Currently - Casselberry IS the Skatepark

As summer break looms before us, we are acutely aware of this simple fact:

If your city has no skatepark, the city is the skatepark.

We've already been hearing that citizens and business owners are calling the Casselberry Police Department to report skateboarders for skating in places they deem to be "off-limits".



Once school is out, it wont be long before its happening all throughout the day across Casselberry.

We know that the kids are simply looking for a good time, being active and are being, well... kids!

Recognizing this fact, we're encouraging everyone to be cautious as they motor through the neighborhoods.

Until we provide a skatepark where the kids have a safe place to go, its our responsibility as a community to keep them safe.

If you would like a bumper sticker for your car - send us an email or contact us through the Facebook Page:  SKATE 32707 - Support A Skatepark In Casselberry

Casselberry Redevelopment Should Include Skatepark

As Casselberry works hard at redevelpoment to draw millennials as residents, one of the aspects they continue to miss is the need for a skatepark.

Nearly every upwardly mobile city that is creating its own renaissance has invested in one.

Here are some facts:

Skateparks are for more than just the neighborhood kids.  They do create a diverse social space for active youth to enjoy their sport, but more over, they are a vibrant space where the community as a whole is welcomed, crossing generations and cultures.

If Casselberry is serious about distinguishing itself from surrounding cities in a positive way, a world class skatepark will be a big step forward.


 

Casselton Drive Skate Spot - Casselberry, Florida

Soon you'll be able to see plans for the skate spot that will be situated in a linear park that is slated to be constructed along Casselton Drive just south of the landmark water tower pictured above.

The skate spot will be a first step in a positive direction towards providing skateboarding equal access to recreation facilities in the City of Casselberry.

Design work for the spot is being completed by Team Pain Skateparks, so we're stoked to see what they come up with for the project.

We hope that this will be the first of several skate spots that will link our neighborhoods with the main skatepark that we are is still working hard to deliver.

Community support continues to grow as the number of petition signatures increase and yard signs continue to spring up in front of residences across town.

Stay up to date with meeting announcements through our Facebook page:  SKATE 32707 - Support a Skatepark in Casselberry. 

Help Get Casselberry's Youth Off The Streets & Into A Park

There are spots all around Casselberry where many of our kids try to find brief moments of joy before being told to move along or face consequences.

Some of our neighborhood parks specifically forbid skateboarding.

Casselberry Police officers push the "problem" of skateboarders from place to place, responding to calls from residents and business owners who see them as a "problem" that requires a law enforcement response.

Here is what we see:

Sons, brothers, grandkids, nephews, students, neighbors...

They are on the streets because we as a community have failed them.  We've failed to grow as a society.  We've failed to recognize that skateboarding has grown in popularity and is as mainstream as soccer, basketball or baseball. 

We haven't built the required park that would solve the "problem" that is being addressed.

Its 2016 - How much longer will we delay? 

Casselberry must grow and deliver a safe place for our youth.  Skateboarding is growing.  It continues to see more participation as traditional team sports participation declines.

We need to embrace our youth, not relegate them to the streets where they are more at risk for injury and the target of negative consequences for merely being active and adventurous kids that love a sport.

Please join us in growing as a community by supporting the construction of a skatepark. 

The Future Of Casselberry Requires Youthful Involvement

Casselberry has been working for over a decade to spark economic development within its borders.  Geographically situated along two major arterial roadways, The City of Casselberry is figuratively and literally at a crossroads.  The possibilities for growth and development are there.

Some development has broken loose, but it mostly involves multi-family apartments and planned developments of single family residences.  While a positive, it could be better.

The positive trajectory the city desires lies at its front door in the form of a motivated and engaged generation that is begging to be heard and engaged.

Engage the Community!

The grassroots effort to establish a skatepark, a move that would further enhance the livability of the city, is filled with younger citizens and new families looking to be part of a community.  They long for a sense of place and are willing to work for it.

If the city and its elected officials would capture that momentum and build on it, they would capture the demographic they need to advance to the next level.

Rather than the status quo, its time to shift or pivot.  Only time will tell if the city's leadership will realize the opportunity it is fortunate to have before it.

Casselberry is at a Crossroads

Support A Skatepark In Casselberry & you'll be supporting positive growth for our community as we move into a future driven by millennials.

Casselberry Skatepark Planning

As we continue to advocate for the Casselberry Skatepark, we're starting to hear from a few vocal individuals that are against it, judging skaters based on archaic stereotypes.  Their outlook is shocking to see in today's society.

Its our hope that they will take the time to learn more about skateboarding and join us in welcoming skaters to Casselberry's public spaces.

Casselberry holds itself out as "A Great Place To Live, Work & Play" so we expect to see support from our City Commission & City Staff.

All of our kids deserve to have a safe & welcoming place in the community where they live.

