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MPRB District 5 Candidates
NO RESPONSE from Charles Rodgers, Jr.
1) Describe your personal experience with skateboarding.
Have you ever been a skateboarder? Do you personally know any skateboarders? What is your general perception of the activity?
Steffanie Musich – I know a lot of skateboarders, ranging in age from grade school to their 50’s. Skateboarding is a mode of transportation and multi faceted sport allowing for different styles of individual engagement with skateable features of the built environment of our city. The early public skateparks built in parks lack the quality of elements that lead to durability and safe use while learning to ride.
2) Skateboarding has always had an appeal to youth and kids, but after many decades, skateboarding is now a multigenerational activity (ages 3-60+ years). Minneapolis needs more opportunities for our citizens to be outside, active and creative in community social spaces.
Do the communities you would represent have existing quality, accessible and visible skateboard spaces at the moment?
Steffanie Musich – No.
3) Women and men will compete in 2 new skateboard events at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. Skateboarding is seen by many as a worldwide equity activity that has little barrier to participation.
Do you see a connection between skateboarding and social, racial, gender, and economic equity? If so, please share a few thoughts.
Steffanie Musich – Yes, the low cost of participation – access to a skateboard- provides a great opportunity for entrance into an athletic pursuit that can enrich lives and build confidence while enhancing physical and mental health for a lifetime.
4) Skateboarding is an individual challenging activity that can be done alone, but flourishes at community public skateparks that also can work within our COVID-19 era of social distancing.
How will you support skateboarding, skateparks, and what other ideas, proposals do you support to serve all youth?
Steffanie Musich – I support seeking grants and non-traditional sources of funding to supplement the capital improvement program funding available to implement skate parks.
5) In 2018 MPRB approved a Skate Park Activity Plan that was a 5 year process that began in 2013 with a Community Steering Committee. Additionally, with the completion of MPRB citywide Master Planning in 2020, 20+ skatepark and skateboard spaces have been approved system wide.
Will you support funding to help complete the MPRB Skate Park Activity Plan and the 20+ spaces already designated to provide safe skateboard/wheeled spaces for youth and communities? Are you willing to champion an annual line item on the MPRB CIP directly for new, improved and accessible skatepark facilities in the high equity rated parks for prioritizing recreational youth development?
Steffanie Musich – I’m not sure how this would work within the defined capital improvement project data driven ranking process that is meant to equitably distribute funding to neighborhood and regional parks and would be interested in hearing more from City of Skate on this topic.