MERCER COUNTY COG will seek state money to build skate park in borough

There will be no charge to use the park.
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- The Mercer County Regional Council of Governments will ask the state for $40,000 to help build a skate park in West Middlesex.
The COG executive board approved the grant application Wednesday.
Melissa Koch, COG recreation specialist, said the park, which will be about the size of a standard tennis court, has an estimated price of $60,000.
West Middlesex will put up the land and the labor to prepare the site and install the park equipment, she said, estimating the borough's cost at $20,000.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will be asked to provide the rest.
The park would be built off Walnut Street near a community swimming pool.
It won't be staffed and there will be no charge but users will be advised they will skate at their own risk, Koch said. West Middlesex will provide the insurance protection for the park, she said.
Once other local municipalities see how the park works, it is hoped they will follow suit and develop parks of their own, Koch said.
The park will have an asphalt surface and a variety of equipment ranging from "grind rails" to half- and quarter-pipes, Koch said.
Improvements
COG is also planning major improvements at the Shenango Valley Softball Recreational Complex in Shenango Township, she said.
The cost hasn't been determined yet but the executive board gave its approval to Koch to file applications for state funding assistance once project details are complete.
Plans call for the addition of a soccer field, an ice rink, a covered boccie ball court, a picnic pavilion with adjacent horseshoe pit, a sand volleyball court, a one-half mile walking and jogging trail, and a variety of smaller improvements, she said.