VINCENNES, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– Vincennes officials are preparing to take the next steps on renovations to the Lester Square Skate Park following a public meeting last Thursday.
The meeting focused on getting community input from skaters on proposed designs for the new-look park. Councilmember Brian Grove said about 20 skaters voiced their opinions, hoping to add areas that are easier for beginners as well.
“I was very pleased with the turnout of skaters,” he said. “There were different inputs on, they want more beginner skill level [areas,] all the way up through intermediate, and the designer of the park was definitely receptive to all those inputs.”
It’s a project city officials have been working on for years. The proposed designs featured all-concrete features, and the drawings were originally from 2018– Grove said the main focus is making it more aesthetically pleasing and safer.
“We knew that there were issues here,” he said. “Just the upkeep is not cost effective. We looked at a total new design, an all-concrete design, which should last a lot longer than the metal design.”
He said the next steps were picking a final design, before entering the bid process. Grove said one proposed design would expand the skatepark about 20 yards, and add a gazebo to the area. He said the council was looking into grants, but also had set aside $250,000 to pay for the construction.
“Initially, the cost was about $250,000 and we did bond for that last year, so that money is secured, we do have that money ready to go,” he said. “ The question is, the new bids that we will receive, are they going to be much greater than that? We’re prepared to go the distance with this.”
Grove believes improving the parks can go a long way in improving the community as a whole.
“People from [ages] 7 to 40 will use this park. There’s very few things that we can do as a council to improve the quality of life and the parks is one that we emphasize on and we can build upon that and make this a better place,” he said.
Grove said the city did not have a finish date for the project at this time, but he believes construction should start at some point in 2023.
