Council agrees to go out to bid on steel skatepark ramps

Council agrees to go out to bid on steel skatepark ramps


By Kelly Skellinger
http://starnewsgroup.com/weekly/2008/06.19.08/council_agre_06.19.08_54410.html
The Belmar Council agreed to go out to bid on the borough’s proposed skatepark during last Wednesday evening’s workshop meeting, after weeks of toiling with the decision regarding what materials should be used to construct the skatepark’s ramps and various attractions.

After shooting down Councilman William Merkler’s proposed wood structures for the skatepark just weeks ago, the council was pleased with the alternative steel and aluminum structures presented to them by Councilman Merkler and his right-hand man in the skatepark project, Bob Losito, owner of the Belmar Pro Skateboard Shop.

The council agreed to go out to bid on the aluminum and steel structures, giving bidders three options — to bid on the first phase of the skatepark, otherwise known as the mini ramp, to bid on second phase of the skatepark, known as the street plaza, or to bid on both structures.

Currently, the cost of the entire skatepark project is set at $77,000. The borough currently has $55,000 on hand to fund the project, money raised by the borough, Councilman Merkler and Mr. Losito during fund-raising events.

If Councilman Merkler and Mr. Losito are able to raise the remaining $22,000 to fund the entire project, a bid will be awarded based on the least expensive price proposed by bidders to complete both phases.

“All the credit should go to Bob,” Councilman Merkler said last Friday, of receiving the OK to move forward on going out to bid on the project. “He has been researching night and day.”

The aluminum and steel structures proposed for the skatepark were discovered by Mr. Losito, after Mr. Losito came across a company called Who Skates, out of Maine, that construct steel and aluminum structures at a reasonable cost.

According to Mr. Losito, the first phase of the skatepark will feature a mini ramp, which will contain two ramps extending perpendicular from flat banks.

Mini ramps, a universal skatepark apparatus found in skateparks throughout the country, have been around since the late 1970s, Mr. Losito stated last Friday.

The ramps contained in the mini ramp will reach two different heights — a four-foot high ramp, with an extension to a five-foot high ramp.

The second phase of the project will feature a street plaza, Mr. Losito said.

The street plaza will contain two flat banks, two hubbas — box-like structures descending stairs — one set of six or seven stairs and a euro-gap with a platform. At the top of the platform, flat banks will be located.

Mr. Losito explained that the purpose of the street plaza is to simulate everyday obstacles, such as railings and other man-made structures found in front of office buildings and other areas where skateboarders frequent and are not permitted to skate legally.

Mr. Losito added that he and Mr. Merkler are trying to build the same man-made attractions in the borough’s skatepark, so the skateboarders frequenting the skatepark do not feel the need to skate illegally throughout the town.

On the ground, four concrete attractions, consisting of manual pads and ledges, also simulating man-made structures, will be sandwiched between the mini ramp and the street plaza.

The skatepark will be housed in a 10,000-square-foot area, which was recently repaved, on 16th Avenue, in Belmar.

Mr. Losito noted that a portion of the park will not house any structures and will remain a flat surface on which children can practice.

In the future, Mr. Losito hopes to open up this area to children as young as 2 or 3 years old, who would have the ability to learn how to skateboard on attractions specifically constructed to cater to their age group.

Councilman Merkler presented Borough Administrator Robbin Kirk with a check for $2,500 for the skatepark last Wednesday evening. The check was donated by his sister, Elizabeth Merkler, on behalf of Elizabeth Merkler Pediatric Dentistry, in Wall.

Mr. Losito presented Ms. Kirk with a check for $3,000 as well, $300 of which came from the proceeds raised during eS Game of SKATE, held in Belmar the weekend of June 7.

A total of $200 of the $3,000 presented to Ms. Kirk was provided by area children who dropped change in a can at Mr. Losito’s shop on a daily basis to fund the skatepark.

Robert Taurosa, of Manasquan, donated the remaining $2,500.

Councilman Merkler informed the council that he is still waiting on two $2,500 donations from area residents wishing to contribute to the skatepark.

The additional $5,000 would bring the funds raised for the skatepark to $60,000.

