Town halts skateboard ramp use

Jeremy Trasser said the 13.5-foot tall vertical ramp he built in his Town of Grafton barn — the tallest publicly-accessible half pipe in the country — has become a vital training ground for a handful of area skateboarders and a community asset.

The ramp drew big crowds for a “Barn Bash” competition in October and has been ridden by skating pros Tony Hawk and Tom Schaar.

But town officials have concerns.

Last week, the Town Board sent Trasser a cease and desist letter barring future events and ordering him to stay away from the ramp until it is compliant with building codes.

“There’s nothing in the code that provides for what he is doing there,” Town Chairman Lester Bartel said, adding  Trasser did not get any permits to build the ramp that cost him $21,000 and took 10 months to build.

Bartel said Trasser may not have to demolish the ramp, but the first step is bringing a structural engineer out to study its stability.

Although Trasser said he doesn’t fully understand the town’s issue with the ramp, he hopes to work out the code problems.

“They’re kind of trying to chase me out. It’s my ramp in my barn. It shouldn’t be an issue,” he said. “That this is such a big deal, I can’t even fathom. It feels so trivial.”

Bartel said the town is mainly concerned about legal liability if someone is injured on the ramp.

“Say your child went to skate there and something collapses that may not have been built right. Who would you sue? You would sue the town because you’d ask, ‘Why did you allow this and didn’t stop it?’” he said, adding the town has the deepest pockets, making it a prime target for a lawsuit.

Trasser shares the town’s concern about injuries. He incorporated Midwest Vert Ramp as a business to try to offset potential liability.

“That is the last thing I would want, for someone to get hurt due to my negligence — I would feel horrible,” he said.

Bartel said the town’s action may actually help Trasser since he could be in major trouble in case of a lawsuit.

“We might be saving his bacon,” Bartel said.

The town should be able to work out the code violations with Trasser, allowing him to use it as a private ramp, Bartel said. However, any commercial use for the barn is out of the question.

The 1910 barn is on a quarter-acre of residential property at 2319 Hwy. W, where Trasser plans to build a home. It does not meet zoning requirements for rezoning either as agricultural or commercial and is not eligible for a variance, Bartel said.

Trasser discussed potentially purchasing a neighboring lot to get around rezoning limitations stemming from the lot’s small size.

Trasser has sold shirts, collected donations and maintained open hours for the ramp. During the Barn Bash, he offered campsites on his property.

Bartel said Trasser needs to decide how he plans to use the ramp and see how that stacks up with the town code.

“He has to decide what he wants to do with Midwest Vert Ramp as a business,” he said.

Midwest Vert Ramp received a picnic permit for the Barn Bash, although town staff members noted the business did not exist at the time Trasser submitted the application.

Trasser built the ramp for his son, Leif, who hopes to become a professional skater. The Trassers would previously have to drive five or six hours to go to Minneapolis or Detroit, where the nearest vertical ramps are located, to practice his tricks.

Now, semi-professional skaters who faced the same dilemma come from across the state to the ramp, some driving more than two hours, Trasser said. There are a handful of skaters who come regularly.

“To the people it’s important to, it’s very important,” he said. “My objective is to grow the sport and have athletes benefit.”

The Grafton community has also made use of the ramp and supported it, Trasser said. The Barn Bash was sponsored by several local businesses.

“It’s fantastic how people hear about it and want to help,” he said, adding that businesses reached out to him afterward to say they’d sponsor a future event.

Trasser said he talked about his plans for the ramp with his neighbors before building it. He said they’ve been some of its most vocal supporters.

“Before I do anything I float the idea to my neighbors and they can raise any concerns. I want to keep everyone happy,” he said. “I don’t want to upset or irate or be a nuisance of any sort to my neighbors.”

Bartel said the town has received no complaints about the ramp but has received a lot of messages in support of Trasser.

Bartel said he wishes Trasser had come to the Town Board and laid out his plans for the ramp from the start. He questioned how Trasser, who is a licensed electrician, could have neglected to pull permits.

“This isn’t to cast a dark light on the ramp,” he said. “It’s a cool thing if it was done properly. Absolutely.”

The cease and desist letter also ordered the removal of a deck installed on the barn by Trasser out of code and without permits.