Subscribe and Follow LoGro
|
By Griff Wigley, on June 12, 2011, 11:23 pm
By Griff Wigley, on September 29, 2009, 7:59 am
 I drove by the skatepark in Babcock Park this morning and noticed that most of the structures had been removed. A Bobcat was there, open, but unoccupied. Anyone know what’s going on?
By Griff Wigley, on August 11, 2009, 9:07 am
   
Left: There’s now a big poster of dos and don’ts tacked up on one of the ramps at the temporary skatepark at Babcock. Nice.
Center: the ramps are taking a beating, but they’re being repaired
Right: The skatepark is closed all day this Wed. because the DJJD committee is having its Sponsors Thank You Pig Roast at the rodeo grounds on Wed. at 5 pm.
I don’t understand the reasoning for the latter, as the the skate park is not really very close to where the DJJD tent is set up. And the James-Younger Gang doesn’t really perform at the event. They just ‘appear.’ Somebody’s being too cautious here, it seems.
By Griff Wigley, on July 31, 2009, 7:01 am
By Griff Wigley, on July 13, 2009, 8:15 am
 Joel Walinski wrote in the Friday Memo for July 10:
As noted below, approximately 50% of the Babcock Park Rodeo Grounds parking lot was overlayed this week. Local skateboarders were out the following day examining and testing the work completed. Word from the Skate Board Coalition is the group will be working on installing different components over the next several weeks in this area.
Nothing about this so far on the Union of Youth’s skatepark page (which is actually the Union of Youth blog with the tag word ‘skatepark’).
Looks like they’re going to need a trash container there.
By Griff Wigley, on June 9, 2009, 9:50 pm
 With our new schedule (recording and air-time on Mondays) we can’t quite get organized in time to line up guests so once again, it was just us yammering, mainly about the Council’s skatepark decision and subsequent plan to proceed without the PRAB’s input.
Click play to listen. 30 minutes.
Continue reading Podcast: The Triumvirate on the skatepark decision aftermath
By Griff Wigley, on June 8, 2009, 12:33 pm
By Griff Wigley, on June 1, 2009, 10:11 pm
 It was no surprise to me that the Northfield City Council voted 5-1 tonight to reject Ames Park as the location for the skate plaza. Betsey Buckheit was the only one to vote in favor of it. The real surprise was in the post-vote discussion where they opted to take over the criteria setting and planning process for a skate park location from the Park & Rec Advisory Board (PRAB). I briefly chatted with PRAB Richard Vanasek after the meeting who seemed stunned by the latter.
Continue reading Council rejects Ames as skate plaza site and then rejects Park Board from further planning
By Griff Wigley, on June 1, 2009, 3:15 pm
 Page 29 of the June 1 City Council agenda packet summarizes the history of the skate park location as it relates to Ames Park. On April 29, I emailed each Councilor, asking them if they’d be willing to write up their thoughts about the upcoming vote so that citizens could “know more details about how you’re approaching it, to know more about which of the various pros and cons hold the most validity, to know more about you see the complexities/various shades of gray on the issue.” I’ll attach separate comments for each Councilor who I’ve heard from, and who speaks to the issue during or after the Council meeting. I’ve turned off comments for now until I gather comments from them all.
By Griff Wigley, on May 7, 2009, 7:04 am
 After a send-off to KYMN Radio News Director Dusty Budd (he departs Northfield for fame and fortune in LA next week), we argued vociferously over the community expectations policy, using language that would actually violate the policy had we been recording the show on the sidewalk. We closed with a similarly heated discussion about the skate park.
Click play to listen. 30 minutes. You can also download the MP3 or subscribe to the podcast feed, or subscribe directly with iTunes. Continue reading Podcast: Triumvirate squabbles generate heat, little light
By Griff Wigley, on April 30, 2009, 5:35 am
 It was just us three citizens yesterday, pretending to be members of the Northfield City Council and discussing how and why we’d vote on the Parks and Rec Advisory Board’s (PRAB) recommendation to locate the skatepark in Ames Park.
Click play to listen. 30 minutes. You can also download the MP3 or subscribe to the podcast feed, or subscribe directly with iTunes. Continue reading Podcast: the Triumvirate on locating the skate plaza in Ames Park
By Griff Wigley, on April 29, 2009, 7:07 am
 The Northfield City Council has agreed to an up or down vote on the Parks and Rec Advisory Board’s (PRAB) unanimous recommendation to locate the skate plaza in Ames Park. They’ll likely vote next Monday.
Before you take the straw poll, 1) see the 60+ comments attached to this Feb. blog post; 2) see pages 7-8 of the Monday’s Council agenda packet PDF; 3) see the meeting page for a list of 8 related PDF attachments. According to the PRAB, these are the opportunites/benefits and constraints/limitations for locating the skate plaza in Ames Park:
|
SITE OPPORTUNITIES/BENEFITS
|
SITE CONSTRAINTS/LIMITATIONS
|
- Central location near downtown area
- Social atmosphere of downtown area, with added appeal of local and outside visitors being in the area as casual observers
- Adequate space to accommodate need
- Proximity to other social activities
- Positive image for City
- Noise impact not an issue
- Visibility –adds to safety
- More direct access
- Ames easier to fix safety issues
- More urban feeling, hard surfaces better fit with urban design
- Other facilities more relative to youth activities
- Visibility from Water Street Project
- Greater visibility for surveillance
- Social atmosphere
- Proximity to Police Station
- Part of DJJD celebration
|
- Access to site through downtown area and across river more congested
- Lack of support facilities, such as parking, restrooms, etc
- Uncertain visual impact of facility as a gateway feature into downtown area
- Impact of facility use patterns on surrounding downtown businesses serving a diverse cross-section of clientele (ie., noise, traffic, security concerns, etc)
- Loss of open space for other uses, such as annual events
- Require full development
|
Feel free to ask questions and comment, even if you don’t take the poll. I’m especially interested in your thinking/explanation of why you voted as you did.
[poll id="36"]
By Griff Wigley, on February 22, 2009, 10:00 am
 An update on the Ames Park Master Plan is scheduled for Monday night’s Council meeting/work session. Included is the issue of where to cite the Northfield Skateboard Coalition’s Skate Park/Plaza: closer to MOM’s Ames Mill or closer to 5th St. The Council packet has this two-page PDF of the Ames Park Concept with the two options produced by the consulting firm, Bonestroo. I took photos of Ames Park during DJJD last year (to show carnival-related parking) and also some from last winter.
The Northfield News is running a straw poll on the bottom of their homepage on the skate plaza location within Ames Park. Here’s a slightly different version:
[poll id="35"]
(continued)
Continue reading The Ames Park Master Plan: getting closer to finalization (straw poll on skate plaza)
|
|
Current Discussion Threads