STAFFORD – It was not the first time that the prospect of a new skate park was brought before the township council, but this time a majority of the skateboarding community showed up to support the idea.
Township resident Frank Cannavo expressed his interest about introducing a new skate park into the community back in October. At a recent Township Council meeting, he returned with more questions and a few dozen supporters.
“So last time we talked about a bond and I found that that’s probably not something that’s going to happen in the near future, but I would like to…move forward with the idea of planning a skate park, discussing a location, and possibly doing some fundraising to get it started,” said Cannavo.
Mayor Gregory Myhre, while emphasizing that the idea of planning a skate park is “not necessarily off the table,” noted that it is not very high on the list of the township’s priorities in terms of capital spending.
In an effort to be conscious of the township’s use of space, Cannavo suggested the idea of repurposing one of the many sports fields in the Doc Cramer complex into a skate park.
“These kids need some place to go. Just because they don’t conform to society and want to play baseball, they want to do what they want to do, they should still be considered and taken care of,” he said.
Cannavo and supporters firmly believe they can muster up sufficient funding to build a skate park, should the township allow for it. However, Councilman Michael Pfancook advised against fundraising too early in the event that plans for a skate park fell through and they had to return all monies raised.
Standing with Cannavo were a host of residents, young and old, who cited the various benefits of a skate park to the community, for personal enjoyment, and even for health reasons.
For example, a 16-year-old skateboarder from Waretown explained how skateboarding helps treat his anxiety and helped him lose weight.
Resident Matt Vereb added that skateboarding is an Olympic sport, giving kids something to aspire to.
A teen residing on Mill Creek Road cited physical benefits. “For kids that don’t find interest in team sports, skateboarding is a great way to promote a healthy lifestyle,” he said, adding that most skating injuries occur outside the realm of skate parks due to unsafe conditions.
On the other hand, resident Michael Verbeke covered some of the down sides of a public skate park having resided near the former skate park in the Ocean Acres section of Stafford Township.
Verbeke lives on Atlantic Avenue in Ocean Acres. “That address is significant because the old skate park was about 200 feet from my house,” he said.
Although not opposed to recreation, Verbeke believed the old location to be a nuisance that created noise and became a hub for illegal activity within the neighborhood.
“Nobody paid attention to the rules,” he said. With experience in law enforcement himself, Verbeke added that – understandably – police cannot spare the resources to patrol the skate park day and night.
Verbeke’s testimony, while pointing out the negatives, only added to the argument coming from the Stafford skateboarding community.
Mayor Myhre and the council had made mention of “unearthing” the old Ocean Acres skate park as a potential fix, something which the skateboarders in attendance do not want. Verbeke’s personal experience explains why non-skateboarding locals would not want that either.
Instead, skaters want a new park somewhere less residential, providing an accessible and safe atmosphere for the neighborhood kids to gather.
Beach Haven West resident Joe Mangino was involved in the discussion for a new skate park a few years ago with the previous governing body, noting that they had already done some digging to find out what the best possible paths were.
“We’re looking for more public sites which would provide better monitoring,” said Mangino.
Figures were thrown around during the meeting estimating how much a skate park could run the township, and how much would need to be fundraised. Cannavo stated that the new skate park in Bernard Cooke Memorial Park in Brick Township cost about $300,000 to build.
Next door to Stafford, Barnegat Township’s skate park was revamped in 2017. According to Recreation Director Jean Broadbent, this park cost approximately $175,000.
“The new skate park was built on the same footprint as the old wooden one – the fence was already in place as well as the sub-base upon which the concrete park was placed,” said Broadbent.
Broadbent noted that the park is open to use by non-residents (i.e. Stafford kids), all you need is a helmet. To date, she has not received any reports of vandalism other than the occasional garbage thrown about the park, which causes the park to close for a short time.
Myhre told Jersey Shore Online that “The current capital plan has no funds set aside for a project like this in the Township,” but the council is open to discussions.
“There are many considerations that need to be examined such as safety, insurance, liability, maintenance, staffing, project costs, location and funding,” Myhre added.
These factors, combined with other resident requests, must be considered. For example, many residents have been asking for the addition of a dog park to the township; a project which has not seen any significant movement of late.
Myhre and council members addressed concerns such as drug use, drinking, or vandalism at the skate park but overall were not opposed to the idea. However, it is too early to tell if the skateboarding community will get the go-ahead on this.
“A large capital project like a skate park must have community support and requires research and thorough analysis before any commitments can be made,” said Myhre. “We are always looking for new ways to make Stafford a better place and to provide the highest quality of life for residents. The Township looks forward to reviewing the skate park with any residents who are interested and look forward to that discussion.”
