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Turf surfers win space in Indian Rocks
By AMY WIMMER, Times Staff Writer INDIAN ROCKS BEACH -- Matt Hirschler was the first local skateboarder to ask the mayor to consider a skate park in his city. Last week, the 15-year-old was the first to speak up for the neighborhood skate park at a meeting where the project appeared in jeopardy. "I have done everything that I could" to bring a skate park to Indian Rocks Beach, the teenager told the City Commission. By meeting's end, Hirschler and about three dozen other kids who attended were thrilled at the commission's decision: A 9,500-square-foot skate park will be constructed in the city's Kolb Park, across the street from Indian Rocks Beach City Hall. After the park is built, the city will evaluate noise levels and decide whether to add a wall or other sound buffers to the side closest to neighbors. "We're no longer a retirement community," said City Manager Tom Brobeil, who in a presentation Tuesday night rebutted residents' claims that the skate park would bring noise and possibly crime to their neighborhood. "I don't think we ever were a retirement community, but it's clear we're becoming more diverse." Census numbers from the year 2000 support Brobeil's assertion: More than 10 percent of Indian Rocks Beach's population is under 18, while children make up only 5 to 8 percent in most other beach cities in Pinellas. About 150 people showed up for the final vote on the skate park. The facility will cost $118,092, with $63,750 of that from a state grant. Brobeil has long advocated a skate park in Kolb Park as a diversion for teens and children, and the City Commission was one step away from approving it two weeks ago when a group of Kolb Park residents showed up to protest the idea. The residents said they knew nothing of the plan and were surprised to hear about it. "We're not against kids. We're not against anybody," said Naomi Shaffer, who lives about 90 feet from the proposed skate park, its closest neighbor. "We just don't want it so close to our house." The neighbors who spoke out against the park earlier this month asked the city to consider other city parks for skateboarding, but Brobeil returned to the commission announcing that Kolb Park was the only viable location. Brown Park is so small that the skate park would replace all other facilities there. The nature preserve was created with a grant that stipulates it must offer passive recreation. And Brobeil said Chic-a-Si Park, in a commercial section of the city, is too difficult for skateboarders to reach without crossing busy intersections. "It needs to be in a place where kids can be there," Hirschler said when he spoke to commissioners. "We are good kids and feel that we have rights in our city, and now we feel that you have blown us off." Only City Commissioner Jim Palamara, who lives in the neighborhood surrounding the skate park, voted against it. Brobeil said neighbors won't have to worry about traffic trouble or parking problems. Mostly younger kids will use the park, he said. "Once kids get cars at 16," he said, "they get other interests."
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
