If a Recreation Passport Grant application to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is successful, the skateboard park in Three Rivers will take on a new look.
In a unanimous action Tuesday evening (April 19th), the Three Rivers City Commission adopted a resolution authorizing submission of an application for such a grant in an amount not to exceed $44,000 – including the grant and local match – for a Memory Isle Skateboard Park Improvement Project.
The Three Rivers City Commission has authorized submission of an application for a Recreation Passport Grant to help fund improvements to the 'skateboard park' in Memory Isle Park. (Click on photo to enlarge)
According to a staff report on the subject, the funding source will include a grant and matching funds from the city. The total grant request would be for $42,314.64, including $26,484.04 in grant monies and $15,830.60 in city matching funds.
The report says the city’s matching funds could include $7,995, which was part of the Special Projects Capital Request for the skateboard park for FY 2011/2012. The total match for the grant will be $15,830.60 which would be made up of funds from the walnut tree sale as well as in-kind match of time and equipment by city personnel which could come out of General Fund.
According to the report, “The grant monies will be used for sanding, repainting, and resurfacing of existing equipment at an estimated cost of $4,362; area restoration estimated at $750; and the purchase of a new 3’ tall by 8’ wide by 27’ long half pipe at an estimated cost of $14,785 and the contractual costs of the asphalt removal and site prep for new, full depth asphalt (of) $6,587.50.”
In comments regarding the grant application:
• Commissioner Daryl Griffith said, “I think this is a great thing. We have needed to do this for a long time. The skateboard park was taken out of Scidmore (Park) with every intent of having a nice skateboard park at the tennis courts. It has not been nice for a very long time.” Griffith also noted the possibility of securing money from the state to cover part of the cost of the improvement project.
• Commissioner Wendy Shank said, “I’m in favor of this.”
• Commissioner Carolyn McNary said, “I’m really excited about this.”
• Commissioner George Ramsey voiced support for the grant application.
• And Mayor Ken Baker said, “I’m all in favor of it.”
Special Projects Engineer Merritt Brown said the project would involve taking out the old asphalt and replacing it with new asphalt. He also indicated the skateboard park would be “fenced in and lockable.”
The resolution approving submission of the grant application notes that the city’s Five Year Parks and Recreation Plan includes objectives to “Upgrade and improve existing parks to provide high quality recreational opportunities that are safe and accessible.” It also says, “The City of Three Rivers Parks and Recreation Survey indicated the desire for additional skatepark equipment and upgrades to the area.”
OK, I am going to start off by saying that it has to be my age. But are skateboard park improvements a significant priority for the city of Three Rivers? Wow, what a culturally and aesthetically pleasing improvement for the city! Nothing like having kids pursuing those skate boarding skills which I am sure will benefit them beyond measure! And, what a wonderful way to use the money from the sale of those old growth walnut trees. I am sure if those trees could talk, they would be so very happy to know that they sacrificed their lives for such a noble and eloquent cause. NOT.
Don’t put a lock on the gate. Don’t even put a fence around it. Leave it open.
Light it up at night, like tennis courts.
Nancy….yep, this was kinda my take on when we put a skateboard park in our town using grant money…it was such raving success (NOT) that we are now gonna use more taxpayer and grant money to turn it in to a basketball court…
I doubt very much that if you would like to invite or intice young people to come out and be active, and take risks, and be social in their own way, that it would work if you invite them to come inside a fence. Fundamental failure of design.
Nancy-Skateboarding or at home in front of the Wii playing Call of Duty: Black Ops where the kids pretend to shoot and kill other human beings. Yes, you must be old because when you were growing up, there was plenty for you to do and a lot of places for you and your friends to meet in town. Give the kids a break and let the city provide a healthy alternative to television and video games. And let’s remember that unstructured physical activity (like bike riding, skipping, swinging, skateboarding etc) is good for learning. Not to mention that the social skills that the kids practice while skateboarding are superior to celebrating when a pedestrian has been run over and killed in the latest version of Grand Theft Auto.
If it works out for you folks then great. I heard the same promise in the late 90′s from my mayor on his pet project park and his skateboard park in particular.
But it did not work out for us here. What few kids that used it, I’d see using church steps, Wesley Hall steps, my neighbors steps to the curb, (and sometimes their front porch when they weren’t home), etc on the way too and from the skateboard park (guess they see private property as good for their personal warm up).
And alot of (not all) the kids that hung out at our skateboard park, I’m sorry but they were beligerent little thugs. I even had one litterally stop in the middle of the street between our city Hall and our skateboard park while carrying stuff to use at the park and literally looked me straight in the eye and stopped in the middle of the street and insisted we go around. Had to get the cops involved to deal with the beligerent little heathens.
It was such a raving success here that we are now using our tax money and more grant money to make them in basketball courts out of them, but hey, you folks go right ahead and learn for yourselves. Hopefully it’ll work out better.
Its not an age or mentality thing with me…I was skateboarding as a kid myself back in the day (yes, the wheel actually had been invented back then).
If the city has ample money to spend on a non essential service such as a skateboard park, I will assume that they won’t come back to the citizens next year asking citizens for more out of pocket money for much needed “essential services” i.e.police and fire protection.
I am assuming, too that the city already knows that they have a sustainable budget which will include money for upkeep/maintenance for this park.
I remember when those tennis courts were new and as I recall it didn’t seem to take long for them to go into disrepair. Thus, imho, it was not money well spent for the long term. Unfortunately, history seems to repeat itself on an ongoing basis…