Seattle Public Utilities has been installing a lid atop the Myrtle Street Reservoir to protect the water supply, which opens up an opportunity for a new park atop the city's highest hill.

About 70 people met at the High Point Community Center last week to talk about what to include in the park and most of the discussion rolled through whether to include a skateboarding facility. Many people who live near the reservoir oppose building anything for skateboarding, but there were also numerous pro-skateboarding adults as well as teenagers at the meeting who supported it.

As it now stands, no skateboarding facilities are planned for the Myrtle Reservoir Park and there's no money in the $668,000 construction budget for any. Nevertheless, much of the meeting was devoted to the pros and cons of including skateboarding features.

At a public meeting last March, the majority of attendees were opposed to any skateboarding facilities at the new park. Instead, they wanted a viewpoint, pathways, picnic tables, a rain garden, amphitheater and other so-called passive activities.

The new facilities are planned for the northern end of the property along Southwest Willow Street. The land drops from Myrtle to Willow streets at about a 20 percent slope.

Although the new lid over the reservoir will have 2 feet of dirt with grass, no athletic fields or play structures will be built on it. The turf would have to be fertilized and that could pollute the reservoir, explained Virginia Hassinger, project manager.

No restrooms or public art projects are included either.

The site's existing structures - two water towers, utility vault, chlorine building and service road - will remain with 12-foot chainlink fences around the buildings.

Early in the meeting, a man suggested a raised-hand vote among attendees on whether to include skateboarding. But Hassinger derailed the idea saying the final decision will be up to officials at Seattle Parks and Recreation. If there seems to be public support for skateboarding, the possibility of including some skateboarding features could resurface in the future, Hassinger said.

Neighbors of the park are concerned that skateboarding would create noise and attract criminal activity. One man said his son is a police officer who warned him that skateparks draw drug dealers in search of customers.

Late-night drinking is already a recurring problem at the site, said a woman who lives nearby. Discarded liquor bottles are often left behind there.

Some attendees pointed out that High Point already has a lot of playfields with public restrooms that are only one block away from the new park.

Other opponents said they weren't against skateboarding, but they want more green space and less concrete in the park.

Meanwhile other attendees were supportive of including skateboarding and quoted portions of a 2007 citywide skatepark planning study that recommended a large skateboard park be built somewhere in High Point or that a smaller facility be constructed at the Myrtle Street reservoir.

A half-dozen teenage boys and a girl spoke in favor of building skateboarding features. They complained of having to travel to Ballard or Burien to skateboard. They also asked if it would be OK if private citizens raised money to build such facilities at the site and were happy to hear that is allowed.

They were supported by at least three men who said they've been skateboarding for 30 years and are still challenged to find places to enjoy their sport.

Other adults at the meeting said the city builds plenty of play structures for little kids and lots of playfields for adults, but hardly any city facilities are built for teens.

"When are we going to start building places for kids to get healthy activity?" asked another adult who supported inclusion of skateboarding features at Myrtle Reservoir Park.

Another adult skateboarding supporter urged people not to close the door on skateboarding at the park because it would mean a missed opportunity.

"These kids have nowhere to go," he said. "If we just say no in typical Seattle fashion, we'll never have anything."

Some anti-skatepark attendees wondered if their previous opposition to a skatepark is being ignored by the city. They wanted to know why their previous objections hadn't already snuffed out the skateboarding idea altogether.

The pro-skateboarding people pointed to the citywide skatepark study and its recommendation to include skateboarding facilities at the Myrtle Reservoir Park.

One man recalled the 10-year-old Morgan Junction Neighborhood Plan, which envisioned a "green crescent" of parks around the neighborhood. It too includes a recommendation to build skateboarding facilities.

Two more public meetings are planned before construction, which is scheduled for this fall. New grass for the park probably will be sown in spring 2009, Hassinger said.

Tim St. Clair can be contacted at timstc@robinsonnews.com or (206) 932-0300.