Sign By Clicking Here  

If you haven't done so already,  sign our petition.  When you do, the Casselberry City Commission will be notified of it via email.  Make sure to include a comment when you do!

What To Expect As Casselberry Skatepark Campaign Moves Forward

As the Casselberry Skatepark builds momentum it wont be long before some members of the community will stand up and oppose its construction.

We've already seen a small group of opponents attend the last meeting.

Luckily, their concerns are often simply a fear of the unknown and a symptom of being misinformed.


One of the first "roadblocks" will surely be that a skatepark will be too noisy, so be prepared to hear it and have the facts available to respond.

Sound studies have been conducted many times & they have demonstrated that the noise generated at a skatepark is similar to that of basketball courts and playgrounds.

The City of Portland has studied noise produced at parks.

Together, we're going to make sure the Casselberry Skatepark is built.  Keep contacting City Commissioners to ensure that they know we're awaiting their attention on it to ensure Casselberry is truly a community where everyone can Work, Live & Play.

Recreation For Everyone

State of The Casselberry Skatepark - 2016

March is here; for a year now we've been asking our elected officials on the Casselberry City Commission to dedicate the land and funding required to make the Casselberry Skatepark a reality for our community.

Its been a rewarding journey so far.  The level of community support continues to grow daily as folks recognize the benefits of how a skatepark will create a place to further revitalize Casselberry's image in a positive way, provide a safe place for our youth, build a sense of community and attract visitors from around the state and nation.

After originally sending an email to all of the Casselberry City Commissioners asking for their consideration for a skatepark, we attended the very next Commission Meeting and asked again in person.

Though we got silence from some, a couple of the Commissioners voiced an interest, if there was community support.

That meeting marked the beginning of our journey.  SKATE 32707 was immediately born to develop a grassroots campaign to empower our elected officials to dedicate a site and funding to get our community a skatepark.

Soon after starting our grassroots advocacy efforts, Brighthouse News Channel 13 covered our story on TV.

Not long after that first City Commission Meeting, we were told "the wheels are turning" as the upcoming 2016 Budget Workshop was approaching and the Casselberry Skatepark would be discussed as part of it.

The Omnipresent Casselberry Skatepark Support Yard Sign

When we asked about the Workshop and how discussions relating to the Casselberry Skatepark  had gone, we didn't get an answer from our City Commission.  Rather, the City Manager addressed the question and let us know that he had discouraged its discussion due to the absence of a skatepark in the City of Casselberry Parks Master Plan.

In the following days, we learned that there was no Parks Master Plan, only a draft document that was created in 2005 and never acted upon by the City Commission.

Despite the disappointing news, we simply redoubled our efforts and remained focused on building additional support within the community as well as reaching out individually to our City Commissioners to let them know we were counting on them to be our voice.

"Support A Skatepark In Casselberry" yard signs sprang up in front of residences all over the city as well as nearby neighborhoods, petitions were signed and emails continued to pour in letting our representatives on the Casselberry City Commission know we want them to take action by studying and ultimately approving a skatepark site and funding.

In light of the absence of the Parks Master Plan, plans were laid to create one.  The process was said to be set to start in October 2015 with the arrival of the new fiscal year.  October came and went with no action.  We continued to attend City Commission Meetings to update our representatives on the growing support we had documented.
 
In late 2015, in response to a request from Mayor Glancy, SKATE 32707 developed a Skatepark Master Plan for Casselberry and presented it to her, as well as the balance of the City Commission in order to catalyze the Casselberry Skatepark from simply being a discussion, to get it moving as a project.

In December 2015 a Commission Workshop was held to discuss plans for 2016 and to set priorities for projects.  Mayor Glancy and Commissioner Meadows acknowledged the support for the Casselberry Skatepark, pointing out the vast support that was easily seen by all of the signs in our neighborhoods, as well as the swelling petition numbers.  With the Skatepark Master Plan Proposal in hand they proposed city staff study the issue and report back on feasibility.  The City Manager again interjected himself and steered the issue back inside the Parks Master Plan process, stating that it would be starting in February 2016.  The balance of the City Commission went along with the City Manager delaying progress on the Casselberry Skatepark.

Despite the setback, we simply resolved to work harder to deliver the Casselberry Skatepark to our community.

In late January SKATE 32707 hosted a Skatepark Informational Meeting at the Casselberry Police Department.  Three weeks prior to the meeting we invited the entire City Commission to attend.  The purpose of the meeting was to inform everyone how the process of designing and building a skatepark works in a community once approval has been given. Commissioner Meadows responded to the invitation letting us know he would be unable to attend due to being out of town on vacation.  On the Monday prior to the meeting, Commissioner Hufford expressed concern about possible "Sunshine Law" violations if the Commission attended while attending the City Commission Meeting.  The City Attorney rendered an opinion regarding attendance that lead to her choosing to not attend.

