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MINUTES
WATERTOWN TOWN COUNCIL
PUBLIC HEARING
POLK SCHOOL LIBRARY
MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2002, 7:00 P.M.
PRESENT: Elaine Adams (arrived at 7:03 p.m.)
Lee Archer, Chairman (arrived at 7:13 p.m.)
Raymond Hebert, Vice Chairman
Robert Kane
Raymond Primini (arrived at 7:08 p.m.)
Paul Rinaldi
Paul Valenti
Richard Wick
ABSENT: Jean King
OTHERS PRESENT: Charles Frigon, Interim Town Manager (arrived at 7:16 p.m.)
1. Convene Public Hearing - 7:00 P.M.
Mr. Hebert, Vice Chairman, called the Public Hearing to order at 7:00 p.m.
Mr. Wick, Ordinance Subcommittee Chairman, read aloud the following Notice of the Public Hearing for the record:
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Watertown, Connecticut
The Watertown Town Council will hold a Public Hearing on Monday, April 1, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. in the Polk School Library, 437 Buckingham Street, Oakville, Connecticut to consider the repeal of Ordinance No. 07-17-01-233 Town of Wtaertown Ordinance Concerning Skateboards, In-Line Skates, and Scooters.
Copies of said Ordinance to be repealed are available at the Town Managers Office (424 Main Street, Watertown) and the Town Clerks Office (Town Hall, 37 DeForest Street, Watertown).
Dated at Watertown, Connecticut this 22nd day of March, 2002.
Charles A. Frigon, Interim Town Manager
Watertown Town Council
Public Hearing
April 1, 2002
Page 2
RETURN OF NOTICE
TOWN OF WATERTOWN
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
I hereby certify that on March 22, 2002 I left a duplicate copy of the attached Notice of Public Hearing, Town of Watertown, Connecticut with Virginia Stewart its Town Clerk to be held on April 1, 2002.
I further certify that on March 22, 2002, I caused a copy of said Notice of Public Hearing to be published in the WATERBURY REPUBLICAN AMERICAN, which newspaper has a substantial circulation in said Town.
I further certify that on March 22, 2002, I caused to be set upon the signpost or other exterior places nearest the Office of the Town Clerk and all other places and signposts designated by the Town, a written copy of said Notice of Public hearing signed by the Town Manager of the Town of Watertown.
I further certify that all the above acts were done at least five (5) days before the holding of the Public Hearing on April 1, 2002.
Dated at Watertown, Connecticut this 22nd day of March, 2002.
Charles A. Frigon, Interim Town Manager
TOWN CLERKS CERTIFICATION AS TO
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND RETURN OF NOTICE
I hereby certify that the attached Notice of Public Hearing and Notice of the foregoing Return of Notice of Public Hearing are duly recorded in the records of the Town of Watertown, Connecticut, and that Charles A. Frigon was Interim Town Manager on the date the Notice and Return of Notice were signed.
Dated at Watertown, Connecticut this 22nd day of March, 2002.
Virginia Stewart, Town Clerk
Watertown Town Council
Public Hearing
April 1, 2002
Page 3
2. Public Participation
Tom Seawack, 28 Academy Hill, Watertown, CT 06795
Mr. Seawack: I have no big objections to the skateboarding. The first one, and primary one, is the Town liability for this issue. It seems like all the things Ive read, Ive gotten no feedback from the Town Times, my only real source, as to whether this has been straightened out or not. I found that to be an awfully sticky issue. It seemed like the tone of that article last week, or the week before, was that you people were heading to rescind. Thats the tone of it; whether thats true or not, so I dont know where that stands, but thats a real concern of mine.
The second concern is the issue of noise, the click clack of skateboarders and how were going to handle that. I live in an area of Town where they do use the sidewalks, and it can get a little irritating to have to call the Police, which I really prefer not to do. It also becomes an issue in terms of my own, you know having to go down and maybe say something, could you please move, so I think thats a real concern for those of us that live in that area of Town that is impacted by that. I also live near the Library so the issue comes up, what am I supposed to do, harass a bunch of kids because they want to click clack the board, but it is an awful public nuisance, or a noise nuisance, I would say, and Im concerned about that, and I would like to see that sort of talked about in that process of how were going to go about doing that. Other than that, I feel sorry for the kids that are restricted in theiractivities, and I hope that those same kids, if it does pass, can understand and know that wed like to have some respect in terms of other people that are around them, in terms of their activities. Thank you.
