By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
A skate park in Nephi will receive the support of Juab
County but it is unclear what sort of support that will
be-&emdash;money or equipment and men.
"We will look at our options and will consider what
the county can do," said Wm. Boyd Howarth, commission
chairman.
Steve and Khol Carter attended commission meeting
seeking support of the commission in bringing the project to
life in the near future. Hopefully, the skate park, at least
phase one, will come to life in the spring of 2004.
It will be a multi-use skate park with equipment to
satisfy BMX bikes, blades, boards, and scooters.
"We were hoping the county could assist us with
construction of the skate park," said Steve Carter.
The total estimate for both phase one and phase two is
$233,000.
A concrete pad, 100-feet by 120-feet, will be built
first. It could be constructed on one of two sites Nephi
City is considering. One would be the old tennis court area
by the police station and the other would be by the creek to
the side of the Little League ball park.
The skate park committee is hoping for county
assistance in razing and disposal of the old tennis courts,
the contribution of heavy equipment and labor during the
off-season, the donation of base material&emdash;rock,
gravel, etc.,&emdash;to prepare the new site, and a donation
of $10,000 from the recreation fund.
"We are under some constraints as to the use of road
department heavy equipment," said Robert Steele,
commissioner. "Road equipment, under federal law, is just to
be used for road projects."
Neil Cook, commissioner, said the commission always
needed to remember that there were several communities in
the county. The skate park, he said, was mostly a Nephi City
project.
Steve Carter said the park, in all likelihood would
attract youth from all of the East Juab communities and
would, therefore, be a project the county commission could
consider one for the youth of the area.
Steele said the county commission had lent county help
to communities for other community projects.
He said the county donated property to Mona for their
new park, helped Eureka with a recreation project, and did
send heavy equipment and workers to help communities with
clean-up campaigns.
Whenever the heavy equipment went out on such
projects, however, the county, not the road department, had
to pay the workers and had to pay the road department for
the use of the equipment for another fund, other than the
road department fund, which made it all more expensive.
Commissioners said they would commit to aiding the
project in some way though they would like to determine what
and how that may be and then contact Carter as to ways and
means.
"There is a desire and a want for a skate park," said
Steve Carter. "The other night, after the homecoming game,
there were about 15 skaters at the high school who were
skating."
In fact, Nephi City officials had noted that a lot of
the facilities in the community were suffering use abuse
caused by skaters. For example, picnic tables, walkway
rails, and concrete edges were being ground down by the
skates, boards and BMX bikes.
Khol Carter explained what sort of equipment would be
installed in the park&emdash;ramps, boxes, quarter pipes,
half pipes, a fund box, spine, pyramid, band, and hips. Also
urban features such as a bench, skate (picnic) table, grind
rail, kick ramp, skate barrier and launch ramp.
"The equipment is made of steel and is bolted to a
concrete pad," said Khol Carter.
Steve Carter said the that skate parks were the
fastest growing and best used of the recreational facilities
being constructed in America today.
Reasons for that popularity in communities was that it
provided an alternative to drug use for young people and
also provided needed physical exercise. The facilities
attract families and are used by citizens of all ages and
abilities.
"Skate parks also protect public property from
damage," he said.
Following a meeting with the Nephi City Council in
2002, which 100 interested citizens attended, a skate park
committee had been formed.
Since then, the committee working with the council and
Phil Baker, parks superintendent, had narrowed the possible
sites down to the two.
In addition, the committee had contacted design
experts, gained the support of the council, city attorney,
the schools and had prepared a grant proposal requesting
financial support for the skate park.
"We are contacting local businesses to seek donations
for the skate park," said Steve Carter.
He said some promises had been made. For example, the
cement plant will donate some material.
"Our community swimming pool was put together just
like this, with donations and citizen involvement," said
Steele.
While he favored a multi-recreation facility being
built in the community, one that would house an indoor pool
and other indoor sports such as hand-ball, that would be a
long time coming, said Cook.
"I like what you have presented today and I will
support our part."
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