Y proposes free flow skate park

Park could cost between $175,000-$200,000

john burton

The Hub

RED BANK — In an attempt to get the wheels rolling on the proposed YMCA skate park, Y officials met with area youth, parents, and skate enthusiasts of different ages on Tuesday evening.

During what was labeled as "an informational meeting," by Maureen Fitzgerald, executive director of the Community YMCA, Maple Avenue, she and teen director Eileen Hayward tried to solicit from those in attendance their preference of type of park and any fund-raising ideas.

"I’ve done a lot of research on this and I could call Florida and California to see what they did there, but the real experts are the kids," Hayward said. "We have to work with the kids. It’s their park."

JERRY WOLKOWITZ Tom Gilmour, of the skate and apparel shop Soul Sauce, in Red Bank, is volunteering his time, along with these Red Bank skaters, to help design the YMCA’s new skate park.

Hayward and Fitzgerald said they would like to see the "free flow" type of park, which resembles a built-in swimming pool and would be constructed from concrete with concrete ramps. The other type proposed is the "precast" type which consists of sections of concrete and is assembled on the site but would not have as smooth a surface.

The free flow type is also the more expensive of the two, costing around $175,000 to construct the 15,000-square-foot park with the price going up to around $200,000 if lighting is installed, they said.

The YMCA would provide the property, the liability insurance and the supervision for the park, Fitzgerald said, but "the YMCA can’t afford $200,000 to build it."

Fitzgerald did acknowledge that she has been approached by some borough businesses who have expressed interest in contributing to the project.

Fitzgerald declined to identify the businesses, saying it is much too early in the process. She also said she hopes to be able to garner support from neighboring communities, whose residents would have access to the park.

"If we could combine resources we could have a state-of-the-art facility," Fitzgerald said.

Rob Wallman, a Fair Haven resident who has been active in his town’s recent attempt to build a skate park, said he had originally hoped that the YMCA’s plans would alleviate the need for his community to build a park, but that seemed unlikely.

"It would be great if it solved our problem but it wouldn’t," Wallman said. "There’s definitely a need for two parks."

Wallman also said he was concerned children might use their skateboards as transportation to get to the YMCA’s park, especially in light of Red Bank’s recent ban on skateboards in much of the town.

Fitzgerald said, if the park is built as proposed, it would be able to accommodate between 100 and 200 skateboarders. But all using the park would be required to wear helmets, and knee and elbow pads.

The facility would be available to all YMCA members. The cost of membership for those under 18 is $96 a year, which is $8 a month. But anyone who cannot afford the membership can apply for financial aid assistance, Fitzgerald said

The next meeting on this is scheduled for Tuesday, April 18 at 7 p.m. at the Community YMCA, 166 Maple Ave. Hayward said anyone interested in participating in the design and/or fund-raising process is invited to attend.

"We need people to reach out to the community," Fitzgerald said. "We need to get this moving."