Update: Port Royal skate park reopens after clean-up effort

Fair warning to would-be Naval Heritage Park vandals and litterers: In the future, there could be more eyes on your activity.

At least that's the hope after a group of volunteers picked up trash, swept and scrubbed graffiti on Saturday in order to reopen the Port Royal skate park.

The skate park was closed last week after a new playground was vandalized and trash was found throughout the area. During the clean-up, which included members of town council and town manager Van Willis, an agreement was reached that those who use the park pick up trash and report vandalism or other suspicious activity.

"We all had a talk with all of them, telling them it's up to them, they need to keep the park clean," said Ashley Shoemaker, who helped recruit volunteers. "If you're going to skate here, it's part of your duty."

Voluneers might start a monthly clean-up, said Jared Lewis, one of the first to offer to clean the park. He said the group was invited to Port Royal Town Council meetings to keep communication open.

By about lunchtime Saturday, the skate park was humming with wheels again and some of its users picked up what was left of the yellow caution tape. With the help of a parent, Shoemaker repaired some of the ramps that were sticking up dangerously.

The graffiti on the ramps wouldn't come off after using paint thinner and scrubbing. But stickers on the ramps were removed and someone used sandpaper to remove white spackle from the wooden ship on the playground. The park was clean when Shoemaker returned Sunday.

The park, also site of a Saturday farmers market, recently received the $25,000 playground to provide an outlet for smaller children. Not long after the facility opened, someone removed the steering wheel from a replica wooden galleon and the spackle was found on the ship.

"We discussed some concerns from both parties, and have some plans in place to keep the lines of communication open so we can continue to offer this free Skate Park to the Beaufort County Residents," the town posted to its Facebook page.

Security cameras at the skate park aren't currently operational and will require wireless internet and a storage device, Willis said last week, steps he said the town is working toward.

Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.

This story was originally published December 7, 2015 at 9:02 AM with the headline "Update: Port Royal skate park reopens after clean-up effort."