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. 

Support a Skatepark in Casselberry

We are pushing for a full neighborhood skatepark in Casselberry & have been the single biggest and most visible community movement in the city over the past year.

Rather than address the need for a community skatepark, our city's leaders have punted on the project by calling for a Parks Master Plan after getting caught citing one for being the reason no action had been taken during the 2016 Budget Workshop.

Fact:  There has been NO Parks Master Plan in place in the past and it has not stopped recreation planning and development.

A single consultant just proposed providing a study that will lead to a Parks Master Plan for Casselberry.  At what cost?  $74,000.00

That is funding that could otherwise be spent on current recreation needs in our city.

Despite our dismay, we plan to participate in this process and send the clear and convincing message that we have for the past year; Casselberry has a demonstrated need for a modern recreation facility in the form of a skatepark.

In order to continue to attract younger families and have them become residents, we need to provide the recreation they are looking for when they are ready to put down roots.

Stay tuned for developments like community workshops and surveys that will be part of this process.

In the short term, a step towards improving our city has been made by including a skate spot in the Casselton Drive improvement project.  A public input session should take place to see the design of it in early June.

We will update our Facebook Page: Skate 32707 - Support a Skatepark in Casselberry with a date, time and location as soon as it is known.

Attendance is important, as a small group in the area has already surfaced to try and prevent it, citing problems in their community that are totally unrelated to skateboarding as a reason to oppose the skate spot.  We know better and have the facts to support it.

The City Commission needs to hear from all of us that support a vibrant and active community so that they will continue to support the project.

Stay engaged, work hard to spread the word and make certain that you attend any and all meetings that are announced.

Skatepark Economics 101

Casselberry is in the throws of a revitalization effort that has been decades in the making.  Much of the recent growth in the city has been the addition of more housing, both mutli-family and single family residential.  There is promise for more retail and dining, yet the community is left longing for more.

Zephyrhills Recognized The Need For A Community Skatepark and Took Action

Public works projects are focused on the curb appeal, spending loads of cash on "complete street" projects, replete with enhanced street lighting, landscaping and brick intersections.

In order that the City of Casselberry reach its full potential to be a "Great Place to Live, Work and Play" there needs to be a shift in focus on placemaking that attracts a younger generation that wants to call our small city home.

Over the past year or so the community has banded together in large part to advocate for a city skatepark.  Despite the grassroots effort, little has been done.  In fact, $75,000.00 is about to be spent to develop a parks master plan, all while looking past the public's calls for a specific project; The Casselberry Skatepark.

If the Casselberry City Commission took time to investigate the issue, they would understand how answering the public's call for action would most certainly be a catalyst for civic engagement on an unprecedented level.  They could then very easily leverage the support for more projects.

A skatepark would benefit the community greatly.

Its economic impact would be far reaching in supporting the restaurants and retail that must also come to ensure a bright future.

Case In Point:

On a recent family trip, instead of going and staying in the town where we had plans, a choice was made to stay an hour away in a town that has a skatepark and commute to the event.

The result:  Two nights of lodging, several meals at local restaurants and money spent shopping in their downtown.

Our skateboarding family is not unique.  Travel and spending plans are often steered by the presence of a skatepark when family time is planned.

Conversations with people at the skatepark often reveal out of town visitors who are there solely because of the presence of it.

As our city moves forward in its redevelopment, they will be wise to carefully consider how much its costing our community to delay the construction of a skatepark, there are lots of families who would like a reason to visit or move to Casselberry.

Casselberry - A Great Place to Live, Work & Skate

The City of Casselberry branding is currently lost on skateboarders.  Despite the self described "Live, Work & Play" welcoming community image that is being promoted, the fact remains, most parks specifically prohibit skating and recreation spending is focused on events, art and passive spaces.

We've asked our City Commission to reach out to places like Zephyrhills, Lakeland, Gainesville, Branford or Jacksonville Beach to get current feedback from recreation departments on how skateparks have benefited their recreation programming.

We know that one of Florida's oldest public skateparks, Satellite Beach is getting a makeover as the staff there continue to recognize after over 20 years of service, its one of the jewels in their crown.

Listening to others can be of benefit when you don't have direct experience in the subject matter.

Best Recreation Value Available

 We'll continue to be supportive of all other recreational offerings in our diverse town, but we wont take no for an answer for our skatepark either.  We too want a community where we can Live, Work and Play.  The time to make sure our community is inclusive is now.

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!

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.