Selectmen Vote to Solicit Bids, Sell Skateboard Park

The Board of Selectmen voted on Monday to solicit bids and try to sell off the pieces of the Griffin Park skateboard park.

A timeline of 30 days from public posting was set to receive those bids.

The board's 4-0 decision means that the town will not try to find an alternative location to set up or store the skate park.

Options of either placing the park behind the police station, between the fire station and library or on the site of the town's old landfill were all considered too expensive by the board members.

According to Recreation Committee Chairman Dennis Senibaldi, moving the park to a flat area of land, such as near Nesmith Library, would require an estimated cost of $15,000 while an area such as behind the police department could cost $24,000 to $30,000 just to build a pad.

Another directive from the April 8 Board of Selectmen meeting was to store the materials at the police station, which Senibaldi said there is not enough space for.

"One piece alone is almost 50 feet long, 14 feet wide and 8 feet high," he said. There are nine pieces in total, and Senibaldi said that seven of those are extremely larger.

As for dismantling the pieces, Senibaldi said that given the age of the materials, they might as well be thrown out once they are taken apart.

"You'll find it difficult to truly keep (the pieces) in worthwhile shape," he said.

Senibaldi added that another idea has come up since the April 8 meeting, although he didn't weigh into the specifics of the alternative option.

The Board of Selectmen will only address the skate park again if the Recreation Committee hears from the person presenting the new idea and changes its mind on the park. As of now, the committee has taken a position against the skateboard park.

Selectmen Chairman Phil LoChiatto expressed frustration that the new idea was coming in at the 11th hour, but noted that the board's previous motion was crafted to buy proponents of the park a little bit more time.

He said he would prefer to see the equipment moved from Griffin Park sooner rather than later because of potential vandalism and other problems persisting.

Police Chief Gerald Lewis, who sat in the audience, agreed with LoChiatto.

Motions were approved to reconsider some of the board's previous decisions on April 8. Those included the decision to store the park's pieces at the police station and also the end of summer allowance for a "workable alternative" proposal.

During the board's previous decision on the park, Rep. Charles McMahon (R-Windham), who planned and built the park, said he has been visiting the facility daily for a decade and has observed the majority of patrons follow the park’s rules. He added that the park cost $52,000 to build.