Patricia Perriello, 1260 Buckingham Street, Watertown, CT 06779
Ms. Perriello: I thank you for the opportunity to address you this evening. I am not against skateboarding. People buy the skateboards and they should be able to enjoy them. I am against giving permission to skateboard on any public property. If the present ordinance is repealed, skateboarding would be allowed on the street, in the parking lots, and on the sidewalks. Skateboarding is a dangerous sport, and skateboarders, motorists, and pedestrians would all be at risk.
Besides the safety issue I am concerned with liability, not only for the Town, but for the motorist, pedestrians, and skateboarders. Skateboarders could be injured and sue the Town or the motorist. Pedestrians could be injured and sue the skateboarders. We support football, baseball, soccer, basketball to mention a few, with fields and special playing areas. Skateboarding has become popular and fun. Perhaps we need to think about a special area for skateboarding. I would urge the Council not to repeal the ordinance, but to work on designating an area for skateboarding, with the condition that those who use this area would do so at their own risk. Thank you very much.
Watertown Town Council
Public Hearing
April 1, 2002
Page 4
Kai Leszkowicz, 53 Cutler Knoll, Watertown, CT 06795
Mr. Leszkowicz: Besides the fact that people feel the need to say that skateboarding is a dangerous sport, pretty much everyone who does it knows its dangerous. Its been said before. And the fact that people only know whats going on through the newspapers is because either they dont pay attention or they only pay attention when its going to affect them. If people would actually only go out and learn about the sport and understand what its about, the thing about designating an area, the Town doesnt have any land to designate an area. We tried with Veterans Park. You gave us a parking lot, which is slanted to one side like this and also in a downward motion, so any of your perpetual motion is going to end up pulling you back down the hill, besides the fact that there are rocks everywhere due to sand from the Winter. If you hit a rock, you fall over. Its not just yourfault, cause youre a skateboarder. You look at many factors and if you dont know about these factors, even as a pedestrian, you could trip on the sidewalks in Town.
And also with what the man said before me, the sound is like, anything has sound. You walk around with a squeaky shoe outside someones house, they could get mad, but you drive around with your car music, you park in front of someones house and play your music, that could be annoying. Anything can be annoying. If your house is near a baseball field, have a couple of games in a row on a day, or have a full weekend of baseball, youre looking at the same possibility with the skateboarder who feels that this one particular area fits his needs or his ability right now, and feels the need to use that place. Theres not much you can do about it unless you actually build a skate park for somebody.
And to look at it either way, youre going to spend a lot of money building someone a skate park. Repealing the ordinance is like saving you money, but causing other people problems. I feel that repealing the ordinance is the only way you can save yourself money right now. Thank you.
Cheryl Sexton, Oak Street, Watertown, CT 06795
Ms. Sexton: I have a son and weve lived in this Town for 10 years. Id like to see the ordinance repealed also, but I dont agree with the kids skateboarding right through the center of Town. I know its dangerous and its a nuisance to all the businesses, but recently Ive had to pick up my sons skateboard at the Police Department, once. Ive told him, we live on Oak Street, which is a residential neighborhood, so I said just skateboard right in front of our house. Our neighbors have no problems with it. Last week the Police Officer driving by our house, which the only way you even drive on our road is if you live on it, cause both sides is woods, told him he could not even skateboard right in front of our house. We moved to this Town, theres nothing for kids to do. If he rides his bike, theres a problem with the Police. If he goes out on his skateboard, if hes 2 feetoutside of our front yard, theres a problem. I just think this Town has to do something for the teenagers and for the young kids, to offer them something, either a place to go or . . . . I could see kicking them out of areas that are a nuisance, but allow them to skateboard in their own neighborhoods. Thank you.
