Observer Online | Viewpoints | Skate Park, Like Dog Park, Should be Run by Volunteers

Posted Nov. 29, 2002

Skate Park, Like Dog Park, Should be Run by Volunteers

To the editor:

I am writing in response to a letter that appeared by a 15-year-old Rollerblader named Mike Ward regarding the skate park. He is absolutely right! Like the dog park, a skate park would be a great addition to Herndon and Reston.

However, what he and others may not know with respect to the dog park is that more than three years ago, a not-for-profit corporation was formed by an all-volunteer group of responsible Herndon dog owners for the specific purpose of building a dog park in Herndon.

For more than three years these volunteers worked with Fairfax County Park Authority, the Town of Herndon and the community in locating an appropriate piece of land, seeking the required bureaucratic approvals by preparing proposals, attending town council work sessions and hearings and by raising enough money to fund the cost of the park, which was a requirement of the county. Without these volunteers having spent countless hours and a lot of their own money, the dog park would not be a reality.

My suggestion to Mike is that rather than simply demand the county or town build a skate park, he should get all the other 15-year-old Rollerbladers in the community to take proactive steps similar to those of the dog group and get the proverbial ball rolling, including raising the necessary funds to pay for it.

And as for his statement that kids are more important than dogs: Well, I have no comment.

Liz Lewis

Herndon