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3 Parks seeks grant funding, Heritage Park site eyed
By James Rincon
Pflag Reporter
The wheels of progress are in motion for a parks and recreations project that, for one resident will be worth the four years he has spent on the grind.
The Parks and Recreation Department is actively seeking grant funding to build the city’s first spot for skateboarders and BMX riders. The project grew legs when Mayor Pro Tem Victor Gonzales decided to champion it about six months ago, but the main proponent to bring a skate spot to Pflugerville has been resident Brent Hurta.
“Most of it’s just been persistence. It’s been really difficult getting some of the younger crowd together and getting the out there. Even if they want to come a lot of the time they don’t have transportation,” Hurta said. “Luckily Victor Gonzales has an interest in it.”
Parks and Rec. Director Amy Atkins said the city is pursuing a Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Recreation Grant that could serve as the project’s major funding. Atkins said nothing is guaranteed yet.
“It’s something that we actually tried to do in 2008, working with the Travis County Health and Human Services. They had a grant and the purview on that grant was to go out into the local communities and provide recreational amenities,” Atkins said.
Gonzales is optimistic about funding opportunities for the project that he estimates will cost approximately $35,000.
He said the city will save big on the skate spot’s construction cost since Texas Parks and Wildlife approved the repurposing of the basketball court at Heritage Park for its foundation.
“We shaved off about a $5,000 cost because the foundation is already there, and it’s probably a little bit more than that,” Gonzales said.
Hurta and Gonzales have also approached the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation about a challenge grant to match the state funds.
“The figure I’d be comfortable with is about $35,000. If we can do that then we can approach PCDC for a portion of it… and then if necessary apply for the park grant,” Gonzales said.
Atkins said the street-style skate spot will compliment the 30,000-square-foot Travis County skatepark slated to open in Northeast Metropolitan Park by fall of 2011.
“There’s also just the need in the city we see from use on planter boxes and such on city facilities and private facilities,” Atkins said.
Hurta said the skate spot will be a necessary alternative for kids too young to skate at the county skatepark or who don’t have transportation and live far from Northeast Metro.
“From north to south in Pflugerville it’s basically central, which is excellent,” Hurta said. “That’s cool because it’s right by food, it’s not on Dessau or anything on a major highway where you would really have to worry about kids getting hurt. There are bathrooms there, there’s a pool… there’s a lot of people really close.”
Akins said the skate spot, if successful, will serve as a prototype for others like it to go throughout the city.
Gonzales said he is well aware of the need for a skateboard and BMX track that is accessible and family friendly. With the money saved repurposing the cement basketball court, the timing and price is right, he added.
A skateboard park is a bunch of ramps and rails that CAN’T BE USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE. Kids can currently without any changes to the court, buy ramps from Academy Sporting Goods and take them to the court or even the big parking lot. Changing the court to a permanent skate court would serve ONLY kids who liked skateboarding as long as they were interested in it. How about we put some new nets on the basketball goals??? Everybody knows that kids’ interests change quickly, and that a skate court could end up unused in just a few years. The court as it is now can be skated on, and serves all age levels, not just kids. Skateboarding as a sport does not require that one do all that jumping and flying off of things. Even if they want to fly off of things, they can buy metal rails and set them up in the parking lot at night when those big lights are on and almost all the cars are gone. NO NEED TO DESTROY THE BASKETBALL COURT. The basketball court doesn’t even have all those lights at night. Not only that, when you’re tired skating, you can pull out a ball and shoot some hoops. Sounds like a good deal to me. LET’S KEEP RESOURCES GOOD FOR ADULTS ALSO!! If it ain’t broke….
Mick, saying that a skatepark park is a bunch of rails and ramps from academy is like saying that a basketball court is a bunch of hula hoops on ladders and a volleyball. BTW. There are a set of great indoor basketball courts at the Pflugerville Rec Center.
A skatepark is a much much more used investment and we aren’t talking a few ramps a proper skatepark costs $500,000 and up but it will see use from the minute it opens to the minute it closes what other facility can that be said about even 2 million is a small price to pay for something that will be used as much as a skatepark.