Watertown Town Council
Public Hearing
April 1, 2002
Page 5
Karen Leszkowicz, 53 Cutler Knoll, Watertown, CT 06795
Ms. Leszkowicz: I have a lot of facts and figures that Ive gone over with this Committee before. I could go over all those again if youd like to hear them. I could go over how California has enacted hazardous recreational activity statutes, and how their insurance companies have covered them. I could go over how much it costs to build a skateboard park. I have so much material here that we could be here for another 45 minutes or so. I dont think thats as important as what, because you already know that information. What I think is important to know is that theres a large group of kids that have come to several meetings now, this is the 3rd or 4th meeting regarding skateboarding, in addition to regular meetings, and theres a positive attitude here to want the ordinance rescinded for many reasons. My main reason would be, as a taxpayer, I think were wastingtax dollars on Police, going at the whim of a neighbor who doesnt like that clickety clack down the sidewalk, or doesnt like a bunch of kids hanging out in the neighbors driveway. Those are true stories. Ive heard these stories. Ive heard Police sitting in neighborhoods waiting for kids to come out of their driveway; followed my own son around the block a couple of times. These are the things that go on. Their skateboards are confiscated. Id rather be able to pick up the phone and call 911 if I have a real emergency. I dont think a kid on a skateboard is an emergency, and I dont care how you look at it, its just not a priority. I dont think we should be wasting tax dollars on it.
As far as the liability goes, on Wednesday March 20th in the Waterbury Republican there was an article about the young girl who was accidentally killed at a National Hockey League game. While this is not pertinent to this particular issue, Watertown Attorney John DelBuono made a statement saying that there are assumed risks at sporting events that can protect the Town from a potential lawsuit. There is an assumed risk, he stated, because you know balls will get hit into the spectator area. He was talking about baseball. Its a risk that you take, otherwise you dont go, or you protect yourself. You can sit behind the screen at home plate, but for spectators sitting in unprotected stands close to the field, the situation becomes a little dicey, and what Mr. John DelBuono of Watertown, a Watertown attorney said is, there are risks at sporting events and there are risks in sports. And whatwe would be doing is calling skateboarding a hazardous recreational sport just like they did in California under AB1296. We already recognize that sports are dangerous in this Town. In fact, I have statistics right here from the Center of Disease Control that baseball, going to a baseball game and playing in a baseball game, chances of injuries are greater than skateboarding.
What weve done in this Town in the past is weve built beautiful parks. We built beautiful Veterans Park and whats the first thing we did? We built a playscape. The #1 injuries of children ages 4 12 are on playscapes, falling off the swings, slides, and monkey bars. No one has ever come forth and said take all those things down because you could have a lawsuit. No on has ever come forth and said maybe we should close all the baseball diamonds in Town because someone could get hit with a ball. Thats just life.
Watertown Town Council
Public Hearing
April 1, 2002
Page 6
This is a sport, as it would be for anything that goes on in the recreation of young kids. We have sports; we have ice hockey, football, soccer, myriads, boys, girls, myriad of ages. Skateboarding is just one of those things that unfortunately you do on your own, just as you would if you rode a bike. In this Town you are allowed to ride your bike. I dont see that skateboarding should be classified any differently than riding a bike. If you want to put helmet laws into affect or safety gear into effect, Im all for that. As a mom, I dont want to see my child hurt, and I dont want to see other kids hurt, but we all have to take a certain amount of personal responsibility, and as far as Im concerned, I think these kids are smart enough, and hopefully their parents are smart enough to get them that kind of equipment so they can do this sport safely. Id rather see my tax dollars spent withthe Police Department going after real criminals in this Town. Thank you.
Patricia Perriello, 1260 Buckingham Street, Watertown, ct 06795
Ms. Perriello: I dont want to confuse the issue. I think from what Ive heard, there are two separate things here: Were talking about skateboarding, a place to skateboard, the idea of skateboarding being fun, but its dangerous, okay, but youre talking about repealing the ordinance, youre talking about skateboarding on sidewalks, in parking lots, on the street and that is, I cant understand how anybody would compare that to baseball or football. There are places for baseball and football. Theres got to be a place for skateboarding. You cant play football on the street, or basketball on the street. Youre in somebodys way, youre in peril and youll put others in peril.
