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Skate park ribbon-cutting set for May 10; commission debates lighting and park closing times
Summary
City staff said the new skate park will have a public ribbon cutting on May 10 but will not include lighting due to funding limits. Commissioners discussed park closing times (park rules say parks close at dusk, a speaker noted) and whether lighting should be standardized or limited to targeted levels for safety and dark-sky concerns.
City staff notified the commission of a ribbon-cutting event for the skate park on May 10 and confirmed the park was built without lighting because funds were not available for lights.
A staff member said lighting was considered during design but the city lacked funding to install lights. “That is correct. They were… discussed as part of the design contract, but we did not have the funding to support lighting,” the staff member said.
Commissioners and other members debated whether parks are to close at dusk and how lighting affects usage and enforcement. One member said parks are supposed to close at dusk and that being in a park after hours could be trespass under Ohio law; another commissioner suggested subdued or targeted lighting as an alternative to full lighting to balance public use and dark-sky concerns.
The commission did not change policy. Staff said park-hours enforcement and any future lighting would be addressed separately and may require city-manager and commission-level discussion; the Sandusky Education Foundation was cited by a speaker as having raised funds for lights at other recreational courts, but staff said no funding or plans for skate-park lighting are in place.
