Mayor Curt Giambruno made those comments during the Thursday night Clearlake City Council meeting, as the council was discussing the park's grand opening and dedication ceremony, slated for April 12.
“You might say I gave 'em a lecture,” he said this week in discussing the meeting and the concerns he raised.
Giambruno, who – along with Council member Joyce Overton – worked with the skate park committee in order to get the park reopened after its closure late last year for repairs, told Lake County News that he directed his remarks to two parents and one teen who came to the meeting for the item.
He said he felt by ignoring the rules the park's users were slapping the city – and community members who donated to get the park reopened – in the face.
“I'm very frustrated about it quite frankly,” he said. “Frustrated and hurt.”
Giambruno said he wasn't convinced by a number of excuses that have been offered for failing to comply with the rules – everything from children saying they simply forget their equipment to claiming they can't read the park's signage.
City officials have required BMX bike riders and skateboarders to use the park on alternating days due to liability concerns, and have insisted that pads and helmets also must be used, as Lake County News has reported.
Those rules also aren't being followed, said Giambruno, who said he often goes by the park and sees rule violations in play. “Somewhere along the line we're going to have to stop it.”
He also said he's concerned that the children who use the park and their parents – who promised to self-police for the rules – haven't done so.
It's more than just city liability, Giambruno explained. When children ride bikes without helmets, they're also breaking state law.
If the rules continue to be ignored, Giambruno said he'll move to have the park closed – temporarily at first and, if necessary, permanently.
“I worry that somebody is going to get hurt and be in a coma for a lot of years,” he said. “I don't want that, and I won't to be a part of that.”
Council member Judy Thein said she remained concerned about the safety of the children using the park. She told City Administrator Dale Neiman at the meeting that an ordinance to enforce the rules – which was supposed to have been on the Thursday agenda – must be up for discussion and action at the next meeting.
Like Giambruno, Thein said the council has been dealing with the noncompliance issue for months, and enough was enough. The city is being left with no choice but to resort to measures such as closing the park because of its considerable exposure to liability due to death or injury.
Ken Savin, who works with youth at the park, was one of the adults at the meeting who heard Giambruno's remarks. “We were thinking everything was moving along pretty positively,” he told Lake County News.
Savin said the park's signage isn't very clear, and acknowledged that a “small percentage” of teens and children using the park are following the rules and using their safety gear, despite being told.
In an effort to address that, Savin said he and some other adults working with the skate park committee have been passing out fliers explaining the rules.
Part of the problem, he said, are old habits. “They've been using the park without helmets for a while. They kind of need to be retrained.”
He said he understands city officials' frustration, and is working to get the park's users to self-police themselves. Savin added that the teens know they use the park at their own risk.
Joey Luiz, one of the adult skate park committee members who said he attended the meeting, said he doesn't believe most of the children using the park are really aware of the rules, especially the alternating days rule, which isn't yet posted.
He said he believes if an authority figure like Police Chief Allan McClain were to speak to the children – which McClain has said he'll do – they might get the message.
Seeking other solutions
Moving forward, the idea is to get the skaters and bike riders to begin complying, Overton said this week.
She agreed with comments made previously with McClain, that handing out tickets to kids will only punish parents.
Rather, Overton proposes using the park's April 12 grand opening event as a jumping off point to encouraging rule compliance. “We're just going to try to give the kids some chances.”
Overton said she saw a few more helmets in use this week, which she called an improvement. She said she wants to help educate the children about the rules and why they're there before resorting to a temporary park shutdown.
In the seven years the park has been open there haven't been any serious incidents, said Overton. Still, accidents can happen, which is what the council is worried about.
“If we see it gets out of hand,” she added, “it will be closed for a few days the first time.”
Luiz said he agreed with using April 12 as a day to both celebrate the park and educate the young people who use it.
Giambruno, who along with Thein and a committee are working on organizing Konocti Kids Day for May 17, said 450 helmets will be given away at that event. He has even suggested that the park be closed until then so they can ensure park users have helmets.
However, he agreed with Overton's idea of using the grand opening event to encourage following the rules. Giambruno said on Wednesday the new sign for the park – which the council named for skater and BMX rider Andy Johnson – was delivered to the city.
Giambruno emphasized that he has been proud of how the teens worked to raise money for repairs to get the park reopened in January. Now he just wants them to follow the rules.
Does he have any idea of how they'll react?
“Who knows,” he said. “We'll soon find out.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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