Easing up on rules may limit skate-park woes

By KRISTI ALBERTSON/Daily Inter Lake

Some problems are inevitable.

That was the consensus after Kalispell's skateboard park committee members reviewed feedback they received from skate parks across the West.

But the parks that seemed to have the fewest problems had one thing in common: The rules were looser there than at parks with more vandalism and littering issues.

Committee members discussed possible solutions to Woodland Skate Park's problems at its meeting Wednesday. Some members, including JD Carabin and Pat Brooks, advocated easing up on the rules, including the mandatory helmet law.

"Some problems happen at every park. Loosen the rules and let them have at it," said Carabin, who operates Serious JuJu Skateworks, a Christian skateboarding ministry.

Brooks agreed. Eliminating all the rules would be bad, but easing up on them might help.

"If you loosen them a little, the kids will feel less constrained," he said.

One rule that could be loosened is the mandatory helmet law, Brooks said.

Skate parks in other cities, including Spokane, Whitefish and Billings, make wearing protective gear optional - and those parks seem to have fewer problems than Kalispell.

"The minimalistic rules seems to be yielding a whole lot less rebellion than 'you must wear a helmet at all times,'" Brooks said.

"If you don't have rules, you don't have anything to rebel against," Carabin added.

The skate park's chief problem is a lack of supervision. Police and parks department employees - facing budget cuts - cannot continually staff the skateboard park area other than periodic checks.

Even if the park relied on volunteer supervisors, it still would need someone to organize the volunteers and make sure they showed up on time, committee member and Kalispell Parks and Recreation employee Jennifer Young said.

The parks department, which will have no seasonal staff this summer, can't fill that role, she said.

Volunteer supervisors would have to have the right kind of personality, committee member Beverly Boe cautioned.

"You can't have people who are going to get upset if the kids have blue mohawks or raggedy pants falling off their waist," she said.

Carabin said he believes there is a way to pay a supervisor. Anywhere from 60 to 100 skaters a night use Serious JuJu's Airport Road facility; if he charged them $5 each, Carabin figures he would average $300 a day.

That won't happen at Serious JuJu, but Carabin suggested using a similar strategy at Woodland Skate Park.

"If it was a buck or two a head, then it's not too difficult for a kid to scare up four quarters," he said. "I still think there's money to pay someone."

Charging skaters to use a public park may not be feasible, however.

The committee also discussed the park's littering problem. Some possible solutions are simple, such as moving trash cans closer to the bowl so kids don't have to walk to throw things away. The committee may consider asking businesses to donate gift certificates to give to youths who help keep the park clean.

Having adults around tends to discourage the littering and other unwanted activity, Boe said. It's also positive for the skaters.

"That's the big thing, to build relationships just by watching," Carabin said. "The kids want to show off. They want the adults to say, 'Dude, that's cool."

The committee may consider holding an open house at the skate park during the spring or summer to encourage adults to visit. Committee members will discuss that option at its next meeting, 6 p.m. Feb. 11, at the city parks department building.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com