Letter to the Editor

A Letter to Local Skaters

Thank you for this opportunity to update area skaters and supporters on the current status of the skatepark effort. Stay positive. The hard work of many is paying off. The Skate Day events and sales projects have raised the fund to nearly $20,000. On top of this, a $10,000 Tony Hawk Foundation Grant was recently accepted by the city.

For many years, skaters and their families have kept alive the dream of a skatepark. After much time and effort with skaters, Jeff Fortkamp originally established the skatepark fund at the Mercer County Civic Foundation. In these last 2½ years, a team of adults and skaters has continued the work. Many skaters, parents, and local businesses have joined Jony D, Ray, Ruth, Nancy, myself and countless others to sponsor, organize and supervise events. At your Skate Days we have registered 270 skaters of ages ranging from 3 to 30 representing twenty different communities from Darke, Auglaize, Mercer, and Van Wert counties.

In this last year, city personnel have been helpful and supportive with the Tony Hawk Grant application, designs and drawings. Skaters have been actively involved in the process. The beauty of your current design is that it is multi-functional. Walkers, roller skaters, inline skaters, and skateboarders will share an aesthetically pleasing concrete park. Places to sit and watch with a lunch or an ice cream are part of the design. Everything will be built to skate. In the final phase, water splash areas spring to life for the public to enjoy during those hot summer days. A walking path will encircle the park as well. Festival planning committees will find the concrete surfaces and features very useful should the project end up in the Lakeshore park area. Like other city parks, the “Celina Skate Plaza” will be open from dawn to dusk, free to all, and maintained by the city. Liability is no different from other public parks. This all-concrete park will serve many more than we originally dreamed.

Skaters, you have the support of many. Your fund continues to grow. A “people park” that you can skate safely is just around the corner. In the mean time, you must show respect to property and business owners, community members, and the law. You have inherited a bad reputation because of the bone-headed behavior of a handful of skaters who continue to attract the wrong kind of attention. Don’t skate where you’re not allowed. Work to win your community’s trust. Help sell “Go Skateboarding” cards and contact us with questions and comments through the website: www.celinaskatepark.com.

Keith