(7/15) Following last month’s Town Council meeting, where concerns were raised over the initial proposed location of the new skatepark, the town commissioners all got together and walked Woodsboro Park to identify a suitable location that would provide visibility – and thus prevent vandalism. The area settled upon was the open area between the Park’s tennis courts and the concession stand.
In June, the Town was informed by the County that it had been awarded a Project Open Space (POS) grant of $137, 000 dollars to build the skatepark. Burgess Barnes said that: "the only thing standing between the Town signing a contract for the skatepark’s construction is the actual POS check from the County."
"Once we receive the check, the contractors who will build the park said they can get construction going within 30 days, and if all goes without a hitch, it will be completed by the fall."
The estimated cost of the 80 x 100 feet skatepark is $128,000, Barnes said. "$9,000 of which the Town can use to provide lighting and benches for the skatepark, as well as cover the cost of running a sidewalk from the park’s parking area to the skatepark."
The Council originally gave its go ahead for building the park at its October meeting. Resident Ben Marshall, who has been championing the skatepark, said that there are none of its kind in the immediate area, the closest being in Thurmont and Hagerstown, which are usually crowded. "It would be really nice to walk through town, [and] cross the street to our local park if we get this built," Marshall said.
Upon speaking with the Thurmont Skatepark Committee, Marshall found that costs for Thurmont’s 50 x 80 foot Skateway to the Mountains totaled $80,000. But Marshall wanted the Woodsboro skatepark to be larger to give skaters ample room, as well as see Woodsboro’s Park made accessible for BMX bikes, which Thurmont’s does not allow. According to Marshall, skaters and rollers often travel to different parks in the area and the park has great potential to bring in enthusiasts to other aspects of the Town as well.
As Marshall’s proposal came too late for the Town to Apply for a POS grant in 2022, he was encouraged to get skateboarding enthusiasts to begin raising money and spreading awareness.
While initial efforts to raise funds looked promising, questions on how to process donations quickly waylaid fundraising efforts. And while the Town had hoped to secure a $50,000 grant this spring from Project Open Space, proponents were faced with reducing the size of the park or hold off several years until sufficient funds were raised.
But to the surprise of all, especially Barnes, he was able to secure not $50,000 but $128,000 for the park this spring during negations with the County over distribution of the County’s POS funds. And with that promise, settling the location of the skatepark in Woodsboro Park took front and center.
Initially the Skatepark was proposed to be located at the corner of the entrance of Woodsboro Park, but Council members expressed concern that the area proposed was also used for overflow parking for special events, and this could impact those events. Options to place the park in the lower part of the Park, where the old softball fields used to be, were nixed over concerns it could be damaged by flooding during heavy rains, just as the old softball fields had been.
As the Council struggled to identify a location to put the park, Commissioner Cutshall cautioned his fellow commissioners that the further they put the skatepark into the park, the more they opened the door to malicious behavior. "If people can’t see what is going on, then things we don’t want to go on will start to go on, such as vandalism and graffiti."
Unable to visualize a suitable location by simply looking at a map of the park, the Commissioners opted to walk the park, and based upon that excursion, settled upon placing it between the Park’s tennis courts and the concession stand.
Woodsboro is not the only town looking to follow Thurmont down the skateboard ramp. The Walkersville Town Council has also agreed to explore the idea of building a skatepark in their community park, as has Taneytown.
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