Local skaters help cut the ribbon at the grand opening. City officials pictured: l-r Mayor Frank Ferry, Councilmember Laurie Ender, Parks Commisioner Duane Harte, Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste, Councilmember Marsha McLean, Parks Commissioner RuthAnn Levison, Parks Commissioner Ed Redd, City Manager Ken Pulskamp
Friday March 27 the Santa Clarita City Council opened the new Skatepark to an enormous crowd. The highly anticipated park was filled to capacity with thousands of skaters vying for an open section of concrete to grind, shred or otherwise occupy.
Local skaters came out in droves for the new park.
The grand opening drew a big response from the media including extreme sports television station Fuel TV.
Beyond the construction, the anticipation and the crowds it all came down to one thing, skating.
Publishers note: Since the original posting, “This Week in Santa Clarita” completed coverage which is added below.
City Councilmember Laurie Ender (front left), Councilmember Marsha McLean (center), and Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste (third from right) joined Assemblyman Cameron Smyth (back row right center) and others to show support for Smyth's AB 150
Assemblyman Cameron Smyth held a press conference earlier in the week to announce the introduction of Assembly Bill 150, which will provide a sales tax holiday for consumers who purchase products that carry the Energy Star designation. Councilmembers Ender and McLean along with Mayor Pro Tem Weste were on hand to voice their support to the bill.
AB 150 encourages the use of energy efficient products by providing an annual state sales tax “holiday” for consumers who purchase qualifying Energy Star products on the Saturday after Earth Day, beginning in 2010. By purchasing and using Energy Star products, households can reduce their energy use and save up to 30 percent, or $450 annually on average on their utility bills.
"Mayor Dude" Frank Ferry welcomed VIPs and over 30 lcoal kids who were contest winners from MayorDude.com to be among the fist to ride the new skatepark.
Mayor Frank Ferry and the Santa Clarita City Council welcomed skaters to a sneak preview of the City’s new 40,000 sq. ft. skatepark, at the Sports Complex Thursday ahead of the grand opening. Skaters, most of whom were selected via a contest on MayorDude.com, got to drop-in, grind, shred and generally explore the new park ahead of the large crowd that is expected today for the grand opening.
Today’s grand opening is scheduled for 3:30 at the new skatepark at the City’s Sports Complex. A few brief words will be spoken, pros will get a chance to demo the park and after that, the newest jewel in the City’s crown of excellent recreation offerings will be open to the public. The skatepark features lighting, enabling the park to be open into the night. The skatepark will close at 10 pm this evening.
A select few including skate pros where given a sneak preview of the park on Thursday.
Councilmember Bob Kellar with Santa Clarita Sheriff Captain Anthony LaBerge
The City hosted a special SCV Sheriff’s appreciation luncheon at the Santa Clarita Station Thursday. Santa Clarita City Councilmembers Bob Kellar and Marsha McLean joined Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste and “Mayor Dude” Frank Ferry as well as City department heads, including City Manager Ken Pulskamp, in expressing appreciation to the Sheriff’s Department, also recognizing the recent 14% drop in part-one crimes!
Sheriff's enjoyed a special barbeque as part of the City SCV Sheriff Appreciation Day.
Originally built by Newhall Land in the early 1990′s, when it was known simply as the “Valencia Town Center,” Santa Clarita’s mall was subsequently taken over by Westfield and is now undergoing a highly anticipated expansion called “the Patios.”
In an ongoing look at One Valley One Vision, the joint general plan between the City of Santa Clarita and the County of Los Angeles, the City has released a video focusing on correcting some misconceptions regarding the process and document. The video is the third in an ongoing information series. Future topics will look at the different elements of OVOV.
One Valley, One Vision began in 2000 and through the years has had input from hundreds of residents and community members.
The City of Santa Clarita will hold the 2009 Emergency Expo on Saturday, March 21 at College of the Canyons from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Expo, free of charge, is designed to help residents learn how to exercise Emergency Management through creating family plans, developing emergency kits and preparing for unexpected disaster.
Mayor Frank Ferry with Hart District's Bob Weber in front of the Hart Districts mobile command post.
The Hart School District recently applied for and was awarded a U.S. Department of Education / Homeland Security REMS Grant that has enabled them to expand their disaster preparedness plans for the district. One new addition, is the new mobile command post which will make its debut at the Emergency Expo.
Temporary Speed Humps located along Alaminos Road in Saugus
The installation of temporary speed humps in the community located near Benz Road in Saugus is complete. The traffic calming devices will be left in place for a total of six months while traffic engineers study their effectiveness in deterring cut-through traffic and reducing speeding in the area.
As the days count down to the new skatepark opening in the City of Santa Clarita on March 27, the City Council is opening the park a day early for one hour to 30 local skaters who will be selected from a contest on MayorDude.com.
