City gets cold feet on skate park

This has been a huge weekend for fundraising for the Sault Ste. Marie skate park, with the Superior Community Skatepark Association hosting big events at both the Speak Easy and the John Rhodes Community Centre.

But unless some City councillors intervene tomorrow night, the fundraisers' hard work is about to be rewarded by postponement of the project.

A motion on the agenda for Monday's City Council meeting will have the effect of calling off a planned issuing of tenders for the $225,000 first phase of the skateboard facility.

Councillors approved tendering the first phase at a meeting in April, but Nick Apostle, the City's commissioner of community services, is concerned because of the slowness of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee's skatepark subcommittee and the Superior Superior Community Skate Park Association to get fundraising started.

"Since at this time, fundraising is well below the target amount, the tender will be postponed until either the fundraising efforts have reached their goal or the campaign ends," Apostle says.

Fundraisers must collect $38,000 before the project proceeds and Apostle says fundraising began only recently.

Alvin Olar, chair of the Sault International Youth Association, has recently joined the skate park drive and organizers are confident the needed money will be raised.

To simultaneously e-mail your thoughts on the skate park project to Mayor Rowswell and every member of City Council except Ward 6 Councillor Frank Manzo, please click here.

Councillor Manzo cannot be reached by e-mail, but you can phone or fax him at 945-9971.

Earlier SooToday.com coverage of this story

Nice pop shuv-it to fakie Skater Mattie! (10 photos, video)