Middlebury has a beautiful asphalt path, from the center of Middlebury all the way to lake Quassapaug. They dont allow skateboarding on part of it because its so dangerous and because its offensive to the pedestrians. Youre walking along and all of a sudden someone comes flying up alongside of you on a skateboard. If you move left or right you get hit. So I dont think its an issue, you know, were not talking about ban all skateboarders and ban all skateboards. Were talking about where it should take place. I really feel that we should have a special place, just as we have for football, for soccer, and hockey and all those other sports. There should be a special place for skateboarding. I know in East Haven there is a skateboard park, in Torrington there is a skateboard park, and thats where you practice the sport, not in somebodys driveway, or on the street, or the on thesidewalk, or in parking lots. Businesses will have a fit if these kids are skateboarding in their parking lots after hours. And of course whats on everybodys mind is the liability, you know, especially in this Town. If you look at somebody cross-eyed they want to sue.
As far as the Police, theyre just enforcing the ordinance. Parents should be teaching their children to respect the law, not to try and go against it.
Watertown Town Council
Public Hearing
April 1, 2002
Page 7
As far as priorities, I think we have places for children to go in Town; theres lots of activities, but the issue is these children want to skateboard and I have no problem with that. I think the Council should take that under their wing and provide a place for them to do that. If theres a great interest, and there seems to be a great interest, provide a place for it. How much, what could it cost to set aside a special area for skateboarding. We certainly have plenty of resources in Watertown to do that, and thats what I would encourage the Council to do, to look for a place to let these children enjoy their sport the same way youve provided baseball, soccer, and football fields. Thank you very much.
Kai Leszkowicz, 53 Cutler Knoll, Watertown, CT 06795
Mr. Leszkowicz: Again, everyone understands Im not trying to disagree with her, I agree there should be a spot . . . .
Mr. Hebert: This isnt basically going to be a debate back and forth.
Mr. Leszkowicz: No, thats exactly what I was just about to say. Im not trying to disagree with her. Everybody should have their own field or playing area, and apparently for a majority of skateboarders there is a need for an area, but hypothetically if somebody did say okay, were going to build you a skate park, and you brought it to a vote, the amount of people in a certain age group controls the majority of a vote. These type of people dont want to see this area. They dont want to have it. Theyre not going to pay their tax money to give us this area. I can understand if you guys want to say, okay, skateboard in Veterans Park, but if you understand about skateboarding, Veterans Park is nothing. Thats like skateboarding in your driveway at home. Thats a circle with a little bit of a hill and some parking lots, and theres pretty much nothing you can do withoutwrecking someones property. If you actually, again hypothetically, gave us an area and build something that we could actually do something with, and people did vote for it and did say okay well give you your tax money, Im pretty sure people would respect that and actually go there instead of skateboarding around Town, but right now sidewalks, parking lots, and in front of peoples businesses are the only places where we can actually proceed with our sport. Thanks.
Watertown Town Council
Public Hearing
April 1, 2002
Page 8
Stan Chowaniec, 15 Heminway Court, Watertown, ct 06795
Mr. Chowaniec: Just listening to some of these people, I can understand their concerns. I think that there should be, what we should consider is a happy medium. Obviously people who have businesses may not necessarily want to see someone in front of that business or on their property doing things that may be dangerous to themselves and possibly put their business at risk. However, I think to just point blank say absolutely no skateboarding in Watertown period, that may be somewhat extreme, because again youre dealing with kids. Every child has possibly limited resources. In other words, they want to use this thing, they want to practice, but sometimes maybe they cant go to certain places, so they do it where its convenient for them. Perhaps it would be wiser to give them, perhaps the secondary roads, you know something that is not dangerous, that doesnt have a lot of traffic. And again, Im sure that theres a place where we can kind of compromise, and allow these kids some freedom, but at the same time have some consideration or business in the Town as well. Thank you.
Cheryl Sexton, Oak Street, Watertown, CT 06795
Ms. Sexton: Thats what I was trying to say, but he said it better.
Mr. Hebert: Is there anyone else whod like to speak? Anyone else? Okay Ill Close this Public Hearing.
3. Adjournment
Mr. Hebert, Vice Chairman, Closed the Public Hearing at 7:24 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Raymond Hebert, Vice Chairman
Town Council
Approved: _______________________________
Lynn M. LaForme, Clerk |
| There are no scheduled meetings today. |
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