a skate park won City Council approval after another round of contentious public debate over the cost, Lower Arroyo location and safety issues.

The 4-1 vote, with Councilman Harry Knapp opposing, dislodged the project from a logjam since South Pasadena won a $100,000 county recreational grant in February 2000.

Knapp has consistently voted against proposals to put a skate park in the Lower Arroyo, maintaining the main access street, Stoney Drive, is a dangerous approach because of its hills and curves.

Several residents echoed that sentiment. But the other council members endorsed the city-owned land -- formerly a privately-owned recycling center -- as a park site for skateboarders and in-line skaters.

"We said we'd provide (the kids) with a place to skate," said City Councilwoman Dorothy Cohen. "A promise is a promise."

Councilman Michael Cacciotti said city officials have even asked the Board of Education for help. The former Oneonta Elementary School, at 1955 S. Fremont Ave., is still owned by the South Pasadena Unified School District but is leased to a private school and unavailable as a skate park site, he said.

"You're not going to find a perfect location (to build a park). We've searched everywhere and I'm not sure there is one," Cacciotti said.

At its Wednesday night meeting, the council awarded a $114,000 contract to Malibu Pacific Tennis Courts to construct the park. It will be 11,700 square feet of flat concrete with portable skating ramps.

In October, the council contracted with another firm to manufacture the metal skate ramps. City parks Director Veronica Dolleschel put present cost estimates for the skate park at $310,000; but Knapp and others said the city should add about $47,000 it has already paid to consultants for preliminary plans and designs.

Other skate park features include:

A 6-foot steel picket fence, with a locking gate, encircling the skating area;

At least 27 feet between the skating area and a Lower Arroyo equestrian trail;

An 8-foot chain-link fence, with a fabric screen, lining the eastern edge of the skate park to create a "visual barrier" so horses won't get spooked by skaters' sudden movements;

Irrigation and landscaping, including the planting of three sycamore trees;

An emergency telephone to connect callers to the South Pasadena Police Department, plus a public pay phone for outgoing calls only;

Two picnic benches, a shade structure, drinking fountains, a bicycle rack and vending machines;

Portable toilets;

And the installation of electrical conduit to allow for the possible future addition of park lighting.

Built into the skate park's budget are funds to hire an attendant to provide on-site adult supervision. Plans call for the park to be open about 38 hours a week during the school year and about 82 hours weekly in summer, Dolleschel said in her written report.

In the back-and-forth history of the proposed skate park, the council considered building it in Orange Grove Park with portable ramps, and in the Lower Arroyo as a permanent concrete facility.

Both plans met resistance for reasons of noise, traffic, expense and other concerns.

-- Mary Schubert can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4456, or by e-mail at mary.schubert@sgvn.com.