Overview:
The Open Space and Recreation Review Committee in Athol is considering a proposal for a new public skate park after a proposal by resident Stephen Sharp. Sharp believes a skate park would provide an inclusive form of recreation for people of all genders and fitness levels, as well as attract visitors from surrounding communities who would spend money at local businesses. He suggested that a modern concrete facility would be safer and require less maintenance than the town's previous wooden skate park.
ATHOL – The Open Space and Recreation Review Committee has begun to explore the option of a new public skate park after hearing a proposal from Athol resident Stephen Sharp.
Because Athol does not have a skate park, Sharp said he regularly travels to skate parks in Leominster and Gardner with his children. He believes a skate park in Athol would provide another recreational option, while also drawing in visitors from surrounding communities who would likely spend money at local businesses.
He described skate parks as an inclusive form of recreation that are open to everyone, regardless of gender, and provide cardiovascular exercise.
“You have people that aren’t really interested in team sports,” he said at the committee’s June 23 meeting. “They don’t want to pay to be in a league, or they want to set a self-goal for something, like, ‘I want to learn this trick, and I’m the only one that can do that. So I don’t need a team to do that.’”
Sharp said the town’s previous skate park was built primarily of wood and eventually became a safety hazard, while a modern concrete facility would last longer and require less maintenance.
“There’s multiple avenues where we can try to do fundraising or grants in some way,” he said.
Sharp said potential funding could include grants through The Skatepark Project, a nonprofit founded by Tony Hawk in 2002, as well as community fundraising efforts, such as a ‘buy-a-brick’ campaign.
He added that he has been in contact with one of the people who helped develop the Leominster skate park and several others throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut who could help guide the project through the planning process.
Committee members discussed possible locations for a skate park, such as the former N.D. Cass Toy factory property on Canal Street.
Director of Planning and Community Development Eric Smith said he plans to identify additional town-owned properties for the committee to consider. He will also consult the town’s brownfields consultant about whether the Cass property could be used for a skate park or other recreational purposes, noting that cleanup requirements differ, depending on a property’s intended use.
Committee member Rachel Behrens voiced her support for a skate park.
“I wanted to support this for a while. We had our Fish Park meeting in October where we had the most respectful kids come in and ask for the park….I feel like it’s some good points that you brought up. Not everybody wants to do team sports, it’s still cardiovascular, and you’re kind of doing your own thing,” Behrens said.
Smith said he plans to invite the high school students who first proposed the idea at the Fish Park meeting to the August committee meeting as discussion continues.