PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Parks and Open Spaces Manager James McGrath is hoping to find middle ground with the school department regarding the skate park.

 

Officials from the Pittsfield High School have requested that the skate park be closed during school hours in the wake of a stabbing last month. School officials say the park is a distraction and leads to many kids congregating and causing trouble during the day.

 

However, their request was met with strong opposition from skaters and bikers who use the park appropriately and say they shouldn't be punished for misbehaving students.

 

After a lengthy Parks Commission meeting with numerous residents opposing the closure of the park last month, McGrath joined Superintendent Jason McCandless, PHS Principal Matthew Bishop, School Committee Chairwoman Katherine Yon, skateshop owner Bill Whittaker, City Councilor Peter White, and Joe Durwin to discuss solutions.

 

"We need to look at the range of options we have in front of us. We need to meet the school department somewhere in the middle," McGrath told the Parks Commission.

 

Some of those potential solutions are enhanced police presence, surveillance cameras, improved park stewardship, and giving school administrators the ability to issue no-trespass orders on those causing trouble at the park.

 

To limit the troublemakers, McGrath said the group is looking into legal mechanisms to allow administrators issue no trespass orders. The orders would be punitive for students who cause issues inside the park (it can't be used for incidents outside of the park). The trespass order would then be enforced by the Police Department. McGrath said in the 15 years he's been working in the city's Parks and Open Spaces Department, only a few people have been issued similar orders so the group needs to do some more research on the legal processes.

 

"This is something the school department would like to have in their back pocket," he said, later adding, "I think it would be a very sensible way to let an individual student know you can't be here."

 

Coupled with giving school officials the ability to issue those orders, McGrath said the group is considering discussing having more police patrols during the most problematic hours — from lunch until the end of the school day. The park is next to the school but is owned and controlled by the Parks Commission. He said having unannounced visits from officers and cruisers driving by more often would deter crime.

 

"I think it is absolutely something we can ask for and something I think the Police Department would be responsive to," McGrath said.

 

McGrath said he is currently looking into the costs of cameras at the park, which would be coupled with signage warning the users that they are being recorded. He said those who use the park properly would have no issues with cameras and some would even like to have the footage be available on a livestream so others can watch the skaters and bikers. He is looking to make sure the cameras and the ongoing operation is affordable as well as having the cameras be vandal proof.

 

Park stewardship is also part of the discussion and an improved caring for the park by the users would deter those who use it inappropriately. Those who use the park properly will keep it well maintained so it doesn't become a place conducive to criminal activity. 

 

"It is a place for skating and biking. That's the destination. I think kids get complacent and it is just another public space. But it is not just another public space. It is intentionally for skating and biking and should be respected," McGrath said.

 

Further, McGrath said there are professional and older athletes using the park who could act as mentors to the students and young people. He added there could also "be involvement for the Pittsfield Community Connection" mentoring program, which is aimed to keep at-risk youth from falling into crime.

 

Parks Commission Chairman Simon Muil said he liked the suggestions but wondered what the school would do to meet in the middle. 

 

"They want nothing more than to have those kids back at the school," McGrath responded. "They know they could do a better job at keeping those kids in the classroom."

 

McGrath said school officials will be looking at staffing levels to provide more oversight as well as work on keeping students leaving the building. However, he said he'd rather have the school focus on education and the parks department secure the park.

 

"It is there. It is an attractant. It is under our stewardship. We just need to roll up our sleeves and work with them to find the best way to manage it," he said.

 

Muil, however, said the issues at the park have little to do with the park's management and rather more to do with the school.

 

"I don't want to see the skate park be blamed for the problem," he said. "If the skate park wasn't there, I think the same things would be happening at another place around the corner."

 

The group is just starting its discussion on finding a solution. The goal is to put something in place for the spring, when the park's usage will increase.