City Council votes to Continue Skatepark Plans

In the city council meeting on Tuesday, plans to continue the process of building a skate park in the city were pushed through after the council voted on a $14,000 conceptual design to begin.

Jaywaun Johnson and Skyler Allen, both local skaters, were excited after the council unanimously voted to begin the design for the park.

“I'm actually pretty shocked. From whenever I first started to venture to get a skate park here, it was six odd years ago. It's finally starting to come to fruition. So, I'm pretty hyped about it”, stated Johnson.

“It's very, very important, especially for community safety”, explained Allen. “There are a lot of people skating on sidewalks and roads and things like that, and that is a major issue, not only with police blue lighting people, which is completely understandable; cars are a huge issue for traffic. We just don't want anybody to get hurt. So, a designated place is very, very important.”

(Left to right) Jaywaun Johnson, Skyler Allen

Skateparks could cost anywhere from one hundred thousand to a million dollars. Part of the discussion on Tuesday was where that money would be coming from. The majority of it will have to be fundraised and brought in through grants.

“ It's going to be a big deal, it is going to be a large task. It's not going to be easy. We're going to need everybody to get behind this”, said Tray Gamble. We have been in talks with the Riley Foundation and the Community Foundation in town, and that's a start. And once we can get some folks like that behind us, I believe that the focus is to take the same steps that Planet Playground has taken in the past to raise this money.”

District 5 councilwoman Tyeasha “Ty” Bell Lindsey has played a key role in developing the park. Grindline Skateparks Inc. is the company chosen to continue the project’s design.

“Grindline has done skateparks in Oxford, MS, Westpoint, MS, and many others. I just knew that being able to be somewhat bid on them or vote that they could come here. They're going to do a fabulous job. So they're going to actually fly out here. They speak to the community, not just the roller skaters or skateboarders, but everyone in the community. What would you like to see in this park?”

The conceptual design process will take four to six months to complete. During the process, the location of the park will also be decided. The proposal cost for the conceptual design was set at $14,520.