MISSION BEACH – Belmont Park’s iconic Giant Big Dipper Roller Coaster is unsafe, one Mission Beach resident says.
Kevin Payne, a water-damage technician living near Belmont Park, made the claims at the Mission Beach Town Council meeting earlier this month. He also presented numerous other accusations to the council of alleged wrongdoing at the popular oceanfront amusement park.
Payne told the MBTC he has established a website outlining alleged violations at the park that he claims the city is refusing to enforce.
Afterward, Payne’s allegations were branded as being entirely without substance by a Belmont Park official.
Steve Thomas, Belmont Park’s president and general manager, said of the century-old Giant Dipper Roller Coaster: “We have a dedicated maintenance team working on it non-stop re-profiling the track, replacing its support structure, and making sure it is within engineering tolerances because it gets lots of wear and tear throughout the year.
“Being a wooden roller coaster, it takes a lot of maintenance; it’s very normal.”
He added that third-party inspectors come out to look over the rides for safety issues annually.
In another allegation, Payne claimed Belmont Park’s lease “is very clear, I have it right here for anybody to read, and the concerts are prohibited period.”
He added, “This isn’t just about another concert. It’s about corporate profit and greed overriding public access, public safety, and basic decency. I’m asking the council to put this matter on a public agenda, and to take action before this situation gets worse.”
In excerpts from his website, Payne claims of the Giant Dipper that “they’re (Belmont) rushing to fix the rotted wood that I exposed on a Fox 5 news report (in January). But one of the new primary support columns is already fractured on multiple sides, and instead of replacing it again, they’re just going to plan to hide it with paint.”
“There’s so much on there,” Thomas said of the site. “A lot of what I see is him taking photos and harassing our team members who are just doing routine maintenance on the property. He’s been regularly seen photographing and bullying our employees. He has a history of this.”
Thomas added he’s uncertain why Payne is targeting Belmont Park in particular, but that all of his claims are completely baseless.
“My attorney is finalizing a lawsuit to be filed next week or soon after,” Payne said.
“I’ll ask the court to appoint a monitor to enforce the lease and bring in a Big Four firm for a full forensic audit. This is a revenue-sharing lease, and the city’s audit found Belmont Park’s operators are concealing revenue and withholding key financial records.”
Concerning Payne’s allegations about overly loud Belmont Park concerts, and accusations of public space being “hijacked for profit,” Thomas said that the park always works with the city on getting all necessary permits together in advance.
“During COVID, the City forced us to shut down for a year,” Thomas said.
“We paid our rent even though we weren’t allowed to operate. When we took over the property, the boardwalk restaurants had burned down. They were boarded up with people living inside them. We have done our best to turn this property into something special that San Diego can be proud of.
“And we’re excited to be celebrating our 100th anniversary this year,” Thomas added.
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