BERLIN – As interest in bringing a skate park to Berlin remains high, local officials have begun researching ways to make it happen.
Members of the parks commission have started visiting existing skateboarding facilities on the Eastern Shore while residents behind the cause have started looking into funding options.
Resident Lisa Cherivtch said she was confident community support for the project would continue. Twice this fall skateboarding and biking enthusiasts have filled town hall to ask the mayor and council to find a place for a skate park.
“I think we can pull people together and start laying down some solid plans,” Cherivtch said.
Members of the parks commission said they had already visited the parks in Ocean Pines and Ocean City and would be arranging a visit to facilities in Pocomoke and Snow Hill in January. Mary Bohlen, Berlin’s deputy town administrator, said seeing other parks would give commission members ideas for what could be done in Berlin.
Cherivtch, a skateboarder herself as well as the mother of an 8-year-old who skates, offered to share photos of a park she visited in Kentucky.
“It was great,” she said. “Anything with wheels could go in there.”
She said Berlin would need a larger facility than the one in Ocean Pines if it was going to be suitable for bikes as well as skateboards, something that local children have expressed an interest in. She said ideally, the park would have a vertical ramp, a bowl and street features. She added that an indoor park would be usable in any weather.
Cherivtch also told the parks commission she had started looking into funding options for a skate park. Although a Tony Hawk grant had been mentioned by some of those who visited town hall, Cherivtch said there were a lot of restrictions involved. The grants, she said, would not open back up until December of 2015 and were only available for permanent concrete parks in low-income areas.
“Most places don’t want to give grants for temporary facilities,” Bohlen said.
Cherivtch said she would continue looking into grant options and members of the parks commission suggested looking into the possibility of creating a non-profit organization.
“Establishment of a 501c3 does open doors not open to a municipality,” Bohlen said.
Parks commission member Patricia Dufendach was glad to see the skateboarding enthusiasts getting involved in the planning process.
“I think it’s wonderful you guys are getting organized,” she said.