EASTHAMPTON — Plans for a new skate park in the city have hit a significant snag, as new environmental concerns for the proposed downtown location are making it likely that skateboarders won’t be “dropping in” there anytime soon.
“Based on our initial conversation with our potential environmental consultants we did identify a few things that may impact the design of the park in the city hall site, or that might cause us to evaluate other sites,” City Planner Jeff Bagg said.
Bagg said the site, at 32 and 50 Payson Ave. behind the public safety complex, was remediated of contamination a long time ago — so long ago that construction of a new skate park could require a reevaluation of the conditions during the design phase.
Bagg also noted that the site’s configuration for a skate park, and proximity to Rubber Thread Pond, could limit the city’s ability to manage stormwater.
“Depending on those items, the size of the park could be too small to meet the demand,” he said.
The news about the possible environmental contamination problems arose after an April 11 meeting at which officials unveiled preliminary sketches and concepts for the 8,500-square-foot street and transition skate park. About 70 supporters of the project attended that first meeting, with another meeting expected to take place in May.
During the meeting, Tito Porrata of Tampa, Florida-based custom park skate design firm Platform Group, said it was “amazing” to be creating something in such an underutilized site, even if there were challenges such as the park’s small size.
Porrata presented what he described as a “sample platter” of a skate concept.
“It’s very challenging because there are heavy elevations and we’re also flanked by some environmental zones and easements that we have to be sensitive about,” he said at the meeting. “If we encroach in too far into that zone, we’re going to be paying a lot of money just to protect things and that has costs that could eat up the proposed skate park site’s square footage.”
Porrata noted that funding for the project comes with a multiyear vision and would be constructed in three phases with a potential trail connection to the Manhan Rail Trail in phase two and the addition of a bowl proposed for phase three.
For Easthampton Skatepark organizer Angie Falkowski and her group, the meeting was a good step forward. She said she didn’t feel deterred by the latest environmental concerns. For nearly three years, Falkowski and a handful of others have been rallying for support to bring a skate park to the city.
“Our first public meeting had a great turnout, and I was happy to not only see skateboarders attend, but BMX-ers, roller skaters, and parents as well,” she said. “Overall, I think everyone was pleased with the initial design, but as expected, there were other ideas brought in by the community. A BMX-er mentioned possibly incorporating a pump track and I think that’s a very cool idea if we can make it work.”
If successful, it would be the second time a skate park has been constructed in Easthampton. Twenty-five years ago, Robert “Bob” MacDonald and his wife, Nance MacDonald, envisioned creating a skate park in honor of their son, David MacDonald, who died in an automobile accident in June 1997 at age 16.
Weeks before David died, he told his parents that he wished skateboarders had a place of their own where they could skate.
Together with the help of David’s friends, as well as a group of Easthampton motorcyclists called Scooters for Skaters, the MacDonalds raised more than $20,000 to build the park. There was also a request to donate toward the building of the park in David’s obituary, according to Nance.
Just three months after he died, the David W. MacDonald Memorial Skateboard Park opened at the former Eugene F. Flaherty Municipal Parking Lot, now known as Millside Park.
“He was somebody. He was really important,” Nance said. “We think of David every single day.”
A few years after it was constructed, the skate park was torn down and brought to Chesterfield, where it currently resides.
Mayor Nicole LaChapelle said she remembers taking her nephew to the city’s former skate park. She noted that the Easthampton Skatepark group explained on their petition via Change.org that Scituate Concrete Company built the pre-fabricated skate park and had constructed hundreds of poorly built skate parks across New England, with many torn down due to their poor condition or lack of functionality.
“I know that community-driven projects must be structured appropriately to honor the community and the city’s liability,” she said.
According to previous reports by the Gazette, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department cited low attendance rates at the park, but it is unclear if that was the ultimate reason the park was torn down.
Previous articles did state that once the city took over with the construction of the project, they didn’t take all of the community’s input into consideration on the build.
Bob said that they weren’t notified when the park was dismantled and one of the signs that was created by a family member to honor his son was tossed out. Although there have been assertions that the park was falling apart, he questions why it’s still erected in another community.
Still, both Bob and Nance are in full support of the new skate park.
“There should be a place. They shouldn’t have to go down the sidewalk or have people complain when they’re skating by businesses,” said Bob. “To see this coming up again, we wanted to let people know there was one — we were the first in the region.”
Bagg said the Planning Department will likely explore whether Millside Park could work as a site for the new skate park if contamination issues thwart plans at the Payson Avenue site.
He recently found plans for a redesign of the David W. MacDonald Memorial Skateboard Park to be located at Millside Park in 2005-2008, which was never funded and ultimately never constructed.
The Planning Department has requested to be included on an upcoming agenda for the Parks and Recreation Commission.
Previously, the commission determined the Millside Park site was not suitable for a skate park before advancing one way or the other, said Bagg.
“We believe that when we come back to the community in May (for another public meeting) we will have a better update on the feasibility of either of these locations,” he said.
Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.
