Construction of the town’s new skatepark is being delayed but town officials are committed to making it happen. Town Manager Amie Owens reported at the June 6 Town Council meeting that she had recently learned the person who approached the town about the park is no longer working with the construction company.
Steve Suttles of JE Dunn came before the town board in June 2021 and offered to help the town build a skatepark. JE Dunn is the construction company working on the new hospital, and Suttles said they wanted to do something to give back to the community.
As part of his original proposal to the town, Suttles said the company could provide free or discounted labor and materials and would serve as contractor for the project.
As recent as the April 4 meeting, Suttles said if the hospital construction is completed before the skate park is complete, that he lives in Canton and would still be available to help see the project through. But now that he has left the company, there is some confusion about how the park will move forward.
The town has committed $15,000 in design fees in addition to the donation of the proposed park site on the old Whitmire property/Sunnyside Park, located off Highlands Road. The county committed $35,000 to the project, and the local skate group SK828 has raised more than $18,000 for the park. Owens said she is going to contact JE Dunn to see if they will make a $25,000 cash donation to the project.
Owens contacted the contractor the town was considering to build the radius for the park to get an estimate on how much it would cost for them to build the whole park. The estimate was $260,000-$280,000, and the company would not be available to start until sometime next year.
Owens said the $50,000 grant the town had applied for paving First Street and the parking lot for the new park, could possibly be reallocated for construction costs.
“Don’t give up – you’ve waited all this time,” Owens said to the skate park supporters at the meeting. “We’re right there with you, just give us a little bit more time and we’ll get a more concrete plan in place, and we can move forward.”
While Council Member David Culpepper pointed out the company is likely experiencing the same supply chain issues and delays that others are, the council members agreed the company should not be let “off the hook.” “They have ways to deliver a good bit of what they wanted to,” said Vice Mayor Joe Collins.
Collins said JE Dunn is the one that put the idea of the skatepark in people’s heads and now “it looks like they’re maybe skating out of town. I am so troubled that it appears that they’re going to end up not being a contributor. Whatever we can do, but it just really struck me the wrong way,” said Collins.
Following the latest update at last week’s meeting, Council Member Stacy Guffey asked if maybe they should look at a different location, possibly something more accessible to downtown and closer to the high school so people could walk from school to the park.
One of the sites originally considered was county property next to the dog park on Phillips Street, but now the county is looking at that as a possible location for pickleball courts.
Culpepper said the skatepark is still a priority. “We need to find a way to go from where we are.”
Owens was at the Board of County Commissioners meeting on June 7 and the topic of the skatepark came up there as well. Commissioners Paul Higdon and Josh Young suggested the county and town meet to see if there is a way they can cooperate on the development of both recreational requests – pickleball courts and the skatepark. Owens said the town was open to suggestions.
Tim Shaw from SK828 said he has been polling local skaters and SK828 supporters about their preference for the park’s location. Shaw said most skaters and their parents prefer the Whitmire/Sunnyside Park location. “The kids say they like to walk from the high school down to the Greenway and then skate the Greenway over to McDonald’s and what would be the future skatepark. This route avoids a lot of roads and traffic and is fun to skate,” he said. “The parents like the convenience of the location and the potential that the park will be developed into more of a park with restrooms and a picnic pavilion and walking paths.”
SK828 fundraiser request
During the Town Council meeting, Shaw requested a street closure for a SK828 fundraiser on July 2 at Altered Frequencies off Carolina Mountain Dr. The street closure will be from 3:30 p.m. July 2 until 2 a.m. on July 3 and will include about 66 feet between S. Patton Avenue and Technology Drive.
Shaw said the purpose of the closure is to allow attendees to safely cross the road from the parking lot. The council approved the road closure request.
The “Punks for the Skatepark” fundraiser will feature several live bands beginning at 5 p.m. with gates opening at 4 p.m. The concert will continue outdoors until 12:30 a.m. and then move indoors from 12:30 to 2 a.m. with reduced volume.
James “Jimbo” Ledford, owner of Altered Frequencies, has applied for a permit to exceed the noise control limits during that time.