A rebel for his cause

Torus Tammer

To Fountain Valley resident Johnny Beutler, skateboarding is his life.

He first balanced on a skateboard at 5. For a living, he edits

skateboard films and takes photographs of skateboarders in action.

So it only makes sense that Beutler recently showed up at the City

Council meeting in support of the new designs of the Fountain Valley

Recreation Center’s skateboard park that is scheduled to be built on

city-owned property at Mile Square Park.

“That was the first council meeting I went to, and my mom came in with

me for support,” Beutler said. “I first heard about the Mile Square skate

park from my mom a few years ago after she had read it in the paper.”

Beutler, 25, said he had attended the meeting because he had heard

some people in the community were opposed to the skateboard park.

Beutler was concerned -- not only for himself, but for the other

skateboard enthusiasts who he thought may never see the amazing skate

park that architect David Volz designed.

But for Beutler, there would’ve been something worse than just losing

the opportunity to have a new arena in his hometown. He was concerned

about one of the reasons that the project may not have gone through --

the misnomer that many have about the skateboarding community.

“There is a huge myth about skaters and they don’t care about anyone

but themselves,” Beutler said. “I want people to know that for the most

part, they are just good kids and just want to skate.”

So, amid a sea of suits, Beutler stood casually, both in posture and

attire. He not only complimented the council members on their vision for

building such an arena but countered some earlier concerns of additional

noise -- considered by some to be an ominous by-product of the skate

park.

“I was inspired to stand up and say a few words because I wanted to

compliment the city on the awesome plans they had shown us for the park,”

Beutler said. “But I also wanted to clear some things up and let people

know that we are good people who love to skate and are excited to have

this facility in our city.”

Beutler adamantly added that skateboarding, being a solitary sport, is

not noisy enough to be bothersome. In fact, he pointed out, the Mile

Square Park project will house basketball courts as well as other

team-oriented facilities that are likely to be much noisier then

skateboarding.

Beutler also explained that additions to the skateboarding complex,

such as night lights, will provide a controlled area for the many who

currently use schools and business complexes because they have no other

legal place to go.

Jon McGee, manager of the popular skate shop in Huntington Beach

called HSS, agrees.

The Huntington Beach skate park -- built nearly 10 years ago -- is too

small and outdated, McGee said.

“The Fountain Valley skate park is a big deal because kids don’t have

places to skate in the Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach areas, so

they either get kicked out of places or get tickets,” McGee said.

City Engineer Mark Lewis said the city that assuming the City Council

approves the design next month, the entire park could be completed by

2003.

“At 24,000 square feet and costing $430,000, this would be one of the

largest of its kind in the county,” Lewis said. “I’m not a skateboarder,

but I know the ones that were built in the other communities were wildly

successful and we anticipate the same. “

With a possible wait of a few years taken into consideration, Beutler

still feels his first venture to City Hall was a success.

But he’s keeping his eye on the big picture.

“In the skate world, this facility would put Fountain Valley on the

map,” Beutler said. “But more importantly, it shows that the city is

making places for us to go and that shows that they care.”