Sometime during the night last Tuesday, April 28, or perhaps in the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday, someone spray painted a couple of messages on one of the Skate Park’s concrete walls and on the inside of the Band Shell at Claudia Driscoll Park in Hamilton. The park was closed due to the COVID-19 emergency but was due to open May 1. Due to the vandalism the park, as of Monday May 4, remains closed.
According to Mayor Dominic Farrenkopf, all the parks were initially closed due to concerns about the coronavirus and the need for social distancing and the avoidance of large groups. In the case of Claudia Driscoll Park and the Skate Park located there, he said there was extra concern due to the proximity to the hospital and the Emergency Services. He said the risk of skateboard injuries requiring emergency services in what might become an overloaded system was also a concern.
Farrenkopf said that when the vandalism was discovered, the park was fenced off to protect things while the graffiti was cleaned up. He said a couple of employees of Evergreen Skateparks, the company that built the skate park, were working in Stevensville and were able to quickly respond to their situation and have already assisted in cleaning the paint off the concrete. The city plans are to paint over the graffiti on the Band Shell.
He said they were currently taking down the fence and making some repairs on the gazebo at the park. He said the city was also considering beefing up the police presence in the area.
Mayor Farrenkopf said the city’s aim was to get the park open again as soon as possible. “We would really like to give the park back to the kids,” he said.
He noted that some people had commented in social media about the graffiti containing a positive message. The graffiti did appear to be tastefully done. It was not sloppy work. The messages were simple and positive: “Paint WiT UR HEART” and “LOVE URSELF.”
Farrenkopf said that the quality of the work was not an issue.
“The city made a promise to the citizens when the Skate Park got approved that concerns about the park being defaced with graffiti would be honored and that graffiti of any kind was not acceptable. He said the city was going to clean it up and keep its promise to the people in the neighborhood and to the citizens that this type of activity would not be tolerated.
Anyone who saw anything or has any information about the vandalism is asked to call the Hamilton Police Department at 363-2100.
As of Monday, the park was still closed. Farrenkopf said that the final decision to open would be made by Dr. Calderwood, leader of the county’s COVID-19 Incident Management Team. The opening has been complicated, he said, by the state’s orders and the definitions and classifications being used to regulate the re-opening. He said skate parks appear to have been classified along with ice rinks and skating rinks but that the issue is being worked out.
All the parks in Stevensville, including the Skate Park located in Lewis and Clark Park, are open, according to Town Clerk Monica Hoffman. She said the town will be regularly disinfecting the parks as part of its efforts to mitigate against the COVID-19 epidemic.
Tristan crow says
When will the park be open again?
Toni says
Maybe since the police Department is literally right next door to the skatepark, and still there is a problem, Toniyou should consider installing a couple camera’s in places that are not made known to the public.
Sally. ROBERTS says
Out door venues exposed to diect sunlight UV rays self disinfect. Folks using the skate are in the lowest infection percentile and risk of infection categories.
Isaiah says
In my vision the park should be open because the paint is gone and it is stage 1 for the covid that means that stuff atarta to open and it does say ride at your own risk so please can you open so we can get out of the house and have fun for once don’t crush our dreams. That’s all I got to say thank you if you read this