Table the idea and Pay Your Bills! (Like the rest of Us have to.

It took the city how long to come up with a place to put this park? That, I think, was the biggest obsticle that the fund raising committee had. Who wanted to give money to a project that had no location and no concrete certainty that it even would be built? I have always been for this park and I wish it would have happened before my kids were adults. These parks are always packed where ever I see them, and for the most part the kids do no ruin it for themselves. I have not seen the vandalism that one would think at these parks. For the past few years my kids have been going to the Beloit and Delavan parks and have always had a great time. These parks are not only for skateboarding but also bikes. Dangerous, maybe, but who hasn't driven their bike off curbs or other homemade launches? At least they are not going into the road when doing tricks.

I say let the fund raising continue until the economic conditions improve. Though I'm not a huge supporter of this project or the ice rink, I think it's unfortunate to put deadlines on fund raising right in the middle of the great recession. Extend the deadlines for several years if needed. As long as it's not mostly tax payer money I'm OK with it.

kangaroojack- if there's no skatepark, let the kids ride wherever. The damage could be prevented if the public wasn't so stubborn.

scooter 47- good idea.

rkerman- good suggestion. If they fine kids after the park is built then that money should go into the maintenance/improvement fund.

It's not just for skateboarding, it's for bmx bikes and inline skates too. No one has any idea how many kids/adults do these activities, all I know is that I see several up and down my street and around town whenever the weather permits.

Ok that explains a lot, I'm not in Wisconsin and I know of municipalities closing down skate parks for the reason they are liable.

In the state of Wisconsin a law was passed that anyone hurt on public property such as city parks etc can not sue the city or state. They can try but most lawyers will not touch it as they know they have a very slim chance of ever winning. That is why most cities place the skate park in city parks so they are protected with this law.

If the park is built correctly, damage will not happen. As far as the liability it shouldn't be much of an issue, If I take my child to the park and he lets go of the swing, should that be the cities fault? What about if I take my child to the pool and he drowns? There are liabilities everywhere. One more park activity probably won't break the bank. Cities all over America have skateparks. Loves Park, Madison, Milwaukee, and Beloit have skateparks. If its an issue about insurance maybe the citizen and the city management should speak to those communities that have those types of activities.

Ok when it's built how much will it cost to maintain it and who is going to pay when someone is injured there and sues? Very likely a law suit could happen in this day and age where no one takes personal responsibility for any thing and people wanting to make money. This looks like a lawsuit waiting to happen and will require additional costs for insurance and other safety measures. What is being built is more than an average park. I'm sure there will be people injured *wink wink* ESP with the out of work population. In a long winded way I'm saying the city needs to factor in the cost of protecting themselves financially or it'll cost more when the first frivolous law suit is filled

$40,000 in existing fund raising is already a match the $40,000 the city comitted to. Thats fantastic for a project like this. I would suggest the project be approved with the $80,000 that exists, and make it happen at the Montery location with a scaled back plan. Better to have something this summer that can be expanded on as funds come in. The city could easy match the fund raising with annual project upgrades. A $10,000 annual city cap seems reasonable, for up to 5 years.
We need to take care of the younger population in Janesville.
Bob Kerman

Janesville can't afford this or the liability insurance that will be needed in the event of injuries. Scrap this now

We need to back up a little. I know how most of you see that only 40,000 was raised. Every other organization such as boys baseball went to the city for money. They where given the same question that if they raise the allotted money the city would kick in 2 million to build the park. That is fine. Baseball and other activities are organized groups with families that are able to raise the money. Skate park is not a organized group of families to raise any money. If you look across the country every skate park built was built by the city for this very reason. Why is Janesville any different, only because the citizens of Janesville make it that way. They only think of themselves and not the families with kids who are unable to put there child into organized sport because of cost. I hope this helps you get a better understanding why the skate park is unable to raise 250,000. Delavan had the same problem. A small group of people tried to raise the money and was unable to. The city had to step in and a very nice park was built and tournaments are held there every year bringing people from around the country spending in there town.

Thank you Sarah B!

