It’s been a long, up-and-down ride for a group of Mount Airy residents seeking to build a skateboard park in the city, but their efforts apparently will result in its construction a few months from now.

“My props to you for your sticktoitiveness,” Todd Harris of the city board of commissioners told members of the non-profit organization Skate Mount Airy Inc. during a Thursday night meeting of the board.

“I know it’s been a long road,” Harris added after a project update by skate park organizers indicated that money needed to build the facility finally is in hand.

Plans for the skateboard park — targeted for a site at Riverside Park donated by the municipality — have been in the works for more than two years. It is aimed at providing a safe place for local youths to ply their sport apart from streets and private properties.

Fund-raising efforts have been hampered by the economy, causing an original target date for the park’s construction to be extended. However, recent developments led to organizers receiving sufficient funding to launch the project, a Skate Mount Airy official said during Thursday’s presentation.

“We have right at $60,000,” said Kathy Bentley, coordinator for the organization. Two recent grants allowed this breakthrough, according to Bentley, including one of $15,000 awarded from the Tony Hawk Foundation. The local project was among only 15 selected for grant assistance from the foundation operated by the professional skateboarder.

Bentley said the community efforts mounted to make the park a reality were instrumental in helping Skate Mount Airy land that grant.

The project also received a recreation incentive grant from Surry County government. Other money has come from donations and a series of fund-raising events, including special “skate days” drawing youths from throughout the region.

These recent financial gains have allowed Skate Mount Airy to reach the point where it is ready to “move forward” with finalizing a design, which is being handled through a Kitty Hawk firm. Bentley and other organizers presented visualizations Thursday night for a park that carries a $70,000 price tag, down from a $100,000 facility originally sought.

The facility now envisioned still reflects features sought by local skateboarders during numerous community meetings on the project, Bentley said.

Though it exceeds the available funding, she told city officials that Skate Mount Airy is confident the design can be sufficiently “tweaked” so it falls within the $60,000 range without harming the integrity of the park.

The organization also is hoping for in-kind contributions from the community, such as fill dirt that will be needed at the site.

Plans now call for ground to be broken for the facility in April and its grand opening to be held this summer, based on information presented Thursday night.

“We’re just ready to see it open,” Bentley said.

Once the skateboard park is completed, Skate Mount Airy Inc. will dissolve and the city will take over maintenance of the facility, in keeping with an earlier agreement. No municipal funds are included in the construction budget.

Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.