For the second time in three months, the Greeneville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board voted Thursday to recommend increased enforcement of the rules at the Greeneville Skate Park.

The board approved a recommendation for a new city ordinance that would require violators -- primarily skaters who do not wear helmets -- to face fines and appear in city court.

The same recommendation was approved by the board in March.

Such an ordinance would require adoption by the Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen to become official.

City Recorder Jim Warner told the board on Thursday that Greeneville Police Chief Terry Cannon said his department does not have the manpower to enforce such an ordinance by regularly monitoring the skate park.

Cannon later said in an interview that his department has attempted to ban violators and tell them they can be charged with criminal trespassing, which can result in a jail sentence in state court.

The problem, Cannon said, is the difficulty in identifying those who have been banned, because they normally do not carry proper identification.

Cannon said officers can attempt to enforce a new ordinance, but only when officers are passing by the park and observe violators.

"If they pass an ordinance, we'll do what we can do to enforce it," Cannon said, "but to go over there and sit, I do not have the people to do that."

Board member Jack Blair started discussion on the skate park discussion by saying that the majority of skaters do not wear helmets, and some ride bicycles on the skating surface. Both actions are in violation of the skate park's posted rules.

"I don't know what the answer is, but it's going to be a further problem if we don't put some teeth in it," Blair said.

County Attorney Roger Woolsey asked what would happen if someone got hurt at the skate park and decided to sue the town.

"The only thing that's worse than not having rules, is having rules that you don't enforce," Woolsey said.

Also related to the skate park, Butch Patterson, director of the city's Parks and Recreation Department, said an individual had scheduled a competition at the park without prior approval from the Parks and Recreation department.

Chairman Wayne Phillips said the board had never discussed fees for reserving the skate park.

Patterson said the swimming pools are reserved for $100 per two hours.

Warner added that organizers of public events must show proof of at least $1 million in liability insurance.

The city reocrder told the board that it could discuss its skate park concerns with the Tennessee Municipal League, which is scheduled to meet in a workshop with the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on July 1.

In other business, the board had lengthy discussion on the cleaning schedule for the restrooms at EastView Recreation Center.

The restrooms are cleaned by personnel from the Public Works Department, where the maintenance staff recently was transferred from the Parks and Recreation Department.

Blair asked how often the restrooms are cleaned. Patterson replied that they are cleaned on Thursdays and Sunday nights.

He added that a supervisor from the Public Works Department checks the restrooms daily and calls for someone from Public Works to clean them, if needed.

Blair said cleaning twice a week is not enough.

"I don't think there's any excuse for not having this facility clean, as much as it's used," Blair said.

During the discussion, Warner called David Martin, the county's Public Works director, who came to the meeting to hear the concerns.

"We were doing what we thought was needed to keep it clean," Martin said.

Patterson also expressed concern about the large "tote" garbage containers that have been placed at the swimming pools at Hardin Park and EastView.

They are the same type containers used for residential garbage that are lifted by the town's automated garbage trucks.

Both Patterson and Martin said they do not know who placed the totes at the pools.

Patterson said the lifeguards cannot lift the amount of garbage that fills a tote, and the Public Works Department will only empty them once a week without charging an extra fee.

The board's concern was that garbage sitting in a container for a week attracts bees that can be hazardous to swimming pool users.

Board member Bill Isbell said the garbage should be emptied daily when the pools are open.

Isbell asked Martin to replace the totes with smaller garbage cans that can be easily emptied daily by the lifeguards.

The other maintenance issue that was expressed to Martin was the need to maintain the ballfields during the coming youth tournaments at Hardin Park.

The tournaments, scheduled from June 29 to July 24, will include more than 30 teams from across the state, Patterson said.

The board briefly discussed the need to purchase a laptop computer for concessions inventory, which was approved in May.

Warner said he needs to receive three telephone quotes on prices before the laptop can be purchased.

The board also discussed the need to renegotiate or rebid the soft-drink contract for concessions.

Patterson also said that the old lights that recently were replaced at Optimist Field will be reused at Legion Field.