Amazement Square is making plans to implement new security measures following the recent vandalism of its months-old skate park.
Executive Director Mort Sajadian said the nonprofit intends to install motion lights and security cameras as part of its ongoing improvement of the new Rotary Centennial Riverfront Skatepark.
The group is also consulting with the police department’s crime prevention unit, and has started random after-hours site checks.
“I received some calls that we should put up bigger, 20-foot-high chain-link fences with barbed wire,” Sajadian said. “But that’s exactly what we don’t want to do.”
Amazement Square previously sent letters out to all registered park users condemning recent break-ins that included thefts and vandalism of park property.
The message also came with a stern warning that the park, which just opened in November, would close if the problems continued.
The decision to install a security system was a direct result of the vandalism, Sajadian said.
“We didn’t want to do this, but if it makes it more possible for the skaters to enjoy the park, that’s what we’ll do,” he said.
Reaction to the group’s letter has been “very positive,” he said, with parents and skaters alike expressing their dismay with what happened.
The downtown skate park was five years in the making, funded predominantly with community donations. More than $600,000 has been invested in the site, and further improvements are planned.
Amazement Square spearheaded the campaign for a park and runs the present facility.
Far from having any regrets about that today, Sajadian said the vandalism has only made him hopeful the park can be a positive influence on a new generation of skaters.
“I’m looking at it in the reverse way,” he said. “There’s even more of a reason to do this and to concentrate on our mission here.”
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