The noise issue could be solved by upgrading the ramps to true ramps, not out of the box components. The vulgar mouth kids, need a ticket. A bigger park, with more to do there would invite those who are looking for a good time only while being decent (older skaters).

Look at beloit, they have very little problems with that skate park, the police are always driving through to check it out. That park draws alot more then little punks to skate there, because it has alot more to offer, instead of garbage metal ramps.

Edgerton just failed to partol it enough. I bet if there was a public football field or basketball court there the noise wouldnt be an issue (or any of the other complaints)

yes rexkramer, it is there job! IT IS THERE JOB TO PROTECT AND SERVE!...thats what you pay for! instead of sitting on the edge of town or policing one of the local taverns all night just waiting for some poor sucker to walk out, maybe they could park over near the park and keep an eye on that...no disrespect intended,i know it not there fault for doing there jobs, but if this issue needs more attention, we should give it some...

sick that police dog on them.. kidding..

How is this NOT the city council and police department's problem? As small as Edgerton is, you can't really think that the police couldn't have a true presence at the skate park. And I LIKE the idea of installing cameras to supervise the park. Patch it into the police dispatch and I bet if it was posted that "you are being watched" this type of vandalism would be greatly reduced.

That said... I agree that the language and level of disturbing behavior by kids these days is disgusting!!! Their parents must be "so proud"!!!

In the meantime, the city should use a heavy hand to show it means business. If the park is lit at night, the lights should go off at 9:00 p.m. Police should arrive at 9:01 p.m. to warn away loiterers. If the loitering persists after a few days, police should issue citations. To the extent possible, police on patrol should drive by the park and make their presence known. Maybe the hooligans will tire of relocating at 9:00 each evening. In this situation, the Broken Window Theory applies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixing_Brok...
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When all is said and done, though, if minors are misbehaving I have to blame the parents.

Yes, it would be great to add cameras or increase police presence (or presents, per JJL's suggestion), but who is going to pay for it? The Edgerton Skatepark Committee, once composed of six parents, has disbanded. Twenty-five cents of each tax dollar collected by Edgerton already goes to pay for police patrols. When you add police administration, training, station costs, and celebrations, total police costs increase to 32% of Edgerton's budget. http://www.cityofedgerton.com/vertical/S.... Now, should the city put another cop on the payroll and raise taxes accordingly? Increase patrols at the park and decrease patrols elsewhere? Should the police take on additional work for no additional pay? Or will another adult babysit the park for free? I doubt it. Security cameras seem like a good idea, but they are expensive and easily vandalized.
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I don't think the answer is to upgrade the park equipment. How many times have you seen kids (or adults!) riding a bus or sitting in the library with their feet and shoes up on the seat next to them? Do you think upgrading the upholstery would convince the boors to keep their feet on the floor? I don't. Some people just don’t care about taking care of property, and the vandals at the skateboard park fall into this category.
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Now that the park has been built and its main advocate has disbanded, who pays to remove the graffiti, replace the damaged signs, clean up the trash, and repair the "extensive vandalism" in the adjacent restrooms? Furthermore, who pays to repair or replace the concrete once it cracks? In a worst case scenario, what happens if someone falls and cracks his head open and a lawyer argues that the city was negligent for operating a dangerous playground? My guess is that the Edgerton taxpayers will pay, and they have a right to be angry. That minor $2,500 expenditure can quickly balloon into a significant expense item ten times the initial cost.
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Edgerton parks committee chairman Brent Harry hit the nail on the head when he said parents should become more involved in the park. He said he’s disappointed that the six members of the former Edgerton Skatepark Committee have basically bowed out. The wife of one former member complained that the duties became “too much” and a “full-time job.”
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The city should have seen this coming. Good intentions notwithstanding, the city should have realized that an under-funded, under-supported teenage hangout would quickly become an expensive albatross. Hopefully the city was able to escrow some money from the Edgerton Skatepark Committee to pay for breaking up the concrete and hauling the problem away.

wahoo. the skate park is not in the same park as the baseball diamond, it in the park by the swimming pool, there s a bridge that connects to a park next to the church. i highly doubt it the skateboarders going into the church, but rather the group of kids that hang on the other side of the park , kwik trip would be much closer then the church. even when behavior is good the older kids have always gotten hassled for being in this park. the basketball area was taken out for the same reason, if you cant have a basketball game in the park without complaints why would they ever expect skateboarding to go over.

Maybe they made that conclusion because the baseball field(s) and the skatepark are about one mile apart.

How to they know that all this damage was not done by a bunch of kids waiting for the baseball game to start? Since they don't know who done it, shut down everything.I have been to the baseball games, with all the cars and the noise from the crowds, it is a very unsafe place to be.

rexkramer, I agree that the police are not baby sitters but yanking the park is not going to make these punks go away. They'll just move on to bigger and better forms of vandalism and anti social behavior. I still maintain it's the police department's responsibility to bust these punks.

