CYPRESS : City Checks Hockey Play at City Hall

Eric Rasmussen thought he had found the perfect hockey rink.

After being kicked out of local parks and harassed by the police, the Lexington Junior High student discovered a slab of concrete that seemed perfect for roller-blade hockey.

But unknown to the budding player, the makeshift rink was beneath the City Council chambers. On Monday, Rasmussen learned that hockey and politics don’t mix. The council passed an ordinance declaring the area off-limits to the game.

“We have tried to live with this,” said City Manager Darrell Essex about the games being played under the city building. “But it has gone too far. It was not designed as a hockey rink.”

What started as a location for small pick-up games had grown into an around-the-clock sports complex, conveniently located beneath the large concrete stilts that support the council chambers. City officials said the games caused damage to city property and disrupted city business.

Armed with a videotape of puck-damaged walls and trampled bushes, Essex told the council that the hockey players had destroyed city property. Electrical cords had been damaged, a storage room was broken into, and there was also evidence that players had urinated in public, he said. And then there was the noise.

“We do have activity in this building that does require protection of sound,” Essex told the council, adding that some of the players challenged city employees when they were asked to quiet down or leave.

While Essex presented his case Monday, Eric and four other junior high students gathered for their nightly game, unaware that their fate was about to be decided just over their heads.

Dozens of players or spectators ranging in age from elementary school students to adults can be found at almost any time at the makeshift rink. Some come to play while others come just to watch.

It is those who aren’t involved in the games who create the problems, the players argue. Alerted to the subject of the council meeting, they trooped into the chambers with skates, hockey sticks and shoulder pads, Eric and his companions took turns skating to the lectern to plead their case to the council.

“You showed a lot of bad stuff that isn’t done by the hockey players,” Billy Geddes said. “It keeps people off the streets and off drugs.”

Despite the players’ arguments, the council unanimously decided to shut down the rink. “I do agree that playing hockey is a great sport, but the real issue is the damage to the City Council chambers,” Councilwoman Cecilia L. Age said.

Penalties for violating the ordinance begin at $25 for a first offense, are $50 for a second and $100 for a third. The ordinance does not go into effect until the city posts signs. However, the council did maintain its right to use the area for city-sponsored events.

After refusing to continue the matter until the players could bring their parents to their defense, the council vowed to work with the students to find an alternative site.

“Roller-blading is not going to disappear,” Councilwoman Gail H. Kerry said.

However, Marvin DeCarlo, city director of recreation and parks, reported that his department had explored possible alternative sites last year but were unsuccessful. Also, City Atty. Jerry M. Patterson reported that the city could be liable if one of the players was injured on city property.