The Franklin Town Council approved a design for the new skatepark to be built on the Whitmire property (Sunnyside Park).
During Monday’s monthly council meeting, Anders Ike from JE Dunn said they hope to start construction in April. JE Dunn is the company building the new hospital and last year offered to help build a skatepark for the town. “We’re here, we want to do something to help the community,” Steve Suttles, superintendent for the hospital project, told the council at the June meeting.
The company wants to complete the park by the time construction on the hospital is finished this summer. Ike said they will help raise funds, provide free labor and help secure free or discounted materials. JE Dunn will also match monetarily to an unspecified level the funds raised locally. The town has committed $15,000 toward the design cost. Ike estimated $10,000-$15,000 had been raised for the park.
“We are looking to partner with the town, not fund it fully,” Ike said. “We will raise money, the town of Franklin will raise money and put all the money together, and we’ll help manage the actual construction of the park.”
At Monday’s meeting, Vice Mayor Joe Collins questioned how much the park will cost, how much the town will be responsible for and who else will help pay for the park.
The JE Dunn representatives said the actual construction cost could not be determined until the design was finalized. With the design now approved, Suttles said they can get a better estimate on material costs. “Knowing what you’re going to build you’re going to let us know what the cost is.”
“We’re here to do everything we can to help with this and to make this happen,” Suttles said.
Town Manager Amie Owens said the approved design incorporates input from the local skate group and some modifications regarding height, the flow of the park and access points.
The local SK828 group has been raising money and council member David Culpepper said the town should do its part as well.
Prior to the close of the meeting, Culpepper said the park is something needed for local young people and the town should not try to micromanage the project.
“If we’re not doing it for the skateboarders, let’s don’t do it,” Culpepper said. “They can go there, and they skate, and they can learn how to overcome adversity in this skatepark.”
He gets aggravated seeing no one commit to helping the younger generation.
“Nobody gives them anything. Everybody calls them pieces of crap,” he said.
He sees the park as a long-term investment in the community’s youth. “It’s about helping them,” Culpepper said adding kids need a place they can call their own, “a place where they can learn wherewithal and learn how to overcome adversity. That’s what they need.”
Other business during Monday’s meeting included:
• Approval of a $75,000 contract with Watson Construction for the Maple Street sewer project.
• Approval for the fire department to purchase a new vehicle for the fire chief. The chief’s current truck will be used as a quick response vehicle so the department would not have to use a fire truck for certain calls.
The council met in closed session following the regular meeting “to discuss handling or settlement of a claim.” No action was taken.
The council will hold a retreat on Friday evening, Jan. 21 and Saturday, Jan. 22. The next regular meeting will be Monday, Feb. 7, 6 p.m. at Town Hall.