BAGUIO CITY – The city council confirmed the memorandum of agreement executed by the city government and the 2600 Baguio Sayote Powers Skateboarding Organization for the temporary use of the distal portion of the biking lane in Burnham Park as their skate park.
However, the council recommended to the local chief executive to provide safety measures to the skateboarders and the bikers by placing sufficient boundary markets to separate the biking lanes from the skateboarding area so as not to pose a threat to their safety when doing their respective activities.
Under the agreement signed between Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan and Tommy Tayaotao, president of the 2600 Baguio Sayote Powers Skateboarding Organization, the city government shall support the group in their field of sports as a way of diverting their members from drugs, gambling, prostitution and other nefarious activities besetting the present society by allowing and granting the temporary use of the distal portion of the biking lane in Burnham Park as skate park, provided that, the area mentioned is not reserved for city activities or allowed activities.
On the other hand, the group shall use the area mentioned as skate park and there is no instant or circumstance that it will be used for nefarious activities and that the organization shall ensure that no more skateboarding shall be conducted in any other city parks and places such as Rizal Park Complex, Insular Life building vicinity, other parts of Burnham Park, Sunshine Park, Upper Wright Park, Veterans Park, Malcolm Square, Ground Zero Park, except in the allowed area mentioned in Burnham Park.
Further, the organization shall maintain peace and order among members and with the general public and its members shall abide with existing city ordinances on comprehensive smoking, gambling and other non-conforming activities based on Administrative Order No. 021, series of 2015.
The agreement also prohibits the organization from installing permanent fixtures or paraphernalia and all obstacles shall be properly stowed away and safe kept to avert any potential untoward incidents and the group shall at all times keep the area clean, orderly and neat.
Moreover, the agreement also bans the members of the group from unnecessary shouting and that they shall strictly comply with all sanitary ordinances, rules and regulations now existing or which may herein after be adopted and promulgated by the city.
The group committed that its members are willing to help the city remove and erase graffiti in the city, conduct clean-up activities, provided that, the city shall provide the needed materials and that the group is also obliged to coordinate with Burnham Park offices for regular updates on use of the area or city scheduled activities.
In case the city will embark on developing the area, the group agreed that it shall voluntarily leave the area and it also guaranteed that any violation of the terms and conditions of the agreement will mean the automatic termination of the granted privilege.
By Dexter A. See