Perforations in the steel structure will allow for minimal water build-up between the Skatelite, a phenolic fiber laminate used for skate ramps, and the steel structure, further delaying the deterioration of the Skatelite, Mr. Losito informed the council and Department of Public Works [DPW] Superintendent Andy Meuerle at the meeting.

Mr. Meuerle had expressed his concern, numerous times at previous meetings, over the maintenance of the skatepark and the deterioration of Skateline when used on wood structures, which are less protected from damage caused by rain and other weather-related factors.

The DPW will ultimately be in charge of maintaining the skatepark once all of the phases are complete.

Councilman Merkler, seeking alternative means of funding for the skatepark, announced last Wednesday that he will be applying for a grant from the Monmouth County Open Space Grant Program in September.

The grant, however, will not be awarded until 2009. The maximum amount awarded from a Monmouth County Open Space Grant Program is $250,000. If awarded to the borough next year, the councilman explained that the extra funds will go towards additional features at the park, not the phases going out to bid currently.

Councilman Merkler stated last Friday that he believed the switch from wood to steel construction was the deciding factor in the council’s decision to go out to bid on the project.

For Mr. Losito, he believed the town’s major concern with the project was skatepark maintenance.

By providing the council and DPW Superintendent Mueurle with an aluminum and steel weather resistant structure, Mr. Losito believes the council was assured that the maintenance at the skatepark would be minimal.

Councilman Matthew Doherty has expressed, on numerous occasions, his disapproval of the wooden structure originally proposed for the park and his concerns regarding safety and supervision at the skatepark.

Councilman Doherty stated last Friday “the primary reason” the council approved the motion to go out to bid was because of the steel and aluminum structure presented to them at the meeting.

“Superintendent Andy Meuerle visited skateparks with both [wood and steel structures] and felt the steel structures were far superior to the wood structures,” Councilman Doherty said. “The DPW, at the end of the day, will have to maintain the park, just as they maintain other parks in Belmar.”

“What still has to be addressed is [Belmar Police] Chief [Jack] Hill’s concerns regarding public safety of the park,” Councilman Doherty added.

Chief Hill had previously informed the mayor and council, after researching skateparks throughout the area, that at the Point Pleasant skatepark alone, there were 1,800 calls for service to the police department in just one year.

According to Chief Hill, the calls for service involved reports of graffiti, vandalism, drug use and alcohol consumption, just to name a few.

Skateboards have been confiscated on numerous occasions and arrests have been made, Chief Hill has said.

Both skateparks in Stafford and Berkeley townships have closed down because of the number of calls for service police received at the locations, Chief Hill has said.

While the borough will be going out to bid on the project, issues such as safety and supervision of the skatepark remain.

Mr. Losito, who recently researched statistics of sports-related injuries in the United States which were reported to hospitals in 2006, explained that skateboarding injuries rank ninth on the list of sports known to incur serious injuries in which athletes are taken to hospitals for care.

According to Mr. Losito, basketball ranked number one in causing sports-related injuries in the country.

Running and jogging ranked number two, soccer ranked number three, football ranked number four and baseball ranked number five.

“When asked the question, “Who makes more trips to the hospital — tennis players or skateboarders,” most people would respond skateboarders,” Mr. Losito said last Friday. “One tenth of one percent of tennis players go to the hospital more than skateboarders.

“A lot of people don’t realize [that skateboarding is a legitimate sport which inflicts even less injuries than most organized sports], they stereotype it, they think, “Oh, it’s dangerous, they are going to get hurt,” Mr. Losito said.

Mr. Losito added, that is not the case.

“There are 2.9 million children registered to play baseball in the US,” Mr. Losito said.“There are 15 million skateboarders in the U.S.”

While all of the shore communities in the area are equipped with a baseball field, most are not equipped with skateparks, when there are “five times more skateboarders than baseball players,” Mr. Losito reported.

“I believe in the cause,” Mr. Losito added, explaining the reasoning as to why he has done the research on the safety and structures of the skatepark.

For those wishing to donate funds to the skatepark to enable the borough to go out to bid on both phases of the park, contact Councilman Merkler at bmerkler@belmar.com.