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Location found for Central Point skate park By BUFFY POLLOCK CENTRAL POINT - Local skateboarders may be a grind closer to their own park, thanks to negotiations between the city and the school district for a location. The proposed site is 3.7 acres next to Central Point Elementary School. Valued at $579,500, the site includes an old gymnasium, maintenance buildings, parking spaces and the former bus barn. The school district is building a new elementary school elsewhere and will convert the remaining school buildings into administrative office space. If the deal goes through, the city could end up with a community center and maintenance area by renovating the school buildings included on the site, said City Administrator Jim Bennett. "We'll get started fairly soon," he said. "We need to perform a structural analysis on the gym and decide what repairs would be necessary. "We want to move this thing along. The kids have been waiting for quite some time." Local skateboarders approached the city with the idea for a park more than five months ago and started a buy-a-brick fund-raising campaign. But they worry community support, strong at first, may be fizzling because of the delay in finding a site, said organizer Mack Lewis, co-owner of Skate Asylum in Central Point. "The community doesn't seem to believe the city is going through with anything at this point," he said. "They've been a little hesitant to buy bricks." The brick fund-raiser was spearheaded by Lewis and his sons, Darryl and Dain, to help construct the project and give supporters a sense of "community ownership." Lewis said delays not only had hurt brick sales but had also cost organizers several grants, including a matching-funds grant that could have meant $150,000. "We get a number of people in the shop every day who ask about the skate park. At least for now, we can say the city and school board are in negotiations. That gives us a little hope," he said. Lewis and his sons boosted the brick fund-raiser during Fourth of July festivities by teaming up with Portland Bottling Co. to offer a free bottle of Jones Soda with every brick purchased at the Skate Asylum. Lewis called Jones Soda's motto, "Run with the Little Guys," a "perfect match for the project, because it reminds people to support local businesses and community programs like the skate park." The brick promotion will continue through July for "Grand Opening Month." Bricks, $20 each, will be engraved with the contributor's name or message and be incorporated in the design of the park, being engineered by Darryl Lewis. Bennett said a structural engineer had been contacted to do the analysis of the old gym in order to help determine a purchase price to offer the school board. The city could use the site buildings for park maintenance facilities and expansion of the public works department. Bennett explained the city also would consider renovating the old gym for community activities and share existing parking with the school district, whose administrative offices would be located in the old building at the elementary school. Lewis said, "with a little luck, we'd like to see skaters skating the new park next summer." For more information, call Skate Asylum at 665-2168. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.