The Core Group and the Skatepark Advisory Committee may seem identical, but they’re not. They are separate groups and have different tasks, but they will meet regularly.
Core Group
This group is comprised of local skaters and those that have no reservations about the skatepark mission. The core group is the engine that powers the entire skatepark movement.
Skatepark Advisory Committee
This group is an assembly of members representing other organizations. The SAC has representatives from the Core Group, the City, and other municipal and civic organizations. The SAC can be thought of as the director or navigator for the Core Group’s activities.
Skatepark Advisory Committee Meetings
In some ways, the first skatepark advisory committee (SAC) meeting is more demanding than the city council meeting. This is the committee where actual planning gets done. You will leave this meeting with specific goals and tasks.
Your first task, well before the meeting starts, is to invite attendees and propose a time and place.
The location should be somewhere near City Hall, and maybe even IN City Hall. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are best for regularly recurring meetings. Mornings are generally better as they won’t impact regular work schedules. 8 AM is a good time. This may be challenging for students, but it’s not critical that every member of the core group attend the SAC meetings. It is much more valuable to work around the City official’s availability.
You should schedule your meetings for an hour, but it’s likely that 30 minutes is all your city officials have time for.
You will want the first SAC meetings to be small. Eventually you can add more people, but first you need to establish some fundamental direction. A typical early SAC meeting might include:
- 1-3 members of the core group of skatepark advocates
- Mayor (in small towns) or City Council member (in medium-sized towns) or community liaison (in large cities)
- Parks Director (in small towns) or Parks Commissioner (in larger towns) or parks planner (in large cities)
You may find yourself in the position of running the meeting. If that’s the case, you’ll be responsible for setting the agenda. For your first meeting, your agenda should look something like this:
- Quick round-table introductions
- Key questions:
- What is our local process for capital improvements?
- What unique challenges will the skatepark project face?
- What are our first steps?
- What should we do before our next meeting?
- Briefly review the key points covered
- Confirm the date, time and location of the next meeting
That should do it! These are big questions that can easily take up your entire meeting.
Your committee’s long-term goals should include the following:
- Plan for introducing the skatepark(s) plan to the community
- Measuring community support
- Media opportunities (garnering press coverage)
- The city’s obligations and how to pursue them
- Fundraising overview (formal funding strategy to come later)
Your core group is formed, you have been recognized by the city, have met with representatives from the city, and are ready to take the next important step.
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