Skate park: 194 resident members, 0 non-residents

An empty skate park is a common sight these days in Audie Murphy Ranch Sports Park. Menifee 24/7 photo by Doug Spoon

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Staff members of the City of Menifee’s Community Services Department are preparing data to present to the City Council in a six-month progress report on changes made pertaining to the skate park in Audie Murphy Ranch Sports Park.

Last October, the council approved the re-opening of the skate park with a fee-based admission system, additional safety rules and on-site supervision. Those changes were designed to address issues such as alleged misconduct by older park users, drug and alcohol use in the area and trash left around the facility.

Under the new system, park users must pay an annual membership fee of $10 for residents and $100 for non-residents. The higher non-resident rate was designed to deter activity from non-resident young adults who had been traveling from other cities to use the park and allegedly cause problems.

One or two employees of the Community Services Department staff the park and enforce the rules, which include the wearing of helmet, elbow pads and knee pads. Designated hours are set for use by BMX bikes. In addition, park rangers who patrol parks in the city make regular checks at the skate park.

Jason Hendrix, community services supervisor, said he is generally pleased with the impact of the changes.

"The Park Rangers have done an outstanding job in securing the skate park, enforcing safety requirements, tracking data, speaking with residents about their likes and dislikes with the new system, and making recommendations for future City Council consideration," Hendrix said. "During our presentation to City Council, we may propose a couple of minor updates to our policies and or pricing structure.

"A majority of the residents that attend with their children have been extremely satisfied with the new operations. Parents state that they feel it is a much safer environment and their kids can ride without fear of being ‘bullied’ by older kids."

Overall attendance at the park appears to be much less than before the changes, however. For one thing, the influx of non-residents -- many of whom were accused of "taking over" the park and abusing the rules – has been eliminated. According to the city’s six-month skate park data, there has not been one non-resident membership sold, nor a single visit by a non-resident, even with the option of a $10 one-day pass.

On the other hand, there have been 194 resident memberships sold since the park re-opened in November. That has resulted in 532 park visits by residents in the last six months. Residents can also purchase a $3 daily pass.

Even with those numbers, it averages out to about three visitors per day. There are many occasions when the city employee or park ranger are the only people on site.

On a recent visit to the park one Saturday afternoon, a reporter found only a city staff member on site. He said that no one had visited that morning during the BMX session and that he hadn’t seen more than four or five skaters at any one time.

The new skate park hours are 3-8 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. Anyone seen in or around the park outside those hours will be considered trespassing and authorities will be contacted.

The park was closed from November 2017 to March 2018 after complaints by residents around the park and parents of some skaters about the presence of drug paraphernalia, trash and bullying by older skaters. It was re-opened with new rules, extra fencing and camera surveillance, but was closed again for about three weeks last fall after a boy was assaulted near the park.

The skate park opened in May 2014. In 2015, the City Council authorized $175,000 in enhancements following resident complaints. Those included:

-- A timer gate control that would lock out visitors after the closing time of 9 p.m.

-- Closed loop IP based video surveillance

-- Perimeter fence extensions

+- Motion sensored security lights with a loud speaker activated upon intrusion

According to Robert Lennox, community services director at the time, "staff is researching ideas for supervising the park with employees or a contract operator if possible," but Lennox said he hoped the approved security features would be sufficient to address the problem.

That turned out not to be the case. The surveillance camera system didn’t perform as expected and problems continued. Placement of on-site supervisors was not considered at the time because of concerns about liability.

When the decision finally was made to add on-site supervision last fall, it called for the hiring of six part-time employees to assist staff members. The cost of the program for the remainder of the fiscal year was estimated at $40,000-$50,000.

Ideas for consideration in the future to be proposed in the six-month update include a scooter rally with pro scooter riders and a program for offering skate lessons.

For more information about the skate park, call 951-723-3880, email communityservices@cityofmenifee.us, or visit the city website at www.cityofmenifee.us