Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Markus promises safe skate park

City Manager Tom Markus says the city "will do what it takes to make sure [the Birmingham skate park] is what it was intended to be -- a safe place for kids," after police were called to the park recently over a confrontation between Birmingham kids, a dad and a Clawson man and his friends who had been frequenting the park.

The dad told the Buzz he confronted the 19-year-old Clawson man after he spat in the face of one of the dad's children. He said the men accompanying the Clawson man, in their upper teens or early 20s, were smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol and using profanity. He said they surrounded him and threated to "gang-bang" him. Police were called, and the dad said the responding officers were sympathetic to him and his kids, and effective in identifying and dispersing the offending men.

The dad said he was concerned that the skate park is unsupervised, and suggested the city place someone at the park during peak hours.

The kid's mom said younger kids, who lobbied the City Commission to fund the park and who frequented the park when it was new, are now staying away. "You have to recognize the type of kids you're going to draw, and you have to be prepared for that.... They're doing drugs, and they sit in their cars and smoke pot, and they harass the younger kids. It's unacceptable."

Markus said he would ensure that adequate police patrols and supervision were provided.