"so it's not being policed at all?..all the local cops have to do is show more presents in the park to keep the kids reminded that there are being watched over by law..IE:CAMERAS...problem solved."
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It's not the job of the police department to babysit the town's children. If the kids can't be responsible and treat the park with respect then it (skatepark) should be gone. Is it "fair" to everyone, no, but guess what, life's not fair, it's about time these kids figure that out. You're talking about a city of less than 5,000 people. Exactly how many police resources do you think are available on a given day to dedicate to a skate park, and quite frankly, if it needs that much law enforcement presence, then it shouldn't have been built in the first place.

I should say, "in addition to the noise".

It's not just about the noise! Re-read the article. It's about vandalism and damage done to the area.

I see this as a larger issue than simply to focus on the skatepark. I'm in agreement that the punks raising heck should be nailed. Skatepark completely out of the equation, where is the law enforcement leadership? And the parks people are going to talk to the police about adding a patrol? Adding a patrol?? A city the size of Edgerton and you have to formally approach the police about adding a patrol? How about the neighbors to the park. Every time the punks start causing problems, CALL the police. This is not Cabrini Green people. Nail the couple of jaggoff punks causing the problems and the issue is resolved. AND, while you are at it, track down the clueless parents and fine them too for allowing their idiot kids to run wild.

Sounds like a few hours enforcing ordinances at the skate park could net the city a tidy profit!

so it's not being policed at all?..all the local cops have to do is show more presents in the park to keep the kids reminded that there are being watched over by law..IE:CAMERAS...problem solved..EKSREIGH, would ya rather the kids just hang out downtown smoking pot/cigarettes and causing all kinds of trouble to the local businesses? $2500 sounds pretty cheap to me...

The real issue at hand is that when the kids began raising money for this skate park, they did have support from the public based on what they said would happen at the park. For example, parents of the skate park group stated they would be down there to monitor activity as long as the park was open. This has not been happening. There is no parental presence and yes, the thugs are starting to run the park. Second, the park closes at 9:00 pm. I can't tell you how many times I have driven by there and there are kids still hanging out not following the rules in place. Kids drive their cars on the concrete pad, cause damage to the swimming pool area, the local church..is it the skateboarders, I don't know but when the parents say they will be there and they are not, what is that telling the kids?

Complaints have been ongoing since the park opened so this does not surprise me. It's those who don't want it in their back yard that complain but I won't throw stones because I am sure I wouldn't want them in my back yard either. Work out an agreement and try again.

Skate parks are not meant to be noise free! The anti kids in here amaze me, How many of the posters in here were children at one time? As to this article it is unjustified to just close it down without trying to work with the kids that actually use the facility, not the ones that target and trash things like this. if you shut down everything that is noisy, sprayed painted with graffiti, vandalized ETC; there would not be much opened anywhere. how many parks and other public things have had this happen. Did they close the cemetary when they vandalized that? I GUESS KIDS TODAY DON"T DESERVE ANYTHING IN TODAYS SOCIETY AS MOST OF THE POSTS SPEAK THAT LOAD IN HERE. Until this article I have not heard much negative on this park. Give the kids a chance and meet with them and try and work it out, Maybe it would have helped to have someone to help and chaperone the park. Without that Edgerton may want to be ready for more areas targeted as the lack of things to do brings kids to make due for themselves and that sometimes is not good. BTW I was a kid once and I am not afraid to say so. Also when there are adult issues with problems aren't they alowwed to have a meeting to try and correct this and work on solutions that may help? I just think it is sad a kid screws up BANG it is gone, An adult screws (and they know better) and we get "lets try and work on a solution out. A bar has continued problem (with adults mind you) and they get to find an alternative to closing, like a bouncer/security WELL MAYBE DO THAT HERE.

A Christmas display would probably cause an uproar too...

And yes, blame the equipment. Build a proper park and the problems go away because the place is always full of skaters. I doubt this park was full very often leaving it open for hooligans to take over and vandalize it.

Nativity? Are they going to replace it with a Christmas display?

Amazing. Let's blame the equipment for the problems at the park. WOW.

Shocking....

There is one point that's being missed here- the quality of the skatepark. If you gave the kids a small parking lot and a trash can would you tell them to play basketball? How about the same parking lot with a sheet of plywood for a tennis court? Sure, some die-hards would use it and be happy but this type of park with some useless, noisy and dangerous steel ramps is NEVER going to create a real skate scene.

Further, this type of park is of no interest to older skaters (meaning High School or College-aged skaters) leaving the thugs and vandals to run the place with only 10-12 year olds to stand in their way. By alienating the older, mentor-aged participants the project is destined to fail.

