Published: March 27, 2008 09:08 am         

Park ramping up

Crews installing skate park equipment this week

By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

The landscape of the West City Park is slowly changing this week as a crew from the American Ramp Company installs the latest recreational addition in Mineral Wells – a skate park.

Mineral Wells Parks and Recreation Superintendent Donnie Hoover commented, “It’s looking good. … I was watching them today [Wednesday]. There’s a lot of stuff [involved].”

While most of the equipment remained on pallets, ARC’s Kenny Arnold, of Joplin, Mo., and his crew were industrious Wednesday morning, bolting panels to framework. City employees from the parks and recreation department installed a sign where the skate park’s information will be posted.

Already, a picnic table, grind rail and skate bench are affixed to the concrete pad.

“Hopefully, it’ll be done Saturday,” Arnold estimated. “So far, so good.”

He explained that the equipment is “pretty simple” to assemble. Each piece, he said, is screwed into the concrete.

The project, aimed at meeting the recreation needs of 14 to 18 year olds, has a $118,000 budget limit. The City of Mineral Wells allocated $60,000 for the park while a community group generated the rest of the funds. Approximately half of the $118,000 was generated from community donations and a $10,000 grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation.

The monies purchased half pipes, grind rails, bank ramps and other fixtures including picnic tables and bleachers for those who’d prefer to watch the skateboarders.

“The finished project will be pretty good,” Hoover remarked. “We are staying in the budget.”

Already, city employees and the ARC employees commented on having a young and enthusiastic audience while they worked.

“They wanted to help,” added Arnold. He cautioned that, for safety reasons, skateboarders must stay off the equipment until the project is complete.

Hoover added they anticipate installing the skate park’s lights on Friday.