Paris officials told skateboarders the town would build them a park.
By Gail Geraghty
Staff Writer

PARIS – Spring has sprung, and skateboarders are out in force.

And they are frustrated, with good reason, several local leaders said Tuesday. The skateboard park they were promised has not been built.

The town agreed to give the land to SAD 17, which would maintain it. Police had agreed to police it.

“Skateboarding and rollerblading is a relatively new activity but it is a very legitimate activity,” said SAD 17 spokesperson John Parsons, the district’s former athletic director. “But we, as a community, haven’t provided a place for them” to skateboard, he said.

The park was supposed to be built last summer at Charles Street Park, across from the high school, but got hung up on delays in a $45,000 federal grant, Parsons said. Design and construction proposals are due this week, but “we may have to scale back” on the original plans, he added.

Norway has not chosen to ban skateboarders from the town’s parking lot behind Fare Share Market.

“It was a way to get them away from the more troublesome spots,” Town Manager David Holt. said. “Most of the time there’s not that many cars. But I wouldn’t want them to bother anybody.”

Generally, skateboarders behind the natural food store have been respectful of traffic and customers entering and leaving the store. Fare Share management had discussions about the issue since the store has the right to ban the skateboarders if it wishes to.

When a bench was smashed last summer, the skateboarders were asked to leave, said Fare Share spokesperson Lisa Moore.

“Fare Share has dealt with it when it is a safety or vandalism issue,” Moore said. “There’s such a need for them to have a safe place.”

Parsons said a dozen or so firms have expressed an interest in building the Charles Street skateboard park. He is also seeking proposals from contractors who utilize the database system used for school construction projects.

“We have a high degree of determination to have something in place for these kids by this summer,” he said. “We may have to scale back, but we’re committed.”