Update: New Port Royal playground vandalized; skate park to remain closed indefinitely
A recently opened Port Royal playground has been vandalized, leading the town to close the adjacent skate park.
Someone removed the steering wheel from the large wooden replica of a Spanish galleon, the centerpiece of the playground built last month in Naval Heritage Park. White spackle had also been thrown on the ship, town manager Van Willis said.
That, in addition to garbage strewn throughout the area, led the town to cordon off the skate park with crime tape and threaten anyone seen in the skate park with trespassing charges. The town is offering a reward for information about the vandalized ship.
Willis was prepared to reopen the skate park Tuesday afternoon but changed his mind after seeing the crime tape and signs torn down less than 24 hours after going up. The skate park will open when the trash in the area is picked up, he said.
"My staff will resume their cleanup efforts after the community that supposedly cares so much about this facility steps up and makes an effort," Willis said.
Closing the park skate park set off a debate on the town's Facebook page.
Someone suggested charging fees. Others said the town should police the area more heavily.
Some said the act penalizes skateboarders who aren't part of the problem and have nowhere else to go. Numerous people volunteered to meet to pick up trash.
"This is the wrong way and sends the kids a negative message!" John Michael Swearingen wrote on the Port Royal Facebook page. "I was one of those kids who went to this skatepark everyday growing up in Beaufort and when stuff like this happens it would push us into the streets and to skate in front of the local businesses where we are definitely (not) wanted!"
The park is policed regularly and trash picked up by town employees several days a week, Willis said. Charging to use the park would go against the requirement that Naval Heritage Park remain passive, Willis said.
There are security cameras at the skatepark, Willis said, but the equipment can't function without wireless internet and requires a device to store the recordings. The town is working on a solution to the cameras and plans to install lighting at the playground, he said.
Vandalism was a concern of members of the Port Royal Parks and Recreation Commission as they considered adding the playground, which was built with a budget of $25,000.
The new playground includes the ship, with slides and climbing nets, and several swings. The equipment was opened to the public last week, with an official ribbon-cutting planned Dec. 12.
The skate park has been shut down for similar issues in the past, including a period last year due to graffiti and rotted wood.
Parks and Recreation chairwoman Jane Abrams and Kit Bruce, who manages the popular Saturday farmers market in the park, said they had hoped the playground would provide extra eyes on the area.
Bruce said she didn't know of many instances of vandalism in the park in close to a decade managing the market other than some stolen picnic tables.
"It was irritating, but not that big a deal," Bruce said in August.
Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
Related content:
- Port Royal playground construction begins Monday, Nov. 6, 2015
- Kid stuff: Playground additions sought for Naval Park, Port Royal farmer's market, Aug. 26, 2015
- Teenagers comment: Playground to be built next to the skate park in Port Royal, Aug. 26, 2015
This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 9:26 AM with the headline "Update: New Port Royal playground vandalized; skate park to remain closed indefinitely."