Gille Skate Park to be Monitored, Require the Use of Photo ID Cards

It was that after a vote from the Township Committee, the recently reopened will be open seasonally through the fall, and its upkeep be maintained through the use of appointed monitors. However, another proviso that will soon be a requirement of using the park is an identification card system, according to Township Administrator Veronica Laureigh — one that the township hopes will keep the park in as pristine condition as possible.

“Currently, we're doing well (at the park). We've had our moments, but we're doing well. It's a much better situation there now,” Recreation Director Jim Wioland added.

Gille Skate Park is currently open from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. After June 30, the park will switch to its summer schedule, where it will be open from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and Sundays, in addition to 3 to 6 p.m. every day of the week.

The township administrator emphasized that the park was only designed for the use of certain equipment, which has been a problem for the facility in the past, which the recreation director seconded.

“We got to a point where we had to do something. Hearing (Lacey Township High School Principal) Mr. Zylinski share some of the things going on, we had to show that group causing problems there that they will not have free reign at the park. The bikes were getting too dangerous,” Wioland said.

“When the park was first built, our insurance provider only covered us for skateboards and inline skates to be used there. Other things like bikes and scooters will damage the park equipment,” said Laureigh.

In the hopes of preventing further damage to the skate park, Laureigh added that the town had hired students to act as monitors, to ensure that the park was being used responsibly and with the proper equipment. Along with the monitors, requiring a photo ID card for use of the park will also allow the town to determine exactly who, if anyone, was improperly using the skate park or causing the aforementioned damage to it.

Wioland stipulated that the annual fee to obtain the photo ID card would be a “nominal” $5, and would ensure that since the park is tax dollar-supported, it would only be open to residents of Lacey Township.

Laureigh also stated that future insurance considerations were another reason for the planned implementation of the ID card system.

“The insurance provider will only cover us for skateboards and inline skates. They will not cover us for (the use of) bicycles or scooters, and if someone using either of those gets hurt at the park, they will hold the town liable,” she said. “It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way it is.” Currently, skaters at the facility are required to wear helmets.

Wioland said that since the monitors have been in use at Gille Skate Park, vandalism has gone down and time once used for park cleanup has been saved.

“In other towns where these problems have occurred, the first response was to shut the park down. We're glad that the Township Committee here took a more forward-thinking approach instead of shutting it down,” Wioland remarked.

Committeeman Gary Quinn has previously stated that the governing body will revisit the issue of the park’s seasonal length of operation in October, after the season has been completed.