Assuming Mother Nature cooperates, skaters in Arkansas City will be zipping around at a new skate park by mid September, organizers of the project said.
Dirt work to prepare for the laying of a concrete pad for the park should begin this week. Once that’s in place, and after a couple weeks of curing time, the skate facility should take shape quickly, says Nici Nelson, a spokesperson for the Ark City skate assoiciation known as Wheels United.
The skate park ? which is located just west of the Paris Park pool ? could be ready for skaters by the first or second week of September and a grand opening is tentatively set for 5 p.m. Sept. 18. The local Optimist Club will have a pork burger feed that day and the KSOK dunk tank will be on hand to soak various local personalities.
Casey Doty, superintendent for the recreation commmission, said the $100,000 project has started to gain momentum now that the city and skate association teamed up to pay for it.
"The funding had to come together," he said. "And everything really gets moving after that."
The recreation commission and skaters teamed up earlier this year to work toward a replacement for the city’s old skate park. Nelson said the new park will include all the major equipment, including ramps and rails.
The center piece of all it will be a $30,000 half-pipe manufactured by American Ramp Co.
The park will occupy a 100-foot-by-60-foot concret pad.
Wheels United ? as part of an agreement with the city ? is raising the $64,000 needed to pay for the equipment needed. The group recently secured a $3,000 grant from Conoco Phillips.
Doty said the recreation commission has secured temporary funding for the skate park so that the equipment could be ordered while the skate association continued to raise money.
For information about donating, or if you’re inquiring about tickets for the grand opening, contact the recreation commission at 441-4300.
