«No one is taking care of it», — councillor Stepanets accused officials of neglecting the skate park on Kherson Highway
- News of Mykolaiv
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- Darina Melnychuk
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18:20, 29 January, 2026
Regular session of the Mykolaiv City Council, photo: NikVestiYurii Stepanets, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council, stated that officials are not taking care of city facilities. As an example, he cited the skate park on Kherson Highway in Mykolaiv, which, according to him, has been in a state of disrepair for a long time.
The issue was discussed during a session of the Mykolaiv City Council on 29 January, according to NikVesti.
During his speech, Yurii Stepanets emphasised the responsibility of the authorities for the maintenance of public spaces.
«If people want to create beautiful locations in this city, and officials do not take care of this, then it is not a problem of people who want and create something beautiful in this city, but a problem of who and how takes care of it,» said Yurii Stepanets.
However, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said that the problem lies not only in the work of officials, but also in the attitude of residents towards public property.
«Well, you've already gone down a slippery slope here. Let me give you an example. Just recently, we discussed an issue in Ternivka. The skate park was vandalised: someone came at night or in the evening, broke the skate park, and stuffed rubbish under it. I wonder if it was the Central District administration that did this, or if they came from Inhulskyi district?" replied the mayor.
«And on Kherson Highway, there is a skate park where children have been skating for two or three years on broken equipment. This is not a question for the children,» objected Yurii Stepanets.
«And it was broken, I'm telling you, probably by the Inhulskyi or Central administration,» interrupted the mayor.
The condition of the skate park as of March 2025. Photo: NikVestiThe deputy responded by emphasising that the facility had not been maintained for three or four years. Summing up the discussion, Oleksandr Sienkevych called for attention to be paid to the culture of using public property.
«Come on, they didn't maintain it, they stuffed rubbish in there too, they 'took care' of it. It's not a rubbish dump, it's a skate park. Maybe people need to take a little care and look after the property they won in the public budget, which they voted for. I am sure that it was not people from Varvarivka who came there to break things and throw rubbish around. So, I'm sorry, but we need to work on educating children and people, rather than blaming officials for everything,» concluded the mayor.
As a reminder, repairs to the skate park on Kherson Highway in Mykolaiv are scheduled to begin in mid-March this year, weather permitting.
Earlier, NikVesti reported that 100% of the equipment at the skate park on Kherson Highway needs to be replaced. However, in 2025, the balance holder only had funds for partial repairs.
The skate park was opened in September 2020 with public funds. At that time, almost 1 million hryvnias were allocated for its construction. The site is designed for cycling, skateboarding and rollerblading, and there are also elements for performing tricks. Since its opening, no major repairs have been carried out on the facility.
In 2024, the skate park was transferred to the balance sheet of the municipal enterprise Pilot.
This material was created within the framework of the project «Supporting the Sustainability of Ukrainian Media», which is implemented by the international organization Internews with financial support from Sweden. The content of the material is the sole responsibility of the NGO «Mykolaiv Media Hub» and does not necessarily reflect the official position of Sweden or Internews.