By now, the non-profit organization Skate Mount Airy Inc. had hoped to be far along in its plans to construct a skate plaza on the grounds of the city-owned Riverside Park.
But a declining economy has coincided with the group generating less than half of a $100,000 goal it expected to reach by the first of this year.
In keeping with that timetable, Mount Airy officials approved a license agreement with Skate Mount Airy Inc. on April 17, 2008, in which the group was to design, develop and build the facility within one year.
Since the project won’t be completed by then, a one-year extension of the agreement was sought by Skate Mount Airy, to give the organization more time to bring the facility to fruition. That request reached the city commissioners Thursday night.
Apart from the financial situation facing the group, Commissioner Todd Harris had questions before Thursday’s vote about the present stability of the organization itself. Harris told City Manager Don Brookshire before the decision that he wanted “to get some light shed on it and how viable they still are.”
“Some of the principals are no longer involved,” Harris said he has been told.
“I think there have been some changes in the individuals involved in it,” Brookshire agreed, but he added that Skate Mount Airy is still in a fundraising mode and will be conducting events this spring to add to its present $45,000 total.
Brookshire said he saw no problem with the one-year extension.
Harris delivered a favorable vote for that move after also being told by Parks and Recreation Director Catrina Alexander that there is no other pressing use for the site at Riverside Park eyed for the skate plaza.
Kathy Bentley, a spokesman for Skate Mount Airy Inc., could not be reached for comment Friday about the organization’s specific plans and its fundraising viability at this point.
Police Plan Meeting
In a related matter, a public forum regarding skateboarding in Mount Airy is scheduled Thursday. It will be held by the city police department along with area skateboarders, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Reeves Community Center gym.
The forum will provide an opportunity for open communication between law enforcement and local skateboarders to address questions the youths might have regarding their sport and possible legal issues involved.
Several goals have been set by city police and the skateboarders organizing the forum, which include working together to reduce citizen complaints and encouraging safe and responsible skateboarding practices.
They also want to help target individuals or small groups creating complaints so steps can be taken to prevent their actions from harming the image of the majority who are responsible skaters.
The chief reason Skate Mount Airy Inc. wants to develop the facility at Riverside Park is to allow local youths a safe and appealing place to skateboard instead of other public and private properties that have been damaged by the practice.
Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.
Post a Comment
