A 1.65-acre piece of Pioneer Park in Paso Robles could eventually have a new owner. The city council voted to give potential buyers 90 days to submit proposals for a project of cultural significance, which could change the park, including the skatepark.
“Just hearing that right now, like, that this could potentially be shut down or tore down, it really does suck, and it kinda bums me out, said Paso Robles skateboarder Kristofer McReynolds.
McReynolds has been skating at Pioneer Parks skatepark since he was a little boy and still skates there today at least once a week. Hearing that part of the park, including the skatepark, could be sold and possibly changed or eliminated altogether, depending on the new owners vision and the citys final stamp, saddened him.
My older cousins would take me down here, and they taught me how to, like, kind of like do my first ollies and stuff like that, and so like I do remember like core memories with family. So, like, thinking back on those times is really cool, McReynolds said. There is nothing else like this around Paso.
The portion of Pioneer Park that could eventually be sold not only includes the skatepark, but the area where the public restrooms stand; however, it does not include the ballpark, basketball courts or parking area.
City leaders say while the city no longer needs this property, they havent made the decision to sell just yet. At the Oct. 20 city council meeting, in a 3-2 vote, the city just decided to accept proposals for the disposition of the property for projects of cultural significance, like a community center.
The Pioneer Museum Foundation, located directly next to Pioneer Park, is one entity that has expressed interest.
Basically, the museum is running out of room, said Pioneer Museum President Melody Mullis. We have thousands and thousands of artifacts; a lot of them arent out on exhibit now, so our display space is pretty much taken up. We would like to potentially purchase the property, and then some time down the line build a new building, so move some of the artifacts out into the public view.
This doesnt mean the original museum is going anywhere; it would just be expanding.
The museum says, for more than half a century, it has represented the Paso Robles pioneer spirit by collecting, maintaining and displaying artifacts that are from the local area.
It doesnt get much more cultural than that, Mullis said.
Should the museums proposal be the one accepted, the foundation says the extension they have in mind wouldnt happen for many years and not a lot would change.
Ill say that this is from me, from the Pioneer Museum is that nothing would happen to the skatepark, nothing would happen to the public restrooms. Those are the only two things left in the parcel were interested in, Mullis said.
The city will be accepting proposals until 5 p.m. on Jan. 19. After that, the council will decide which proposal, if any, to go with.