Terre Haute skate park could open by this fall

By Crystal Garcia
The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE January 09, 2008 10:51 pm

— Skaters could be enjoying part of the Voorhees Park Terre Haute Skate Park as early as September or October.
Members of the Terre Haute Parks & Recreation Board met Wednesday afternoon to discuss upcoming projects and business.
Pat Martin, the city’s chief planner, was on hand to update the board on the skate park.
With the plans for Phase 1 approved by the engineer’s office, it’s just a matter of when construction can start.
Martin said construction typically starts in April. Once it begins, Phase 1 is expected to be completed within four to six months, he said.
Because of the size of the skate park and uncertainties of its funding, Martin was unsure of the number of project phases.
Phase 1 will cost $300,000.
Funding for the project will come from a $500,000 loan the department secured in June from Old National Bank with a 4.57 percent interest rate.
Phase 1 includes the main bowl-shaped structure and part of a second accompanying bowl-shaped structure.
The Skate Park’s design is expected to be for “various levels of learning,” Martin said, so anyone from a beginner to an expert will be able to use it. California Landscape and Design is the consultant the Parks Board is working with to complete the project.
Other proposals and the Master Plan were topics discussed by the Parks Board on Wednesday.
An agreement between the board and the American Red Cross to use the Booker T. Washington Park Community Center as a shelter in case of emergency is still being finalized. It is expected to be ready for vote for the board’s next business meeting.
An additional agreement the board hopes to have at the next meeting is the lease agreement for the CHANCES for Indiana Youth to move into the Booker T. Washington Park Community Center. CHANCES’ board meeting is Tuesday, when they are expected to look over the current agreement and send it back to the Parks Board for its next meeting.
Parks Board President John L. Wright said they are shooting for an April 1 move-in date for the group.
With 2008 being the last year in the five-year Master Plan, the board expects to begin the process soon of taking proposals and looking at bids for a new plan. The new plan will cover the years 2009 to 2014.
Wright said the plan is important because it’s what the Parks Department uses to see what the public wants, and the needs of the parks.
The Parks Board also discussed the planning of the Fairbanks Park Arts & Music Festival, slated for May 22-31. Department workers are in the process of working with promoters to find entertainment for the event.
No action was taken at this meeting. Voting and more updating are expected at the next meeting Jan. 23 in the Torner Community Center in Deming Park. Officers for 2008 are expected to be elected at that meeting.
Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.