July 24, 2007
Dear Skateboarder and Parents;
BASIK needs your help to get the Skatepark planned at Anderson Park built.
It’s time to standup and be counted! In the past 5 years we have had many of you tell us you really support our efforts to build the Anderson Park Skatepark. This kind of support has been a compliment and kept us going, now we need your REAL support.
August 13 at 5PM is a critical vote at the City’s Park Commission Meeting. The Park Commission will decide whether the City’s $200,000 earmarked for the Anderson Park Skatepark will be used for the park or just returned to the general fund for other projects. BASIK thought this vote would be just a formality at the July 9th Parks Commission meeting, but some of the Aldermen voiced concerns about spending this money on Skateboarders. The vote was postponed until August 13th meeting.
The concerns voiced at this meeting were:
1) Where are the parents who want this park? They need to hear from the parents of the skaters who will use this park. We need you to show up at the Park commission Meeting August 13th 5PM to voice your support and show a need.
2) Why hasn’t more money come from the skateboarding community? (We raised $60,000 primarily from skateboarders.) This is a good question. Most skateparks are funded 25% by users and their families and 75% by the municipality and business community.
3) Is the skateboarding community big enough to warrant this expenditure? (We have approximately 3500 skaters in Kenosha. Skatepark advocacy groups calculate there should be Approximately 48,000 square feet of skate terrain to accommodate this population of skaters in Kenosha County.) We currently have about 20,000 sq ft of public skate terrain in Kenosha, Paddock Lake and Twin Lakes.
4) Will skaters respect the park and respect the neighbors to the park?
Here is how you can help us overcome these objections:
1) Call your alderman and talk to him (her) about this park and how your family will benefit. Talk in personal terms. You could mention how often you have gone out of town to use another cities skatepark. Please be non-threating. The City has promised $200,000 for this project, they just need to know you want it.
2) Write a letter to the voice of the people in the Kenosha News. Do this ASAP so that it gets published before the August 13th meeting.
3) Most Important Attend the Parks commission meeting on August 13th at 5pm and tell the commissioners how important a skatepark is to you or your family. Meeting starts 5PM sharp in Room 206 of the Municipal Building 625 52nd Street.
4) Donate money, there is still a need for $150,000 to complete the whole project.
We need your REAL SUPPORT! Please act now if you support this project! Call me and let me know what kind of support you can offer.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Sincerely,
Ralph Ruffolo
Chairman, BASIK
Build a Skatepark in Kenosha
Below isa list of the the City's Aldermen and Kenosha News contact info:
CHECK OUT WWW.BASIK.INFO for more info on the Anderson Skatepark plans.
List of Aldermen (Word Document, .doc file)
10 Skateboarding Myths