The following day, the Orlando Sentinel ran a front page story covering the efforts that have been made to bring a skatepark to Casselberry.

The meeting was a huge success.  Attendance was such that we ran out of seating, with many standing, lining the room, to listen to the presentation from Team Pain Skateparks.

During the presentation we examined a lot of possible locations within Casselberry's existing parks that could easily accommodate a skatepark.

Galactic G Skate Shop, Plus Skate Shop, Catalyst and Domain Premium Apparel helped support SKATE 32707 by donating a lot of awesome product that was given away as part of a door prize raffle at the end of the evening.

At the first February City Commission Meeting,   the City Manager acknowledged the Parks Master Plan had not started, citing contract problems.

A request for proposals to conduct a process to develop a Casselberry Parks Master Plan was posted in Mid-February.

The consultant for the Parks Master Plan wont be selected until late April or May.  The process will then take 6 months to complete.

The consequences that have arisen from the delay in the Parks Master Plan process now directly affects the Casselberry Skatepark.

1. The Casselberry Skatepark will miss the Budget Planning Workshop for 2017

2. The Casselberry Skatepark would begin planning after the Parks Master Plan is adopted, (earliest is late 2016) likely leaving too little time to effectively do so prior to the Budget Planning Workshop for 2018.

All of this could change with a simple vote by the Casselberry City Commission.  They know the Casselberry Skatepark is a popular project with wide support.  Its time for them to make it happen sooner by directing the City Manager to have staff conduct a skatepark feasibility study while the Parks Master Plan is being completed.

As we watch the Casselberry City Commission conduct the business of the People of Casselberry, we'll be noting who has been listening.

 

 



 

Create A Positive Space for Recreation in Casselberry

Feb 16, 2016 — The City Commission's decisions regarding recent "downtown" improvements are moving Casselberry in a positive direction. Soon an area contained within the Lake Concord Village project will become a 4 acre passive use park.

Currently we have other parks designated as active spaces with bike lanes, bike trails, paddling trails, tennis courts, basketball courts, ball fields and tot lots sprinkled throughout town. We even have an active space for canines, Pawmosa Park.

Great!

Now, let’s include skateboarding on our list of attractive amenities for families, students, residents and tourists.

Skateboarding is a $29 billion business.

A skatepark would be a destination for skateboarders from across Florida and worldwide.

A skatepark would serve to attract visitors and tourists adding to the local economy while providing safe and legal recreational skateboarding for Casselberry kids and adults.

Skateboarding is healthy for kids’ bodies and healthy for the local economy.

The revitalization of Casselberry should include new things that are working in other cities by including them in our community.

Let’s be smart and follow other successful models of city funded/constructed skateparks like Lakeland, Bradenton, Branford, Gainesville and Zephyrhills among others.

By doing that, residents will spend money at local businesses here in Casselberry, as opposed to driving and spending elsewhere in order to enjoy a skatepark.

In recent years the City of Casselberry has spent over $350K to purchase a residential property adjacent to Lake Concord Park, near the Art House in hopes of expanding another passive use park further. Even more money will be need to be spent on demolition of the vacant homes located there before it can transition to its new purpose.

By the time these parcels are ready to become a passive space, the same investment of $300,000 to $500,000 could have provided a skatepark for residents and visitors in an existing active use park.




The call for a skatepark in Casselberry has seen steadily growing community support over the past several months. From a front page story in the Orlando Sentinel, to yard signs declaring support for a skatepark throughout our neighborhoods, petitions are growing and a recent public meeting to educate residents on how the skatepark design process works filled a meeting room to capacity at the Casselberry Police Department; the need has been demonstrated in every way imaginable.

The new “downtown” passive use park’s cost of improvement likely exceeds the per square foot price to build a skatepark by nearly three times.

The Casselberry Skatepark will become a destination that draws visitors to our city.

A skatepark costs approximately $30 per square foot to construct and a skatepark is for recreational use, which provides an active, placemaking, community venue and encourages visitors to come to Casselberry.

The “downtown” park is passive use.

Both good.

One is better for bodies. Recreation is healthier for kids than sitting.

We like what we see happening in Casselberry! The “downtown” park is cool. The fountain and sculpture features will be delightful.

Now, end the delays and please build the skatepark so that our residents have a place they can safely enjoy themselves and the skateboarding tourism other cities enjoy will come to Casselberry.

Its a win – win, with a skatepark, visitors looking for an amazing skatepark experience will include Casselberry in their travel plans and the children and residents of Casselberry will be free to skate safely and legally in their own community, something they can’t do currently.

 Please share this update & encourage family and friends to sign the petition. PETITION

Public workshops hosted by the City of Casselberry will be scheduled soon, once they are, we will be asking everyone to fill them to capacity to make sure our voices are heard: Build A Skatepark Now, we're ready for Concrete Change in Casselberry.