MATTHEW HIGBEE mhigbee@ctpost.com
Connecticut Post Online

SEYMOUR — Managing the town's skate park is becoming a headache for officials.

Last summer, a succession of supervisors hired to staff the park left the job, and the Recreation Department scrambled to find replacements. By the end of the season in the fall, the park was often closed. And when it was open, according to some officials, some skateboarders were not wearing helmets and breaking other rules.

"I drove by it a few times and saw that it was chaos," Corporation Counsel George Temple said at a recent Recreation Commission meeting. "I think the idea is a good idea. It offers a recreational opportunity to kids who might not get recreation. But anarchy cannot prevail, and that's what we have."

Recreation Director Jack Ahearn said the staffing problem last summer was unusual because the department lost reliable staff people who went to college.

By the end of the summer, Ahearn said, an inexperienced teenager was thrown into the role, and he was available only sporadically in the fall. "It was only a short period that we had a problem," said Ahearn. Several parents and skateboarders attended the Recreation Commission's meeting last week to complain about inconsistent hours of operation, maintenance problems and garbage.

"I'm always down there with my son," said Janice Wright. "It's not cleaned. There are no garbage cans. This is a safety issue. In the beginning of the summer, when we first got there, we would be signed in. As the year progressed, there was nobody there."

Brian Powell, the parent of another skateboarder, said kids were frustrated by the frequent closures and asked the commissioners to keep the park open sunrise to sunset even if supervisors were not available. But the commission, acting on Temple's advice, voted to require supervision at all times the park is open. "If you open it with no supervision, you're really sticking your neck out," Temple said. Many recreation departments in area communities have decided to leave their skate parks unsupervised after experiencing the same staffing problems that beset Seymour.

Bill Slater, the West Haven director of parks, said the city staffed its skate park when it first opened two years ago, but left it unsupervised last year. Slater said the skateboarders liked the change because the park became free, and officials were relieved of the problems of trying to provide steady supervision.

"This is the trend across the country," Slater said. As for the liability, Slater said the city received a claim from when it was supervised, but none when it wasn't.
"You can't prevent an injury with supervision," Slater said.
Slater added that the city was even more liable with a supervisor, because of the expectation of reduced risk.
"You would have to watch every kid and that gets impractical," Slater said. Cheshire is another community that has an unsupervised park.

"When we first opened, we went supervised, but it didn't work out because even in December on sunny days, kids want to use it," said Sandy Petela, the town's deputy recreation director.

Since the Seymour Recreation Commission's decision to keep the skate park supervised, Ahearn said that he would advertise for the position. The park is expected to open next month after repairs are made.

Matthew Higbee, who covers the Naugatuck Valley, can be reached at 736-5440.