Life Of Jason

A few updates that came in while my internet was down due to the move.  (Thank you Mediacom for getting me up and running so quickly when AT&T couldn’t get the job done.)

First, Pythian Castle.  Earlier this week I was told we’d have the city answer by Friday.  On Friday, Brenda Cirtin (Springfield City Clerk) sent me a very friendly e-mail explaining that due to people being out of the office for the holidays they weren’t able to get everything back from the necessary people.  She said they hope to have a response available by Wednesday.  When we get that response it will be posted here so you can look at Pythian Castle’s claims versus the city response.

Now, on to the Skatepark.

I had put in a request to the city for a response to what the Springfield Skatepark Association claimed was happening in the situation and I also followed up on a comment that was made by someone connected to the SSA:  “The Park Board refused the extension, stating a new contract was required because of liability issues, although the original lease and new one had the same liability insurance requirements.”  I e-mailed Jodie Adams at the Park Board to see if what was being claimed by this anonymous person from the Skatepark was true.  I knew there was another side to this story than what we’ve seen in the press and public because the city as of yet really has not shown their case.  (BTW, the e-mail address from the comment was from the Skatepark’s account so that is why I say the person must be connected in some way to the Skatepark.)  Jodie apparently forwarded the e-mail to the city’s public information office.

The response from the public information office was “You are correct, there is another side to this story. However, while the Springfield Skatepark Association has attempted to try this case in the media, we felt it was not appropriate to air all issues surrounding this matter in an attempt to keep lines of communication open between the parties. We have another round of mediation scheduled for January 8 and we are hopeful this matter can still settle. We want to work with these guys if at all possible. But we don’t feel its appropriate to air any details on the matter until we make this further attempt at mediation. After the January 8 meeting we should be in a position to discuss it more fully.”

They are going to provide me PDFs of the original agreement and the proposed agreement that our commenter from the Skatepark referenced in his comment so that you can see them and make up your own mind about it.

I had asked this person with the Skatepark “Will you agree the city and the Park Board has the right to do what they’re doing?”  As of today, I had no response from “SSP Bowl Dude.”  I have, however, received more nasty anonymous messages and have seen comments left in other places personally insulting me because of my comments on the Skatepark.  Of course, none of these people has the courage to leave their real names which makes kind of wonder if the “family atmosphere” that so many are trying to promote as being common at the Skatepark is really a family atmosphere like the Corleone family reunion.

“SSG Bowl Dude” said “Before you make any judgments about skateboarders, you need to come and visit the park and see what it is all about.”  Well, my opinion (not judgment) on skateboarders was that they were probably being really misrepresented as a whole but I’m guessing he just didn’t see that part of the blog entry. :)  After the nasty messages I’ve received I decided to take “SSG” up on his offer and go see the Skatepark.  However, I didn’t bother to contact him and tell him I was coming.  If the Skatepark was truly a friendly, family atmosphere, I should just walk in and feel welcome, right?  Also, if I said I was coming, they could always have it set up with certain people there to make a good impression.  (Not saying they would, but they COULD.)

So I went in this morning around 10:30.  Half a dozen cars in the lot and a few brave kids outside in the cold along with one adult who looked like he was happy to sacrifice warmth for the kids.  I walked in the door and looked to the left to see some ramps through the chain link fence.  To my right was a “pro shop” with boards and other kinds of gear.  Straight ahead was the main desk where behind the counter sat a guy reading a magazine and an older gentleman was talking to a younger gentleman.   None of them bothered to say “Hi” or “Can I help you?” or even acknowledge I was standing there so I decided to pop into the “pro shop” area.

I spent a few minutes looking around at the gear and waiting for someone on the staff to come in and check on the person standing around the thousands of dollars of merchandise.  No one came in during the five minutes or so I spent looking through the gear.  I did see this hanging up in there:

Now, my first thought was unless they have a job and pay taxes in Springfield it’s not really THEIR park but rather the taxpayer’s park but I can appreciate their trying to have the people who are customers of the park be involved in things.  Then I had a more sinister thought…who runs the pro shop and is financially on the hook for all the gear that was surrounding me?   If it’s the Springfield Skatepark Association then I wondered if they were really concerned about the kids or concerned about their pocketbook.  I went to the counter by the cash register and waited for someone from the staff to come in so I could ask them.   No one came in.

So I walked out into the little hall area to find the bulletin board by the front door.  True to what I had been told, there wasn’t anything posted there telling the Skatepark patrons what to say to the council members or people who ask about the situation.  It was just a list of council members and city staff members with contact information.   Now, it doesn’t mean things weren’t said in person to the kids but it would seem logical if the adults were coaching the kids that something in writing would be around somewhere.  It’s easier to give the benefit of the doubt that the SSA adult leaders weren’t coaching the kids on what to say.

I waited for a few minutes before I made my way back into the pro shop.  (Where, standing in the doorway, I took this picture:)

I milled around in the pro shop a little more knowing that at least the older man behind the counter had seen me standing at the bulletin board and then go into the pro shop.  Again, no staff showed up to ask if I needed help with anything.  The guy reading the magazine at the counter never missed a page.  (I can give the benefit of the doubt to the older guy because he seemed to be training the younger kid but still you have to wonder why SOMEONE on the staff wasn’t assigned to keep an eye on the pro shop.)

So I just zipped up my jacket and walked out of the pro shop and back outside.  Total time was about fifteen minutes and none of the “family” at the Skatepark even said hello or nodded an acknowledgement.

Now, I admit I could have gone up to the desk and said something to the staff but after not receiving a greeting of any kind from the staff upon entering (and seeing one guy just keep reading his magazine) I became curious to see how long it would be before someone at least greeted me.   I wanted to see what would happen if they thought someone wasn’t watching them and it was just another person around the park.

So now I’m really curious to see the lease and proposal in regards to the claim made in the comments on the previous post.   I’m scheduled to get those on Monday and I’ll post them as soon as I get them.   I’m also interested to find out who owns that pro shop and who stands to lose money should there be a management reorganization (and if you’re a SSA member and know that info, please post it in the comments.)

The park itself looked clean and well maintained.  The cliques of kids there seemed to be enjoying themselves.   It certainly didn’t look like the stereotypical skater hangouts you’d see in TV and movies.  I don’t think Johnny Knoxville and Bam Margera would likely be doing some of their more racy stunts there.  If someone went their with their children I could see where it would be likely they would feel like it’s a place families can go.  My only problem with using that as a selling point is that you can also make that statement about dozens of other city related entities where you can have a family experience that don’t have groups of citizens claiming ownership over it.

I sympathize to a degree with the SSA for building it up only to be in a place where it might not continue to run exactly how they want it to run.  I can understand loyalty from some of the kids toward the people who built the park to where it is today.  Still, after going in today and experiencing what I did, I’m still not convinced that the city is in the wrong.   If the Park Board takes over, all the ramps would still be there.  Families could still go there and have a great time together.   The pro shop?  That we don’t know…would it be the same owners or new ownership?  However, I don’t think that question should make us say the Park Board is in the wrong.

Now, if the documents come back Monday and they say what “SSG Bowl Dude” says they’re going to say (that they’re the same in terms of liability) then there will be a big question out there for city staff to answer.  (And we will ask for that answer should that be the case.)   Otherwise, unless there’s a new agreement in place January 8 at the city council meeting we need to hear the city’s side of the story.