On Sept. 19, the Scotty Lapp Skatepark was approved to be built by the Corte Madera Town Council. Former Redwood student Scotty Lapp tragically lost his life in February of 2022 in a skiing accident.
“In [the] fall of 2021, [Scotty] told me that he and his friends didn’t have anywhere to skate,” said Amy Lapp, Scotty’s mother. “The closest skate park was a 30 to 45-minute drive away. So, I told them that I would [get a skatepark installed] over the winter while ski season was happening.”
Scotty passed away before the end of the ski season. This devastating event sparked the movement for his mother, Amy Lapp, to finally build that skatepark in memory of her son.
Despite experiencing severe grief after her son’s passing, Amy remained determined in her goal.
“I believe minutes after Scotty died, I just said, ‘We’re going to build a skatepark,’” Amy said.
“We went to the mayor and the town council of Corte Madera and got a unanimous thumbs up. So we’re now full steam ahead, working with [the organization] California Skateparks,” Amy said.
Amy’s friend, Mark Holstrom, began a fundraiser for the park on GoFundMe and within six weeks, it raised over $200,000, far surpassing the original $50,000 goal.
Amy realized the regulations for building a new park in Tahoe were very strict and worked tirelessly for the past year and a half to find an available piece of property to build on. This pursuit ultimately led Amy to look towards Marin, the community they were part of prior to moving to Tahoe.
Sophomore Jasper Hauth is an avid skater who spoke at the town council board meeting regarding the creation of this new skatepark.
“It is really important that younger skaters have the opportunity [for] a new and better skatepark,” Hauth said. “The Mill Valley skatepark is probably going to close because [Mill Valley Middle School] needs more space. The Marin City one is closed. If the [Mill Valley skatepark] closes, a lot of people will come to the Corte Madera one.”
Senior Ashley Martin is an active volunteer for the Scotty Lapp Foundation. Martin is excited about this revamped skatepark with hopes that it will benefit the Corte Madera community.
“The biggest thing about skating is that it’s so inclusive for all ages and all abilities or backgrounds,” Martin said.
Senior Eme Atherton, a longtime friend of Scotty also supports the idea of the skatepark.
“It’s not only a place to honor him, but also a place to join all the people that he loved and be together as if he were here,” Atherton said.
Additionally, many students have plans to utilize the park beyond just skating.
“Honestly, I will go there [to] just sit and listen to music. It’ll be a place to remember everything that he was,” Martin said.
