City proposes new skatepark at Himebaugh Lot
COSHOCTON — Coshocton Mayor Steve Mercer and Recreation Director Steve Jones made a presentation to the Coshocton City School Board Thursday during its regular meeting for a partnership to erect a new skate park at the Himebaugh Lot on Orange Street.
“It’s one of the most often made comments by the youth in Coshocton is that there is nothing to do. A lot of that nothing to do is that there is nothing to do unsupervised, which is what they would like to do,” said Mercer. “However, the concept of there is nothing to do, as we know, there is skateboarding going on everywhere and people will see evidence of this on the streets and in the parking lots, the sidewalks and so on. We are identifying this as something that could meet a real need in the community for our kids.”
Currently at the city recreation park behind Kids America is a skate park featuring five ramps erected in 2002. Mercer said the equipment is getting worn and admitted there has been trouble with vandalism because the park being out of the way and not well lit.
He said moving to the Himebaugh Lot would help as it is a fenced-in area in the inner city and directly across from the Coshocton Fire Department.
“We like that location because it’s in a visible location, and there’s lots of lighting. Our fire department is across the street. They’re not going to become policemen for it, but it’s a nice visible building in the city and a safety service type location. We feel that can serve as a deterrent for vandalism,” said Mercer.
Phase 1 of the proposed plan would be refurbishing of the existing ramps and moving them to a constructed concrete bowl 7,500 square feet in the Himebaugh Lot at the corner of Orange and Seventh streets. Phase 2, which could be started at anytime after the completion of Phase 1, would be further expansion with ramps and equipment to the corner of Poplar and Seventh streets.
“These are just like an apartment complex. You can start with one unit and then add another unit on and another unit depending on how much money you raise,” said Jones.
Cost for the basic bowl and surrounding concrete would be $135,000, which would be raised through grants and local fundraising.
Jones said that about half that cost easily can be raised through available grants. For example, professional skate boarder Tony Hawk gives $25,000 to any community that uses the Grindline skatepark design and construction firm, which is the company the city is looking to go with. More can be learned of the firm online at www.grindline.com.
“According to Grindline stats, it’s also an economic boost for the community. You can have events, and they claim it’s a positive for the communities these are in,” said Jones. “It’s just not kids, it’s adults (who use the parks).”
Jones said Matt Jamison, a Coshocton High School graduate who is an amateur skateboarder who competes in tournaments around the state, would aide with the park design while also spearheading a community forum to get feedback on the park and form a fundraising strategy.
“He got involved and said he would very much like to help in any way he could to help develop it a little more than just using those pieces we have,” said Mercer.
Jones said he knows the Himebaugh Lot is currently used as a school playground, for school sports and training and other community events. He said the school district would be more than welcome to use the city recreation park land behind Kids America for any function they wish.
“We have several acres, hundreds of acres down there we can use for the school if losing this ground for activities is an issue,” said Jones.
Jones said the city recreation department would handle elements of construction, maintenance and upkeep. The school board would need to issue a non-binding resolution on the use of the Himebaugh Lot so fundraising and preliminary planning could start. Jones said he would like to start construction in the spring.
The board also would need to consider a lease agreement for the lot and other stipulations of use. The board did not decide anything Thursday, but has the project under consideration.
“I think it’s an excellent idea, really,” said school board vice president Dr. Todd Salmans.
Additionally, Mercer asked the school board to consider an informal program that would see students from the city school district rotate on a monthly basis the display of artwork on the interior walls of Coshocton City Hall.
“I’d like to get some color and splash and take advantage of your programs here in the schools to do that,” said Mercer.
Mercer said it is important the city school district and city government work together on various projects and he cited the board allowing Coshocton High School to feed and house 400 teens next June for the work camp project as evidence of positive cooperation.
The program will see students from across the U.S. stay in Coshocton for a week to do light repairs on 70 to 80 local homes.
llhayhur@nncogannett.com
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