Tuesday, March 01, 2005
update
Just came back from the latest City Council Mtg
The BMX kids n parents almost filled the place.
They nearly emptied the place when their turn was over.
The latest episode of the BMX Track saga is that BMXers don't feel that the City of Lakeport is doing all it can to make it possible for them to set up the track before the Westside Park[WPark] is finished,hich is on hold due to weather and until more grant monies come in. A year maybe?
Mayor McCheez(Bob, I know you have a sense of humor) invited them to stay for the next group, the Channel Cats Swim Club, but they declined.
I gotta say, there is this adversarial attitude (rightly touched on by the Supes Rob & Tony) that seems to be eating up a lot of the discussion.
I never got the impression that lakeport City Government[LCG] people are against this kind of activity. We all know what happens to kids without structure-they can become de-structive.
Some of the people in LCG have past experience with BMX in their family.
We all want the same thing.
Why waste time arguing over a point that is moot?
One of the suggestions Frank Thompson made involving the WPark site was a gated/locked area that only they would use. That sucks for the rest of the public.
True, they have their own insurance, but WPark is a public park.
Complications like the dirt for the current track at the Fairground-
getting it to the WPark (Westside Park) or alternative sites.
Dirt can't be moved onto the WPark site until after May 15, due to weather & erosion.
Dirt is getting moved to some location at the Fairground by the Fairground for the time being.
An alternative site was offered by a private citizen in Scotts Valley, but the BMXErs feel that once they are kicked out of the city, they would never get back in.
The Master Plan and specifically the design for Westside Park includes the BMX track, so, I don't feel like they will be 86'd.
Rob Brown (District 5)stepped up to say he was in total agreement with the BMXers, and that moving the track to private land would leave them vulnerable to the whims of the land owner. This land owner (Mr. Bradley) has volunteered this space. I don't know how much (if any) money would be involved. Rob made a good point of safety for the kids-they often ride their BMX bikes to the track. A bunch of kids on bikes on SV Rd. or on HWY 175 sounds sketchy. Another alternative site is "Turkey Leg" off 175.
Tony Farrington also stepped up to say some stuff.
He thinks that the parking issue could be solved by using the currently unused parking lot at (what was)Cendant/Cheap Tickets. I thought that had merit.
He said something that sounded a bit goofy, but made sense later on.
He was explaining how he feels BMX teaches kids about "me"-as in it's all about me (the BMXer, not Tony *snigger*), not a team. I think what he was getting at was that the rider gets a feeling of emPOWERment from riding that damn bike thru biffs, wrecks, and whatnot. I didn't need a BMX bike to feel like that riding my banana-seat-no-speed Scwhwinn around Novato at that age, but I think I just dated myself.
AYE Carumba
Next up was the stinky hole in the ground called the public pool. It was dumped on the City of Lakeport [CoL]by the County some years ago. When it was built 34 years ago, it wasn't up to State Codes even back then. The Health Dept. has a field day with this project. The Channel Cats group is offering to cover the maintenence for use of it. Turns out the sticker is that the School District [SD] owns it, and that the CoL had an agreement which just so happens to be up, and renewal hinges on the approval a grant application...
Oy Vey
...
oh yeah!!!!-
my son just made his first batch of Kalua! At that note, I will give this blog a rest.
The BMX kids n parents almost filled the place.
They nearly emptied the place when their turn was over.
The latest episode of the BMX Track saga is that BMXers don't feel that the City of Lakeport is doing all it can to make it possible for them to set up the track before the Westside Park[WPark] is finished,hich is on hold due to weather and until more grant monies come in. A year maybe?
Mayor McCheez(Bob, I know you have a sense of humor) invited them to stay for the next group, the Channel Cats Swim Club, but they declined.
I gotta say, there is this adversarial attitude (rightly touched on by the Supes Rob & Tony) that seems to be eating up a lot of the discussion.
I never got the impression that lakeport City Government[LCG] people are against this kind of activity. We all know what happens to kids without structure-they can become de-structive.
Some of the people in LCG have past experience with BMX in their family.
We all want the same thing.
Why waste time arguing over a point that is moot?
One of the suggestions Frank Thompson made involving the WPark site was a gated/locked area that only they would use. That sucks for the rest of the public.
True, they have their own insurance, but WPark is a public park.
Complications like the dirt for the current track at the Fairground-
getting it to the WPark (Westside Park) or alternative sites.
Dirt can't be moved onto the WPark site until after May 15, due to weather & erosion.
Dirt is getting moved to some location at the Fairground by the Fairground for the time being.
An alternative site was offered by a private citizen in Scotts Valley, but the BMXErs feel that once they are kicked out of the city, they would never get back in.
The Master Plan and specifically the design for Westside Park includes the BMX track, so, I don't feel like they will be 86'd.
Rob Brown (District 5)stepped up to say he was in total agreement with the BMXers, and that moving the track to private land would leave them vulnerable to the whims of the land owner. This land owner (Mr. Bradley) has volunteered this space. I don't know how much (if any) money would be involved. Rob made a good point of safety for the kids-they often ride their BMX bikes to the track. A bunch of kids on bikes on SV Rd. or on HWY 175 sounds sketchy. Another alternative site is "Turkey Leg" off 175.
Tony Farrington also stepped up to say some stuff.
He thinks that the parking issue could be solved by using the currently unused parking lot at (what was)Cendant/Cheap Tickets. I thought that had merit.
He said something that sounded a bit goofy, but made sense later on.
He was explaining how he feels BMX teaches kids about "me"-as in it's all about me (the BMXer, not Tony *snigger*), not a team. I think what he was getting at was that the rider gets a feeling of emPOWERment from riding that damn bike thru biffs, wrecks, and whatnot. I didn't need a BMX bike to feel like that riding my banana-seat-no-speed Scwhwinn around Novato at that age, but I think I just dated myself.
AYE Carumba
Next up was the stinky hole in the ground called the public pool. It was dumped on the City of Lakeport [CoL]by the County some years ago. When it was built 34 years ago, it wasn't up to State Codes even back then. The Health Dept. has a field day with this project. The Channel Cats group is offering to cover the maintenence for use of it. Turns out the sticker is that the School District [SD] owns it, and that the CoL had an agreement which just so happens to be up, and renewal hinges on the approval a grant application...
Oy Vey
...
oh yeah!!!!-
my son just made his first batch of Kalua! At that note, I will give this blog a rest.
