It was a standing-room only crowd at the Franklin Town Council meeting on Monday night as about 50 people attended to show their support for a skate park.
The public session of the meeting began with 14-year-old Evan Lampkin saying he skates with four or five other kids and that it is difficult to find a place to skate where the cops don’t tell them to stop or that isn’t posted for no skating. Lampkin had contacted Lester Norris, recreation director for Highlands Parks and Recreation, about their skate park and was told it was one of the town’s most popular facilities and that about 50 kids a day visit the park.
“I asked him what they would do differently if they had to do it again, and he said they would make it bigger because of how popular it is.” Lampkin said a park would give kids somewhere to skate other than the streets and the sidewalks. “Skating is a big part of my life because it helped me have the friends I have today and it helps me take my mind off other things that may be bothering me.”
Lampkin and others pointed out that most of the skaters are not old enough to drive, and it’s an inconvenience to ask their parents to drive them 30 minutes or an hour to a skate park in another town.
Tim Shaw said he is a father of two skaters and when their family travels they visit skate parks in other towns. He said some of the best parks in the country are right here in Western North Carolina, in Highlands, Waynesville and Cherokee.
“Everybody here is advocating for the community to have a safe place to skate, a legal place to skate, and a free place to skate,” Shaw said. He encouraged the council members to talk to the skaters about what they need and to enlist the help of people who have designed skate parks.
He said the parks are typically used from sunup to sunset and other towns have seen an economic impact because people are coming in from other places to visit the parks. “Skating is not a fad. It’s an Olympic sport now, and the economic impact is the families that come in. They’ll get a hotel. They’ll stay and eat breakfast. The kids will skate and the mothers and fathers will go to the local shops.”
Officer Jordan Sutton said if the kids had a park to go to, their parents would know where they are rather than just skating on the streets somewhere. To ensure their safety, the skaters could be required to sign in as they arrive and then sign out when they leave.
“As a law enforcement officer in this community, it means a great deal to me that our kids have somewhere safe to have a good time and be able to vent.” Sutton said.
Franklin Police Chief Bill Harrell said he was working in Highlands when the skate park there was developed, and he saw how the community supported it and how popular the park was. “I would be excited for that to happen in the town of Franklin and know that they have our full support,” he said.
Mayor Bob Scott suggested the town set a meeting with the skate park supporters to discuss how they might move forward and asked the chief to help identify a place the skaters could use in the interim until a more permanent solution is found.