Dormont council rejects skate park plan
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Dormont Council has voted down a pitch to build a skate park in the borough -- but the issue is far from over.
Undeterred by Monday night's 5-2 vote to reject Pitcher Park, the plan's originator, Mary Pitcher, said that she is not giving up her fight to bring such a venue to the South Hills.
Mrs. Pitcher, a former borough resident now living in Scott, wants a skate park as a memorial to honor her two sons who died in a drowning accident last year. The Pitcher brothers -- Stephen, 19, and Vincent, 21 -- were enthusiasts of the so-called extreme sports, such as skateboarding and BMX biking.
Mrs. Pitcher, who runs her family's antique shop in the borough's downtown, also said that young people in the borough need such a venue.
Some residents, however, do not agree, fearing the park would be unsightly and would lower property values.
The park is estimated to cost between $500,000 to $800,000 to build and would be funded by donations and grants -- no taxpayer dollars. However, costs of maintenance and insurance would fall to taxpayers.
The issue has been percolating since late July, when local landscape architect John Buerkle, of Pashek Associates, presented plans for the park to council.
This week Mrs. Pitcher said she has also submitted a proposal to the Keystone Oaks school board requesting that the district set aside land for such a park. Her sons were graduates of Keystone Oaks.
And she maintained that she is not done talking with Dormont council members about the issue.
Monday, more than 60 people, including many children wearing T-shirts emblazoned with "Pitcher Park" and carrying signs, filled council chambers to wait for the vote.
Mrs. Pitcher was one of many from both sides of the issue who spoke.
"If we can save even one child from being killed, hurt, turning to drugs or drinking out of sheer boredom, it will be worth the challenge of raising $600,000 to build this park," she said.
When the motion "to allow a skate park to be built in the Borough of Dormont, funded by Grants and Fundraising of Pitcher Park Group" was eventually brought before council for a vote, it failed.
The two swing votes that doomed the park plan were cast by council members Tim McCoy and Blair Brockmeyer. Both men favored the idea of bringing a skate park to Dormont but took issue with some of the finer details.
"The motion was too open-ended. There needed to be a lot more specificity. If it comes back next month with more parameters and more specifics, then I would probably vote in favor," Mr. McCoy said.
He offered an alternative, seemingly popular proposal that would scale down the size of the existing Dormont Pool, leaving space there that he said could be used for a skate park.
Mr. Brockmeyer, who called Mr. McCoy's alternative proposal a "great idea," said he voted down the skate park motion because he didn't like any of the three plans that had been presented.
Mr. Buerkle's initial plan would have placed the skate park in Dormont Park about 60 feet from residences on Memorial Drive. After hearing complaints from concerned Dormont residents, he proposed two subsequent sites: One, in Dormont Park about 240 feet from the homes on Memorial Drive; the other on Banksville Road, in place of some borough tennis courts.
"I'm a little disappointed that after all this time, Mr. McCoy didn't come up with that idea before this and approach somebody before I spent $5,000 on designs and had John Buerkle do all that work," Mrs. Pitcher said.
She also said she is hopeful that next month's election will significantly alter the composition of the council because neither Mr. McCoy nor Mr. Brockmeyer are seeking re-election.
Park supporter Lauren Karabasz said she would work to effect change in Dormont by getting more young adults engaged in the political process, with the hope of electing a council more agreeable to the skate park proposition.
"I'm going to get a lot of young people involved. There are a lot of people that I hope are eventually [voted off council] because they don't have the best interests of the young community, and it's a shame," she said.
After Monday's meeting, council member Kim Lusardi, another park supporter, announced that she would be resigning as chair of the property, supplies and planning committee, citing a lack of respect from the council and solicitor.
But she added that council's ruling on the skate park did not factor into her decision.
First Published October 8, 2009 12:00 am
