Skateboard Community Mobilizes to Defend Skate Park

More than two dozen skateboarders turned out for the Hinsdale Village Park and Recreation Commission meeting at the Hinsdale Memorial Building Monday night. At issue was the future of Hinsdale's only skate park, located within Veeck Park.

"There are some safety concerns. There's been some graffiti, and there are parts in disrepair," said Scott Banke, a Park and Recreation commissioner.

"I think there is a minimum of $15,000 needed to replace materials, and that doesn't count man hours," said Gina Hassett, director of the Park and Recreation commission, during Monday night's meeting. "I'll be honest with you. There is no money in this budget, and they don't want any money thrown into the park until a plan is made."

Several of the young people who attended said they were willing to help the village maintain the park. "If we have to pitch in money to go buy spray paint to go paint over [the graffiti], or if you need help cleaning it up, we would be glad to do it," said 18-year-old Alfonso Lopez-Yanez Saenz.

Fourteen of the 15 skaters that showed at Monday night's meeting were Hinsdale residents. The group used Facebook to spread the word about the commission meeting to encourage skaters to come to voice their opinions about the skate park.

"If we were to invest the money, is there a way for us to increase the community of the people who use it?" Kathleen Mulligan, a Park and Recreation commissioner asked of the group. The group of skateboarders said yes, estimating that between 50 and 100 people would use the skate park if the money was invested to repair it.

The commission asked those present if each had five friends they felt would use the park if a decision was made to keep it. All the skaters present said yes. The group of skateboarders volunteered to do the work themselves in order to save the village money.

Park and Recreation Commissioner Scott Banke has two sons, which use the skate park. Banke said he was impressed with the way the young people were willing to spend their own time and money to save it. Banke said he felt this showed how popular an activity skateboarding is in the Hinsdale area. "It's literally a community, and I can't think of another sport where I would see so many young people at a village meeting on a Monday night to defend activity at a facility within the village."

The Park and Recreation commission debated the possibility of building smaller skate parks within some of Hinsdale's other parks. The skateboarders present said they would be in favor of that as well.

The commission encouraged the group to finish plans for a Veeck Park skate park Facebook page, so that it could see how many people would be interested in keeping the park before making a final recommendation to the village.