When Santa Maria’s only skatepark’s ramps and equipment suddenly disappeared, the skating community was frustrated and angry, community advocate Dan Pankratz said.
“Word had later gotten back to us saying the city wasn’t getting rid of the ramps, but planned to fix them and put them back. [That’s] all good, but it didn’t ease the frustration with nobody reaching out to us to find out what we want,” Pankratz said. “It’s not the city’s fault; it’s not their wheelhouse to do that, but this is our opportunity to speak to the city and say, ‘Hey, we want to be a part of a solution to bring better skateboarding to Santa Maria.’”
The first step was to advocate for skateboarders’ needs at Fletcher Park during the April 12 Santa Maria Recreation and Parks community meeting—which Pankratz and fellow skater Ben Cabreana promoted, Pankratz said. About 30 skateboarding community members showed up in support or to speak, he said.
“The main takeaway was that Recreation and Parks was willing to work with the skateboarding community to create something they could be really proud of. The current skateboard park was not made by skaters but by a manufacturing company selling ramps. No one was there to counsel the city and say, ‘This is what we need,’” he added.
Pankratz and Cabreana are working to unify their community’s voice by creating a nonprofit organization so they can better collaborate with the city.
“Ben and I are going to sit down and figure out what we are willing to do as an organization to foster the skate community, whether it’s putting on skate contests, or lessons for the city or the Boys & Girls Club, because skateboarding has become something that anyone can do and it’s a positive outlet for a lot of people,” he said.
Cabreana—a 35-year-old Santa Maria native—said the meeting showed promise for skatepark improvements, but the work is not complete.
“Just like with anything else, there are uphill battles. We aren’t entirely on the same page, and it’s a lot of compromise to meet in the middle. We aren’t city officials and they aren’t skateboarders: It’s going to be hard to resonate,” he said. “The meeting was a positive thing, and the conversation did not fall on deaf ears. It did make an impact on people involved with city things, and I’m looking forward to what is happening next.”
Recreation Services Manager and interim Assistant Director Dennis Smitherman said Recreation and Parks hopes to collaborate with the skaters as they make improvements to Fletcher Park.
“What our goal is for the future is to work with a contractor who builds those ramps and skate equipment and get the skateboarders on the line with us so we can have a virtual meeting to discuss what their interests are and design a park that is suitable for all ages,” he said.
The April 12 meeting highlighted a new demand for the Leisure Needs Assessment—a five- to eight-year plan that develops goals and objectives based on the community’s wants for their parks.
“[Skateboarding] wasn’t a high item when we did the original assessment, and based on the input with the skateboarders—as with any group—if we have the ability we will do our best to assist in those areas beneficial to the community,” Smitherman said.
Fletcher Park’s ramps are undergoing maintenance—something Smitherman admitted should have been better communicated with the skateboarders—and the skatepark should be up and running by July if everything is repaired on time and there aren’t supply chain issues, he added.
People can send input or questions to rpinfo@cityofsantamaria.com.
This article appears in Apr 21-28, 2022.