An upcoming rebuild of Marathon’s skate park has seen more than its fair share of concepts, redesigns and debate. But a proposed move for the attraction to Oceanfront Park behind City Hall appears to be off the table, judging from resident input and direction from the Marathon City Council at its April 23 workshop.
Previous preliminary renderings generated by design firm the Platform Group have seen consistent community feedback from other users concerned about encroachment of the redesigned park on areas previously used for soccer fields. Tuesday evening’s presentation from city staff showed three alternative layouts for the project at the community park’s northeast corner.
While some would use the footprint of the original skatepark, others would incorporate a redesign of the community park’s eastern entrance while extending wheel park features into existing parking lots and green space. Though not included in renderings presented at the workshop, councilman Kenny Matlock spoke in favor of a fourth plan that would move the existing park’s footprint closer to U.S. 1, with a corresponding redesign and eastward shift of the community park’s east entrance.
Public commenters universally praised including the rebuild within the confines of the Community Park, noting the potential for mixed recreational activities for families with multiple children and cautioning against installing an attraction used by small groups of children in a less-trafficked area.
“(The Platform Group) are municipal designers with landscape architect degrees,” said local businessman and action sports proponent Matt Sexton, who together with the firm has spearheaded the skate park’s redesign. “We can go back to them to have them flex this in there any way we want. … I don’t want to take away from the soccer fields, and I don’t want to take away from events and festivals. I would love to maybe have some trees and nicer places to sit.”
“We have no objection to the skate park,” said Marathon Youth Club board member Holly Harrington. “Our only concern is that we manage baseball and soccer recreational leagues, and they have grown exponentially. … Taking any of the green space away from the players is a disservice to them.”
“I hope that we can move forward with this,” said councilman Jeff Smith. “Our first workshop on this was February of last year … and here we are 14 months later still having the exact same discussion we had back then. I believe it can coexist with everything.”
“My thoughts on this tonight are proof that your showing up and commenting are effective,” said Marathon Mayor Robyn Still. “Before this meeting, I was 100% behind having that skate park right here behind City Hall. … At this point, I’ve listened to your comments and you’ve actually changed my mind.”
With no formal action taken at workshop sessions, the council unanimously directed staff to move forward with plans for installation of the park in the community park’s northeast corner.
Event permits ignite frustrations
Due to an event permit submitted two weeks after its stated deadline, the council headed to an 8 a.m. special call meeting on April 25 to decide the fate of Race World Offshore’s 7 Mile Grand Prix powerboat races.
The late submission marks the third time in two months that a major community event has failed to submit a permit, City Attorney Steve Williams told the council. While permit submissions are required to be completed 30 days in advance of an event, Williams said permits with plans to close off areas of Marathon, including the 33rd Street boat ramp and Seven Mile Marina, for the weekend of April 26 were not received until April 8.
Councilman Luis Gonzalez voiced frustrations with a plan that has yet to receive council approval and would conflict with multiple events at Stanley Switlik Elementary and the Marathon Rec Center during the same weekend.
“We had a meeting where we said that next time, we’re holding people to the fire,” said Still. “I hate to cancel things too, but at what point do we draw the line and say ‘We have rules, and you need to follow them?’ … If we don’t hold them accountable for the rules, how fair is it that we’re holding everybody else accountable?”
“I hate to penalize all of the families and drivers, and all the locals looking forward to it, because one (person) did this,” said Matlock. “That being said, moving forward … start putting in hefty fines if you’re late and you think you’re just going to get the filing through.”
Results of the special call meeting, which was set to address logistics with race organizers and potentially approve the event permit, were not available at press time. Notable changes on the table included a possible move from 33rd Street to the Quay boat ramp for launching race vessels.
