Published: January 09, 2008 09:10 am         

City skates to Tony Hawk park grant

By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

The Mineral Wells skate park is $10,000 closer to completion thanks to a grant awarded by the Tony Hawk Foundation.

According to a press release issued by the foundation, Mineral Wells was one of 29 communities who received monies for the Fall 2007 grant application period. In fact, of the four Texas towns to receive grants, Mineral Wells was awarded the highest amount.

“The Tony Hawk Foundation Board of Directors voted … to award 29 grants worth $255,000 for the construction of new public skate parks in low-income communities across the U.S.,” stated the release.

According to the TFS Web site, the foundation considers skate park projects that are in low-income areas, demonstrates a strong grassroots commitment to the project and is in an area where skateboarding facilities aren’t available, among other things.

THF Executive Director Miki Vuckovich told the Index Tuesday they are sending out the grant packets to the recipients this week. He said the winners were initially notified by e-mail in mid-December.

“It’s a construction grant,” Vuckovich explained. “We just need to see the park’s finished.” He said there is a 24-month deadline for project completion with six-month reports on the park’s status.

Mineral Wells City Manager Lance Howerton confirmed they received notice prior to Christmas.

“We had a very good indication in mid-December we were in the mix,” he said. “We want to know what terms, conditions or stipulations come with the grant money.”

When selecting Mineral Wells as one of the recipients, Vuckovich said, “We really just look at certain key indicators such as need and efforts. … Mineral Wells scored really well.”

He said a number of things included in the application “all tell us the about the community.” Vuckovich added that by ensuring involvement by the community and the skaters, “they are doing something significant in their community [and] contributing to future generations of skaters. … Ultimately, we want to see those kids have somewhere to go.”

The city manager reported that the skate park has an estimated project cost of $110,000 to $120,000. He said the city is meeting with the citizen’s group this week to see how much money is available for the project. The skate park will be located in the southeast part of West City Park and open to the public without fees or supervision.

The City of Mineral Wells has allocated $60,000 for the park, Howerton remarked. “We’re getting close to hopefully seeing where we are. It’s all beginning to come into focus this week.”

A flyer distributed by the citizen’s group states that as of Jan. 1, they have pledged from “other local donors” a total of $31,000 for the skate park.

Not including donations in his calculations, Howerton said, “We have some cost estimates or quotes on building the concrete slab of about $25,000. We’re going to provide benches and tables for $2,500, signage is about $500 and additional lighting around the park is estimated at $1,500. The infrastructure is right around $30,000.”

With half of the city’s allocated funds used for the park’s infrastructure, Howerton said $30,000 remained for equipment.

“The total estimate for equipment is $73,000,” he remarked. “That still leaves around $40,000 to finish out the project as it is right now.”