Lolita Harper
In an effort to bring a highly-demanded skate park to the area,
City Council members tonight will discuss teaming up with local
boarders -- school-boarders, that is.
The City Council will consider a proposal to team up with the
Newport-Mesa Unified School District board of education to pursue the
possibility of a skate park at Davis Elementary. Council members will
consider passing a resolution outlining a commitment to research the
possibility of a skate park. If passed, the resolution would go to
Newport-Mesa Unified school board members for their stamp of
approval.
Mayor Linda Dixon, whose two sons grew up skateboarding, said she
is "one happy council person."
"This is really exciting," Dixon said. "This has been near and
dear to my heart for many, many months."
Dixon said she and school trustee Jim Ferryman brainstormed about
possible sites for a skate park and settled on the elementary school
at 1050 Arlington Drive.
"The two of us put our heads together and this is one site that we
felt would work," Dixon said.
Davis was chosen for its accessibility and because it has the
space available to hold an adequate facility, she said.
The need for a skate park in the Newport-Mesa area has been a hot
topic for more than a year. Proponents of a park say it is ludicrous
to not afford Newport-Mesa residents an adequate facility to practice
one of the area's most popular pastimes.
Costa Mesa resident Jim Gray, a former professional skateboarder
who now owns a skateboard manufacturing company, has been at the
forefront of the fight for a skate park.
Gray, a self-described skateboarding junkie, has gathered a large
coalition of parents, students and boarders from the area to push
their local leaders to keep progress on a possible park rolling.
Gray said he is optimistic about the progress and hopes leaders
will act quickly. Children in Costa Mesa have been disappointed too
many times, he said, and it is time for politicians to show that the
city cares about all their recreation needs.
"We'll be here to help assure good design and good construction,"
Gray said.
Last year, Costa Mesa council members halted plans for a
skateboard park at the corner of Charle and Hamilton streets as the
plans reached their final design stages. The site was dropped by a 3
to 2 vote, with Dixon and Councilwoman Libby Cowan dissenting.
Councilman Gary Monahan has consistently contended that his vote
then -- and any future votes -- would hinge on one thing: location.
