Seaside dumps mulch on skate park to keep kids from congregating

SEASIDE, Calif. (KION) Monterey County's shelter-in-place order means skate parks are closed. But not everyone is following the rules.

Until late Monday afternoon, mulch was covering the entire skate park in Seaside. But the mulch has since been pushed aside.

“Some hero came and swept it all," skater Hypex Eady said. "I don’t know who did it, but they gave us some room.”

And they left a broom for kids to continue clearing the space.

The City of Seaside dumped the mulch here in the first place to keep kids out of the skate park.

“You know, we’re just trying to make sure that they stay safe and healthy," Seaside Mayor Ian Oglesby said. "But that doesn’t mean they need to use the skate parks at this time.”

Mayor Oglesby said they were seeing too many kids gathering in groups there, especially over the weekend.

“They can skate on the sidewalk, or they could walk around the block," Oglesby said. "But what we don’t want—we don’t want kids congregating together.”

But that's not stopping local skaters.

“We’re young and I can’t really stay inside the house all day," Eady said. "It’s kind of hard.”

And they're not afraid of the consequences.

“In my mind, I don’t see myself getting caught, so there’s no risk in my head, even though it’s possible,” Eady said.

Mayor Oglesby said that on a first offense, the kids will get a talking to and their parents might be notified. For a second offense, they might face a fine.

But for now, these skaters said they'll continue using the space for as long as they can.

“If the cops come up, then we’ll probably dip,” Eady said.

They city said they'll clean off the mulch and reopen the park once it's safe.