The kids around here moved past the skateboarding a while back. It is no longer cool. Janesville is bound to catch up one of these days, so I would suggest that it may be a case of too little, too late.

Well Sedona, then are you willing to pay for the damage to rails and other property that some skateboards are going to do when they do their grinds down them?

I hope the city gives this group the same treatment the ice ring group has been getting. They have their deadline moved each time they could not meet it and in a couple of weeks it is to be a dead issue.
At least the skatepark people are closer to meeting their deadline than the ice rink group will ever be.

Don't build it, drop the 'no skateboards' allowed downtown ordinance/law/rule.

Maybe they can build a multi-purpose facility without a roof. Could use it as a skate park in the summer, hockey rink in the winter. And to allow people to get there, they could build a tunnel under the road for people that ride bikes. Safety comes first.

And if the area floods, the resulting pool of water can serve as a replacement for Lions Beach.

End it, give the money back to the donors, and move on. There is no agreement on the location, fundraising is way short, and the city has higher priorities to deal with right now. Roger Streich didn't like the Jackson Street location (previous article) and doesn't like the Monterey location. Fine, then pay for the whole thing yourself and keep your hands out of the city's bank account and off city property. I personally spoke with Roger to ask him about the location. I found him rude, abrasive, and ignorant. When someone approaches you with sincerity and politeness and asks your opinion on the pros and cons of the possible locations, show some intelligence and answer the question. Immediately responding with and insult to someone that you did not know isn't very smart. I entertained the idea of donating, even after he rejected the Jackson Street location. I'm glad I saved my money. After that ordeal I understood why after a long day only a few dollars sat in his big empty fundraising jug. Overall, the city doesn't care for this unwanted expense - stop wasting our time.

doc0430 is 100% correct. the group desiring this park was given a goal in 2005 -- raise $250,000 and we'll build the skatepark.
counting 2005, that's 6 full years -- yet they've raised a paltry $40,000.
the interest in building this park, other than for a select few, is as close to zero as you can get.
and as seabeee posted, given our current fiscal mess (councilman mcdonald noted the severe debt facing janesville just the other day), we cannot afford this project.

If my memory is correct the Skate Park Committee never asked the city council for money. They asked for a 'permanent location'.

If the location is to expensive, could there be another area for it that would be more affordable?

The council in December 2009 voted to commit $50,000 to a skatepark if the private fundraising group could raise $250,000 by the end of 2010.

The group has raised about $40,000.

Sounds like a pretty easy decision to me, NO!
They have not been able to raise the money buy the deadline (much like the ice arena)and yes as Seabeee said, Considering the fiscal mess this town is in I wonder why they are even considering it.
In a time when the city council is suppose to be looking for ways to trim the fat so to say, why on earth is this even a subject anymore, time to move on and be happy for what the city has to offer at this point and maybe 10 or 15 years down the road when (I hope) this local economic downturn has ended.
Lets start to see the council be a little more thrifty with all of our hard earned tax dollars!
At a time when families are doing all they can to keep it together it takes some huge balls to ask for such luxuries to be put upon the taxpayer, how can you ask for money for this, when some locals are having a hard time making ends meet? Do I want to feed my family and make the house payments or give more money to the city for a skate park? Hmmmmm sounds pretty easy to me.....
Now I'm sure I'll have someone say "well why should the skate park and ice arena people have to do witout just because you do? Well I am lucky enough to have a job at this time but I do realize that some aren't, and that is why we need to be a little more thoughtful and somewhat frugal of their money situation, do the skate park people really feel that their wants should come before others needs? Which side is out of line here...... I would appreciate all feedback here and think about it for a moment before you give it, which side has needs and which side has unneeded wants here? While yes a skate park would be nice for a few, wouldn't it be better to look out for those who aren't as fortunate here as maybe you......

The skate park is far, far less expensive then the ice rink and I believe it would be used in 3 of the 4 seasons. Some people didn't like the location because it is in the "4th ward" but I think it is a prime location. Go frisbee golfing at Lustig Park then walk down to Monterey and skateboard. Seems logical to me and gives our kids something to do besides raise heck.

Considering the fiscal mess this town is in I wonder why they are even considering it.