ELK POINT – It’s an endeavour that has been tried at least twice before, but now a new group of visionaries is on board to make a skateboard, scooter and roller blade park a reality.
Dwayne Vogel, Brandi Sakowsky and her son Trystn visited last Monday’s meeting of Elk Point Town Council to outline their plans to create a roller park in Elk Point, possibly on a portion of the under-used outdoor skating rink.
The trio listed their goals, including providing a safe place to skateboard, scoot and roller blade, offering a healthy and active activity for children and teens, and giving those young people an opportunity to become involved in the community and to stay active, including those whose families may not be able to afford participation in team sports.
The popularity of roller sports, Brandi said, has local parents carpooling to take their children to parks in St. Paul and Vermilion to enjoy the activity.
Vogel said his sons had purchased pieces of a used skateboard park previously in Boyle, where the park is being replaced by a permanent cement model, and they want to contribute it to the project. The all-metal modular design park, similar to those used in a number of communities, was manufactured by a company that is no longer in business and would need to be certified safety-wise by an engineer before use.
It would also require a cement base, and a donor has already been found to provide that. What is needed at this point, Brandi said, is a designated location, enabling the group to apply for grants to make it a reality.
The details of the presentation came back to council later in the meeting, with Deputy Mayor Tim Smereka calling the outdoor park “the optimum place to try this out and see how it would go over.”
Coun. Dwayne Yaremkevich indicated that he knew of an engineer who might be able to check out the equipment for safety requirements. Council also learned that the park would be turned over to the municipality for ownership upon completion.
A motion was passed to support the project in principle, with details such as safety and liability aspects to be determined before final approval is given.