Cities and towns fall victim to the prefab ramp-on-a-slab process out of nativity and when it fails it's just a big "I told you they couldn't handle it" which is EXACTLY what all of the comments here reinforce. The park is removed like in so many other communities across the country and the vendor is off the hook for the warranty and maintenance issues. They now breathe a sigh of relief that their product is no longer in use so, ultimately, they've played a clever hand and we've all bought in to it.

In short, build a park that matters, not a placebo whose only purpose is to ultimately undermine the entire process. The company that sold you that park knows full well that it serves no long-term purpose and all but one company has abandoned the sales and production of this inferior product. They do it for profit and nothing more. And the kids lose.

Build a park that matters and watch the difference.

Janesville. Are you listening?

For the bloggers here who believe Edgerton is wasting or did waste taxpayer monies, did YOU vote in recent elections? Recent election results show very low turnout. Or have you actually ran for a publicly elected office? (school board, city council, etc..). Too many backseat riders in this city, county and state who complain a lot... but do little... I agree with the Edgerton council. When kids abuse the privilege, they loose.. its pretty simple! And what a great message to send to kids. I learned this in about 2d grade....

hopefully they will really try to find a happy medium because the kids need somewhere to go and something constructive to do. unfortunately some were finding something destructive to do!

"It looks to me like the city built itself a public nuisance. If I lived in Edgerton, I'd be angry at the waste of taxpayer money. True, according to the article the city spent only $2,500, but I wonder who pays to maintain the concrete when it develops chips and cracks. Liability insurance on a skateboard park can't be cheap, either."
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Apparently you don't pay much attention to some of the stories coming out of Edgerton. It would appear wasting taxpayer dollars is an Olympic event there. See also; three story empty downtown building funded with TIF money, mongrel police dog, continuing to fight a loser of a lawsuit involving firefighters.

when they first talked about putting this in , all these things happening were concerns raised. many wanted it at race track park no one would hear anything then. but now they have a larger parking lot for the pool. without having spent that much money

They could move it indoors to that nice huge empty building downtown!!

To be honest, that is one of the reasons why I take my son to the Beloit skate park early in the mornings. Too many older kids, smoking and swearing, all of which are against city ordinance. It would be much worse if it weren't right next to the fire station and a busy road. It would be nice if the Beloit PD was more of a presence there sometimes.

It seems Edgerton should have put the park not so near private homes or at least deadened the sound first.

If you're going to build these things then be prepared for some issues, however I believe most of those issues could be addressed with park location, monitoring and neighborhood involvement.

It looks to me like the city built itself a public nuisance. If I lived in Edgerton, I'd be angry at the waste of taxpayer money. True, according to the article the city spent only $2,500, but I wonder who pays to maintain the concrete when it develops chips and cracks. Liability insurance on a skateboard park can't be cheap, either.

Citizen,
I echo your statements and feel that kids that ride skateboards are being unduly stereotyped and profiled.

freeradical, you OBVIOUSLY missed the point. I'd shut it down, too...if this is the only way those using the facilities will take notice. I don't care if it's all or a few, the children (yes, acting as described above is VERY CHILDISH BEHAVIOR) do not deserve privileges. It's about time adults start giving appropriate disciplines to bad behavior. I applaud the decision. Try again next spring. If the same behavior appears, remove again. Eventually, with repetitive and appropriate discipline, children learn how to behave at home and in public.

Oh, jeez, they make noise!? Better shut em' down.

If the kids felt they had some sort of ownership in the skate park they wouldn't abuse the privilege nearly as much.
The Janesville skate park could be for members only, and members have to provide the upkeep. If someone can't pay the dues there could be a trade of labor for the fee. Someone would probably have an extra skate board to donate, too.

If it is the kids that are doing all of the damage, then cry and whine about not having anything to do, this is the perfect example of why. It's a sad note that because of the few, the many go without the benefits as well.

It is way past time for the skateboard crowd to police thier own.
Skateboarders have a major image problem:
*This article about Edgerton. *The same thing happened in Evansville. *Janesville had to pass a law to prevent skateboarders from ruining downtown structures. *Skateborders on the bike trails will hog both lanes and wait until you are almost off your bike due to lack of speed before they move.
Now then, if someone comes to me for a donation to support a Janesville skateboard park what should my answer be?
Perhaps sensible skateboarders should hold fund raisers that include raising community awareness about the positive side of skateboarding. Perhaps sensible skateboarders could hold clinics at the boys and girls club etc. to teach the younger kids the sport.
It's all about Image.

It will probably not affect the efforts, but the end result will probably be the same.

If you build it, they will come....(unfortunately).

Sad that these groups get created and badger the local governments for a skate park (or other things) then take no responsibility for the ongoing management of the facility. Instant gratification with little regard for the future.

I hope this doesn't affect the efforts in Janesville !(