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SUNNY Temp: 53 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 16, 2002 Skaters’ voices wanted at meeting Central Point officials wonder if interest still remains for skate park By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — A Parks Commission member and father who helped get the ball rolling on a city skateboard park almost four years ago hopes to jump-start some new activity at a commission meeting on Thursday. He said that if more skaters don’t come forward and let the city know what kind of skate park they really want on the land purchased for it, the proposed site could wind up sporting a watered-down version of what was initially asked for. "It’s time for the skaters to get back into this and let the city know what they want and don’t want," said Mack Lewis. A ballot box in City Hall is provided this month for local citizens to "vote" for their favorite of three site plans for a 3.7-acre park next to Central Point Elementary. However, Lewis says the potential designs are anything but what local skaters wanted. Lewis helped his sons Dain and Darryl gather support for a skateboard park beginning when Dain and three friends were in the seventh grade at Scenic Middle School in early 1999. The four boys were appointed as the Youth Skate Committee in January 2001 to help find and suggest a piece of property, which was when the site next to the elementary school was suggested and later purchased, in January 2002, for $283,000. But after city officials got a glimpse of costs involved in constructing the park they asked the boys to scale down the park size or seek grants and donations to make up the difference. The city has pledged $100,000 but estimates for a 27,000-square-foot park — which would be triple the footprint of City Hall — ranged between $300,000 and $360,000. And less involvement from local skaters hasn’t exactly left city officials feeling that the interest remains. While Lewis admits to less of a presence from the skaters, he said it was unclear to him which came first — the lack of interest or the reduction in the park’s size, leading to a reduced interest. "I guess this is a call to action to the skaters. They need to come to the Parks Commission meeting (on Thursday)," he said. "If (skaters) aren’t gonna say it’s too small or it’s the wrong shape they’re gonna end up getting what’s on these layouts. The boys who started this are juniors in high school now. It’s probably time for them to pass the baton to a younger group. "And if anybody out there who wants to champion this cause for us financially, now is the time to step forward. It’s time for this thing to finally happen." Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S