OJAI : City’s Help Urged for Skateboard Park

A group of Ojai students and teachers have asked the City Council to help them attract a skateboard park to the city.

Although they welcomed the idea of a skateboard park, council members said there is no money available in the budget.

A subcommittee of the city Parks and Recreation Commission surveyed nearly 500 junior and senior high students about their interest in such a facility.

Nearly 60% of the students from Nordhoff High School and 46% of the Matilija Junior High students surveyed said they would use the park--especially on weekends.

Many would be willing to pay a daily or monthly rate for the park, the survey said.

Nordhoff teacher Craig Walker also told the council last week that interest in a skateboard park is high among downtown merchants, who have often complained about skateboarders annoying their customers.

Councilman James D. Loebl recommended that the school district become involved in the early stages of any discussion on the park because many of the users would be from outside the city.

“I don’t have any problem with the concept,” he said after the presentation. “My concern is the money.”

Teen-agers in Camarillo are also attempting to generate interest in a community-sponsored skateboard park.

Ojai recreation subcommittee members, including some Matilija and Nordhoff students, said they would continue looking for funding ideas and perhaps visit other skateboard parks in the state.