City Manager Deborah Ballí said the options range from installing cameras to building a high fence around the property and installing locking gates.
She told the council that since vandals wrote graffiti on the new picnic tables at the park and on restroom walls, someone had damaged a wall on the restroom where the gates are locked at night.
Ballí said the Beeville Police Department has assigned reserve force members to monitor the park at night.
Although they have managed to run off park visitors who are there after hours, as soon as the police leave, the visitors return.
Ballí brought attention to the vandalism problem at the recently renovated park within days of its official opening.
The City Council voted to invest $200,000 in building a skate park at Flournoy. The city also had a walking trail, public restrooms, a playscape and picnic area built at the centrally located property.
Members of the Beeville Garden Club have been building a butterfly garden in the southwest corner of the park that includes an expensive water feature. That could become a target for vandals in the future.
Businessman Armando Musquez spoke to the council about the vandalism problem during the “hearing of visitors” portion of Tuesday’s meeting.
He said he had asked city residents to provide comments and suggestions for solving the problem using Facebook.
“The P.D. can’t possibly monitor this park 24/7,” Musquez said in a written statement. “They have better things to do.”
He said that the city has posted so many rules at the skate park that skaters have started going back to banks and other businesses to skate.
“Why build a facility and then apply so many rules to it that it becomes a non-usable facility?” Musquez asked.
The businessman said posting a sign releasing the city of any liability could help. But not even that would prevent lawsuits if a skater is injured there.
Musquez suggested that posting a sign requiring helmets to be worn by the skaters would also leave the city open to lawsuits if the rule is not enforced.
Some of the suggestions he received on his Facebook comment included building a wall especially for graffiti. That had been suggested before in the early planning stages for the skate park.
Musquez said that if helmets are going to be so important, then maybe some organizations could donate helmets for skaters.
Video surveillance was also suggested. That is one solution the city seems interested in adopting.
Other Facebook responders recommended fencing the park and locking it up at night, and parental involvement in monitoring the facilities.
Some responders recommended an organization could “reward” the skaters’ good behavior by hosting events with free hotdogs. Also, the city could encourage the formation of a skate club that could help with events and educate skaters on safety issues and on the proper use of the facility.
Musquez said bulldozing the park would not be the answer. During a comment he made later, he said he was proud to pay taxes for the skate park because he thought it was a good idea.
Ballí told the council later in the meeting that the Parks and Recreation Commission had discussed possible rules for the skate park during a noon meeting Monday.
The commissioners recommended that no bicycles be allowed on the skate park and that helmets be strongly recommended but not required.
The commissioners also did not approve a user agreement with athletic leagues for the facilities at Veterans Memorial Park.
Gary Kent is a reporter at the Bee-Picayune and can be reached at 358-2550, ext. 120, or at reporter@mySouTex.com.
Post a Comment