RECREATION Park funds, research compiled

Officials believe a skateboard park would get skaters off private property.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
STRUTHERS -- City officials say some two-thirds of the estimated $75,000 needed to build a skateboard park has been raised, and they expect the facility to be ready for use next spring.
The park will be built on a city-owned lot at Stewart and Elm streets, said Councilman-at-Large Jerry L. Shields, chairman of council's park and recreation committee.
Shields plans to convene a community meeting within the next few weeks to get input, including comments from the skateboarders, on what the park should include.
He said the impetus for building the skateboard park is to get the skateboarders off sidewalks and streets and private property, such as churches and stores, and onto a safer facility.
Learning from others
The proposed location is about a block from city hall and the police department, making it easy to monitor, said Mayor Daniel C. Mamula.
Shields said he spoke with officials in Liberty and New Middletown, communities that have skateboard parks, and said they believe it has gone a long way toward solving the problem of skateboarders using private property.
In Liberty, skateboarders were encouraged to become involved in planning the park, and it was first built in Church Hill Park two years ago, said June Smallwood, the township's park and special projects coordinator.
The park was too isolated, however, and some undesirable activities took place, leading the township to move the facility to in front of the township building to better monitor it, she said.
Likewise, the park in New Middletown, built three or four years ago, is located next to the municipal building, said Mayor Robert Carson.
It is well used by skaters and bikes, and has served to get most of the skaters off private property. And, the mayor said, there have been fewer hassles with it than some expected.
Shields and Mamula said some donors already have come forward with materials, but the city still needs help with site work and money for the project.
Shields said the city administration and council support the park, and said he would like to see the project finished by April 2006.
alcorn@vindy.com