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Supporters want Skatepark to stay put

The Inter-Mountain photo by Taylor McKinnie More than 30 supporters of leaving the Elkins Skatepark where it is in Glendale Park attended the Elkins Parks & Recreation Commission meeting Wednesday afternoon.

ELKINS — Supporters of the Elkins Skatepark were in attendance at the Elkins Parks & Recreation Commission meeting Wednesday evening, stressing why the structure should remain in Glendale Park.

More than 30 supporters of the Elkins Skatepark sat in during the meeting to express their desire to keep the park, which was built in 2009, in Glendale Park, despite the EPRC’s plan to move the skatepark to property owned by the Refinery Church near North Elementary School and Highland Park, and possibly replacing the skatepark with pickleball courts.

Several people spoke during the meeting’s public comment section to voice the group’s overall opinion that the skatepark needs to stay in Glendale, and that they wish to offer the commission any help they can in keeping the park where it is.

“We think moving it would deprive our children,” Alice Sabitino, a former adult advisor for Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES) and an initial leader of the initial project to build the skatepark, told the commission. “It would be too far for local kids to go all the way to where they want to put it. If there’s some way that we, as a group, can help to keep that park there. To get new ramps, write grants.”

Sabitino began the public comments by explaining the history of the skatepark and the hard work that was put into getting the park built by the community.

“Prior to 2006 when we began the skatepark journey, the skater teenagers and friends had no place to skate and skated wherever they could,” Sabitino said. “This resulted in multiple citations to the kids and multiple confiscation of the skateboards, which sometimes resulted in suspension of a much-needed driver’s license and eventually created an adversarial relationship with law enforcement and city businesses alike.”

Sabitino went on to explain that, in 2006, local youth, along with parents and area adults, came together to create a 501c3 non-profit to help build a downtown community skatepark. With financial support from Mountain Partners in Community Development, the group was able to become a 501c3 under the name Youth Empowerment Solutions, or YES, which received grants from pro skater Tony Hawk, The Sunshine Lady Foundation, Youth Service of America and more. Donations and contributions from the community also helped with the pouring of concrete for a skatepad and for the building of ramps.

Dustin Standridge, owner of 3rd Street Tattoo and former president of YES, spoke next, explaining the importance of skateboarding, which is a recognized Olympic sport.

“I could never forget what skateboarding has taught me and I would love to do everything I can to give the next generation of kids the possibility to learn what I did from skateboarding,” Standridge said. “The culture of skateboarding has influenced brands, art, magazines, style, music. Skateboarding is a recognized Olympic sport and by having a skatepark in Elkins, the youth can practice frequently and potentially a child from Elkins could be an Olympic skateboarder.”

Emily Standridge added that the group had come up with options to help fund keeping and improving the skatepark in Glendale. She had spoken to those who headed the creation of the Huntington and Charleston skateparks, who voiced their interest in helping find grants, as well as the owners of Elks City Skate Shop in Charleston, who said they would like to host an event to help. Several Elkins business owners also showed interest in helping out in exchange for advertising signs, she said. 

She also spoke about how the group plans to hold raffle events, sell t-shirts to raise money, have a block party and hold tattoo flash events through her studio. Standridge also added that people were willing to do free work, such as landscaping, fixing ramps, providing wood and paint and more.

“We know how to run a business,” Standridge told the commission. “We know how to market ourselves, and we know how to fundraise and get attention, and we know how important this is to the people of Elkins. We’re just asking for a chance to save this park.”

Several other members of the community spoke on how the skatepark has become a “sanctuary” for kids who may not play “traditional” sports like football or cheerleading, with Michael Good calling the park a “memorial to the hard work and determination of the teenagers who put it together, a sacred site of creativity and inspiration and a tree of nurture for the outcasts and underdogs.”

Former Elkins Mayor Van Broughton, who was a city council member, a member of the Parks Commission and a supporter of the skatepark when it was being built, was the last to speak during public comments. Broughton thanked the commission for giving the group the opportunity to voice their opinions and also asked for them to be given the chance to save the park.

“The ball was dropped, of course, we all know that, but if we could get another chance to put together a plan, do some fundraising and keep it going, that’d be great,” Broughton told the commission.

The EPRC did not make any decision or discuss the skatepark further as the item was not on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting.

The EPRC meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 5 p.m. at Phil Gainer Community Center.

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