At 14, he's a visionary St. Cloud official

Austin Lee

The newest appointee to St. Cloud's Park and Recreation Board wears a dress shirt and tie to meetings with the mayor, and regularly lugs in project blueprints and other charts needed to do the job.

But first, Austin Lee has to put away his skateboard. He's 14 years old. With his four-year appointment to the board in July, the Apollo High School freshman is the youngest-ever voting member of any St. Cloud municipal board.

"Austin was well-prepared, respectful, articulate, full of know-how, energy and drive ... by far the best appointment I've ever made," said Mayor Dave Kleis.

Austin, who has a passion for skateboarding and punk rock, has dreamed for nearly three years of a new skate plaza in St. Cloud. So, at a July 4th celebration, he approached the mayor.

Kleis handed the 5-foot, 1-inch teen his card and told Austin to call sometime.

Austin called the next day.

"I said, 'Do you understand that one of the challenges that go with projects like this is cost?' " Kleis said. "And he said, 'I'm not asking for money. I'm just trying to help the city.'

"How could I not be impressed? When does a mayor ever hear anything like that?"

Scouring the country

The kid who rarely used a computer and "was never into school work very much" spent the following week scouring websites, doing "nonstop research" of skate parks across the continent, said his mother, Charlotte Lee.

Austin also discussed potential sponsors, local companies whose names could be displayed at a 40,000-square-foot skate plaza -- much like the way major corporations buy naming rites to major-league stadiums.

"He had dollar amounts, charts, graphs of what other cities had done," Kleis said. "I was blown away."

In deciding to appoint Austin, Kleis said, he was floored by an honest innocence that he hopes Austin will still have by the time his four-year term ends -- around the time he graduates from high school.

"I told the mayor that one of the benefits of a skate plaza is it would provide a safe place for all the kids who skate illegally downtown," Austin said. "I know. I'm one of those kids.

"I see stairs or a handrail and I think, 'I'd like to try skating on that,' " said Austin, who has been skateboarding for three years. "But merchants don't want kids skating on their property all day. So I thought it would be neat to build an urban skate plaza that would appeal to street skaters."

Firsthand research

The concrete plaza, projected to cost more than $600,000, is scheduled for the Lake George Park area and may take five years to build. Austin could be off to college by then, but his fellow Park Board members are taking Austin and his ideas very seriously.

"He's got a fire in his belly," said Parks Director Prentiss Foster, 61. "We've done a lot of research over the years, but I haven't even rollerbladed. He knows what he's talking about."

Austin knows enough not to waste board members' time by asking if they like bands such as Anti Flag, or other punk-rock groups he enjoys. Instead, he always wears a tie to meetings and never arrives on a skateboard -- "because I want them to take me seriously, and by the time the meetings are over at night, it's cold out."

Instead, he dazzles other board members with knowledge and drive. He spent last Sunday visiting skate parks in Chanhassen and four other Minnesota communities. And the kid whose only work experience was a paper route has not been afraid to ask local businesses to offer donations.

Grinding it out

Austin's older brother, Brandon, 15, has been supportive. Younger sister Roseanna, 10, a skateboarder, is intrigued. As for parents Jeff and Charlotte? "Austin's blown our socks off," Charlotte said.

Austin, who says he weighs 90 pounds, has suddenly become a St. Cloud heavyweight. But he says he's not trying to impress anybody.

"I just want a place where I can grind some rails," he said.

PAUL LEVY • 612-673-4419

Paul Levy • plevy@startribune.com