Local youth search for cash to keep the good times rolling at
Butterfield Boulevard park
Morgan Hill – When the sun is up and school is out, the city’s skate board park is full of youths grinding the half pipe, riding the rails, and though they know they’re not supposed to, riding their bikes.
For all the talk about how to get more people to use the city’s recreation facilities, there’s no doubting the popularity of the skate park. If only the city could find a way to keep it open.
“I think it sucks that they could close it. If they close it, I’ll probably skate on the streets,” said Alan Estill, an 18-year-old who says he visits the Butterfield Boulevard park almost every day. “This place has kept a lot of us out of trouble.”
But the park, which opened with temporary wooden structures five years ago, wasn’t built to last, and it’s nearing the end of its useful life. There’s room for an in-ground, concrete park at the new Indoor Recreation Center, but no money to build it. At this point, there’s no money to maintain the current park.
Enter the city’s Youth Advisory Committee, a group of high school students intent on saving the park, one of the few spots in town for teens to congregate.
“I think it’s really important because it’s the only teen park we have,” said Isela Bañuelos, vice-chairwoman of the committee. “It’s one of the only places teen-agers use. Since we were the ones who wanted it, it’s our responsibility to take care of it.”
So the committee is holding a series of fundraisers to build a new park, and in the meantime, keep the current one in good repair. The committee recently hosted a band concert at the Community and Cultural Center and has plans for a fashion show and a T-shirt design contest. But there’s a long way to go.
The in-ground park that the city intended to build at the new Indoor Recreation Center would cost nearly $1 million dollars. A facility similar to the current park, with steel structures replacing the worn wooden implements would hit the Morgan Hill budget for about $150,000, according to city public works operations director Mori Struve.
“We don’t have $150,000 right now, but it would be a lot more affordable if the kids decided that would be OK,” Struve. “The plan is to keep [the park] open as long as we can. We will try to repair as needed, but money is limited. To the extent we can keep them safe, we will.”
The city spends some $10,000 a year on the park, and city council members say they are committed to keeping it open, though it will require some creative budgeting. They are also worried about the park’s location, between railroad tracks and busy Butterfield Boulevard.
“The goal has always been to maintain it,” Councilman Greg Sellers. “It’s frustrating that a bunch of kids have to struggle to find money for it. The location is a frustration. Long-term, it needs to be moved.”
Councilman Larry Carr agrees.
“I think having a facility is absolutely important,” he said. “I feel like we’ve already made that commitment and now we need to fulfill it. The existing park we’ve bandaged together to keep it alive. We need to have a new skate park.”
That’s good news to young skater Jacob Ornellas. Gilroy resident Ornellas is just 4, but he’s already ridden at most parks in South County and San Jose. The Morgan Hill park is one of the little daredevil’s favorites.
“Every time my dad’s friends tell him about a new skate park, we go,” Ornellas said. “The Gilroy one is cool, but I like this one better. If they close it, I’ll be really bummed out.”
