by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
The roles and responsibilities for a joint development plan for a skateboard park in Sartell’s Pinecone Central Park were approved unanimously by the Sartell City Council at its April 9 meeting.
The Skate Park Development Improvement Process lists seven roles/responsibilities for the City of Sartell, the advisory committee and the fundraising group for the proposed skate park.
The bottom line of the seven points is if a private group raises approximately a minimum of $200,000 for the design and construction of the park, the City of Sartell will provide up to $30,000 in addition to the space within Pinecone Central Park already set aside for a possible skate park.
A skateboard advisory committee would create a fundraising group, which would be established under the aegis of either the Central Minnesota Community Foundation or the Central Minnesota Initiative Foundation.
The idea for a skate park in Sartell came to the surface about a year ago when some Sartell youth expressed a need for one. After discussions with city staff and the formation of a skate park committee, most involved agreed such a park should have a concrete foundation and be large enough, somewhat on the order of the heavily used one in St. Cloud near the Stearns History Museum.
A targeted date for the goal of raising about $200,000 is May 1, 2014, if not sooner, according to a memo to the council written by Sartell Planning and Community Development Director Anita Rasmussen and Sartell Public Works Director Brad Borders.