Thanks to a grassroots effort, $30,000 has been raised for a public skate space at Emry Park for beginning skaters.
With the city setting aside $15,000 for the project there are enough funds to proceed.
While the city council did not vote to release the $15,000 at its meeting Tuesday, City Manager Kelly Traynham said afterward she would be getting updated quotes for concrete, something that Emry Park public skate space advocate Justin Kerr had recommended earlier in the meeting.
An updated quote on concrete prices will be crucial in the process to determine whether there might be a gap or whether the project can proceed with the funds raised and the proposed $15,000 from the city.
“I have secured the rest of the funds,” Kerr told the council in his update. “What I’m asking tonight is that maybe the city get a new quote since I know it’s been so long and the price of concrete has went up and see if we can maybe move forward.”
He said, “We’ve definitely had a lot of people from the community pitch in and help.”
Another fundraiser is planned for March 15 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the skatepark at T.J. Davis, the third event in the series. “It’s been a real big event,” he said. “It’s been awesome to see the community come together, help and pitch in with this. It’s something I see that the community really wants.”
Mayor Emery Doughtie told Kerr he thought it was admirable that he was able to raise that much money.
Replied Kerr: “I couldn’t have done it without all the generous people in the community who definitely helped out and pitched in. That’s what’s been awesome — just seeing how giving and wonderful this community can be to put forward and have something like this. This is just not for my kids, it’s hopefully for the next generation of kids — something for this community to have.”
Traynham said an updated quote on concrete might help the city figure out if there will be a deficit between the $15,000 the city has set aside and the $30,000 that Kerr has raised.
The skate space would occupy three of the abandoned tennis courts at Emrey. “The tennis courts that are there right now have been closed for a number of years,” the city manager said. “It is unsightly and no matter what, this project will improve the appearance and the functionality of the park and still provide room for additional improvements where the current tennis courts are located.”
The courts are far beyond any maintenance or filling of cracks, Traynham said. “They (tennis courts) have about a 30-year lifespan … the courts outlived their natural lifespan so at this point the maintenance was essentially discontinued because of the lack of effort and not putting money into something that was not going to be sustainable.”
Kerr said there is a private contractor willing to do the demolition and lay the base layer of rock for free. “We’ve got a company in town that’s donating the lights so we can have the park lit at night.”
Traynham told Kerr, “I think your efforts are to be commended. I do think you can get to a point where you’ve probably maxed out some fundraising efforts and you have far surpassed our expectations in that … I think it would be in the best interest sooner than later to try and get this project implemented.”
Tracy Story, of Discount Tire and the Rewritten Story Foundation, told the council, “I really want to commend Justin. I don’t know what type of fundraising efforts you’ve ever been part of, but $30,000 in a small community like this is a lot of money. I do a lot of fundraising and we help a lot of people. It is very hard to attain $30,000. I’ve never done that.”
Story also spoke on the conditions at Emry. “It’s truly an embarrassment for our community … but when we get down to having someone who has actually gone out and obtained $30,000 towards a project — that’s money the city doesn’t have to spend.”
Said Story: “The longer we wait, the more liability there is; not to mention the eyesore for the citizens and for those who want to enjoy the park.”
