Petition drive gets wheels, and skate park gains OK

The town's young people got the public and elected officials behind the idea.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa. -- Chad Saylor said he and his friends were tired of having to ride their skateboards on streets and sidewalks or in parking lots of businesses closed for the day.
The 15-year-old sophomore at West Middlesex High School decided to do something about it, launching a petition-signing drive seeking the support of borough residents for the development of a municipal skate park.
"There's not many places around here to ride, and most cost a fee," he said.
Chad admits he was surprised by the response he got, estimating that 80 percent of this small town of just under 1,000 people signed it.
Council behind him
He took the petition to borough council and won its support as well.
Council asked the Mercer County Regional Council of Governments to file a grant application seeking $40,000 to buy the materials and equipment for a park to be built off Walnut Street adjacent to the municipal swimming pool and Little League baseball field.
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources approved the grant this spring, but it will probably be next summer before the park becomes a reality, said Melissa Koch, COG's regional recreation specialist.
"We had anticipated putting something up this summer," Koch said, explaining that borough employees and volunteers had agreed to put up $20,000 worth of labor to augment the state grant.
Those workers and volunteers would actually put the park together, she said.
Borough council, however, decided to file a second state grant application, asking the Department of Community and Economic Development for $20,000 to hire someone to build the park.
Koch said word on that application is expected by December, but it doesn't look promising. The state has indicated it has no community revitalization money available to fund such a request, she said.
That won't stop the project, however.
Koch said the volunteers are still ready to go. She plans to begin drafting the design for the tennis-court-sized park this winter.
That's about standard size for a skate park, she said, noting she toured some that size in Pittsburgh while planning the West Middlesex facility and was amazed by the amount of equipment such parks held.
Kids will help
Those kids interested in seeing the park built were asked to sign a list offering their assistance in helping to finalize that design, and they will be called on for their input, Koch said.
They will decide if the park should have a quarter-pipe or a half-pipe, and where ramps and grind rails should be located, she said.
"I'd like to see a nice riding environment," said Chad, who has been skateboarding for about four years. People need a safe place to ride during the day, not after dark, he added.
It will be Mercer County's only skate park and will cater to skateboarders, BMX bicyclists and in-line skaters, Koch said.
Finalizing the details
There won't be an admission fee, but actual details of operation haven't been worked out. Council will appoint a committee to finalize those details, she said.
The Borough of Stoneboro in northeastern Mercer County is looking at building a skate park, too, but nothing is definite yet, said Fred Houser, Stoneboro council president.
"We are interested, and we've done some groundwork on it," he said, adding that the borough has yet to apply for grant money to build one.
gwin@vindy.com