Sentinel News - Friday, March 30, 2007

Skate park plans keep rolling
By Ben Adkins/Sentinel-News Staff Writer

The SkatePark Advocates continued Tuesday on their quest to rally support
and financing for a skate park in Shelbyville.

The advocates, made up of a group of local teens and Dee Maynard, who has
played a role in past parks projects, began discussing the project just a few
months ago. Since December, the group has gotten the city's permission to
use the old swimming pool site on Washington Street and begun soliciting
financial support.

Over the past month, the group has had 10 appointments with local
businesses, Maynard said. In the first week alone, they were able to raise
$3,700.

"We are getting such a positive response," she said.

But that's a long way from the hefty $95,000 price tag to build the "ideal"
park. The purpose of Tuesday's meeting was to usher along a grant process
that, if it goes the way the advocates hope, will give their fund a significant thrust.
The Land & Water Conservation Fund is federal money used to fund parks and
recreational projects. In the past, Shelby County has used money from the grant
to help pay for several parks projects.

Kentucky projects will see about $400,000 from the grant, said Parks Director Clay Cottongim. He also said local projects
will be eligible to receive up to $75,000 for the matching grant, depending on how many applicants there are.

Between $75,000 and $80,000 will pay for lights for a Little League baseball field. The remainder will go to the skate park,
and will match what the advocates raise on their own, Cottongim said.

Those who attended Tuesday's meeting filled out forms indicating whether they support the skate park. Cottongim said the
grant application process requires a public meeting to solicit feedback.

Though it will be located on city property, the skate park will be overseen and maintained by the parks board. Money for the
park's maintenance will ultimately be built into the general parks budget.

The SkatePark Advocates have also applied for several other grants to help finance the park's construction. A preliminary
design has been completed, and they are hoping to start construction as early as this fall.