Local Skate Park Agency Fund Gets OK from City

• Boarders Voice Need for New Site

BY BILL KOENEKER

Though Malibu City Council members had hinted last week at the outset of the hearing that they would support a resolution establishing an agency fund for donations for a skate park, that did not stop a contingent of supporters from lobbying members on the issue.
The skate park concern was brought to the attention of the council by Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich. She indicated she had spoken with residents who have expressed interest in raising funds for a new local skate park.
The mayor requested that a fund be established so that donations for the construction of a new park can be accounted for by municipal officials. By unanimous vote, with Councilmember Sharon Barovsky absent, the council agreed to the agency fund, but not before skaters and some moms had a few words for the council.
Skaters said they were concerned that Papa Jack’s Skate Park might be shut down. “If we have no skate park, we won’t have anything to do. We might have to skate [elsewhere in] Malibu,” lamented one skater.
Others complained, though they liked the skate park, it is not a first-class facility and its location is not the best that a park could offer, as opposed to one at Bluffs Park.
The current park is operated by the city and owned by a private property owner on a piece of vacant land earmarked for a Whole Foods/retail shopping complex.
Planning Commissioner Regan Schaar, who has two sons that skate, told council members that even if a development agreement allows the Papa Jack’s Skate Park to continue, she said a commercial facility with ramps, concrete and other temptations near the park is not a good mix.
“I don’t think we should go down that path,” she said.
The Malibu mom, who said she does not skate, indicated that what would be preferable is a new skate park that can accommodate all skill levels.That would require about an acre.
“The ideal site is Bluffs Park,” said Schaar, after naming other potential sites in the city.
Schaar said she could raise money by tapping into corporate sponsors and cited several other cities where such arrangements have been made. “If we get a skate park built, it goes hand in hand with our surfing culture,” she noted.
Longtime local surfer and skateboarder Skylar Peak led off a contingent of speakers, citing a history of the sport and also suggesting that the Bluffs Park site could be a good location. “You give us the land, and we will provide a park,” he said.
As supporters cheered while the council approved the agency fund that is operated by the city to track donations designated for the skate park, the mayor offered advice.
“This is the beginning. It needs a quick follow-up. We will come back to discuss the where. Now you have someplace to put the money. Where you have a park is going to be an issue,” said Conley Ulich.
While voting for approval of the resolution, Councilmember John Sibert said. “The reason I like skate parks. It is something that is done without a lot adults standing over you.”
The money held in an agency fund by the city is purely custodial and the resources are not available for government operations, according to municipal officials.