Closing The Gap Reopens Park

A t a recent Dayton City Council meeting, skateboarder Michael Milan described the city's skate park facility as a "second home."

"I think the skate park is a good place where kids can go and relax," he said, explaining that he "went there all the time."

Now, thanks to the thoughtful action of the Dayton City Council and involvement of the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Milan and at least a dozen other kids who enjoy the park can return there.

We want to applaud the council, law enforcement representa- tives and the community for coming together to assure that an important facility for kids is not only open to their use, but safe as well.

We feel this issue has received the attention it deserves from everyone in the community. It is critical that kids in our towns have places where they can hang, be active and have a safe place to enjoy away from home.

The troubleshooting effort is a good example of how construc- tive solutions can be found to challenging local problems and how the council can craft new laws to help enforce appropriate use of park facilities.

Of course, it's too bad the community had to jump through these hoops at all, but unfortunately, there are always a few trouble- makers in town who make it necessary.

That's how the whole discussion about the environment at the skate park began. In the late summer, Dayton Mayor Craig George began receiving complaints about the use of the skate park by certain kids. Vandalism, foul language and the use of bicycles in the park were among the concerns. There was a general notion that some of the kids weren't following the facility's posted rules.

To make matters worse, city employee Rob John, who is in charge of all city parks and recreation, was openly mocked by some of the skate park users for suggesting they leave their bikes outside the park to avoid the temptation of using them inside the facility.

"I was called just about any name in the book and some of them, I didn't even know where they came from," John was quoted as saying in a story by Morgan Smith, the Times' Dayton reporter.

The cussing and verbal abuse continued even as John drove through town in his city work truck and his personal vehicle with his granddaughter in the car with him.

The Dayton City Council rightly kept the skate park padlocked while it took stock of the situation and explored possible solutions.

At that time in September, John said he was disappointed a few troublemakers poisoned the atmosphere at the park and forced its closure. He said many of the regular users displayed no such be- havior but were locked out anyway. Sheriff Walt Hessler indicated the problem with enforcement was the toothless stature of the park rules, whose violation wasn't the same as breaking the law. So, the city council stepped in and made a law the Sheriff could enforce.

The park was reopened on a trial basis in September and Hes- sler has now been given the tools to monitor the environment at the facility and nab troublemakers. Violation of the new ordinance may results in a civil infraction and may be punished by a civil fine. The first infraction fine is $100, second infraction is $150, the third and any subsequent infractions could be as much as $250.

We hope such financial pain is an effective deterrent to the trou- blemakers bent on behaving in a less than civil way. Sometimes, that's what it takes to right a situation and exactly the reason why we elect officials who can oversee the use of community facilities and help keep them safe.

The mayor and council never jumped to conclusions. They carefully reviewed the situation and conditions at the park. George even wrote a letter to students of the Dayton School District for their support of the park's appropriate use.

The elected officials worked cooperatively with other entities to come up with a law we hope will be successful so city officials don't need to lock kids out of their "second home."