What about the Liberty Skate Park?

Posted 8/21/12

LIBERTY, NY — The future of the proposed Liberty Skate Park, which would be located in the Village of Liberty, is being discussed, and the size, scope and even the existence of the project are not …

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What about the Liberty Skate Park?

Posted

LIBERTY, NY — The future of the proposed Liberty Skate Park, which would be located in the Village of Liberty, is being discussed, and the size, scope and even the existence of the project are not clear at this time.

The project had been shepherded by Heinrich Strauch, the executive director of the Liberty Community Development Corporation (CDC), but the three groups funding the CDC—the Village of Liberty, the Town of Liberty and the Alan Gerry Foundation—did not, or could not, come up with enough funding to keep the CDC going with Strauch at the helm. So Strauch sought employment elsewhere.

Now, a transition board of the CDC is tying up loose ends, and one of those ends is the proposed skate park.

In July 2014, the Sullivan County Legislature voted to kick in $36,000 to the CDC to complete the funding of the skate park, a project that had been on the drawing board for a decade. At the time, Strauch said the group working on the park, which included town officials, village officials and numerous volunteers, had raised about $120,000 for the effort, and collected another $45,000 in donated labor, services and material. One source familiar with recent developments regarding the project said there is not as much money set aside for the project as had been believed.

The transition board is made up of two representatives from the town, two representatives from the village and two from the Gerry Foundation. The new mayor of the village, Ronald Stabak, said the transition board is in the process of going over the various accounts related to the skate park project, and they are numerous.

He said that he did not know if the amount in the accounts is enough to pay for the park as originally designed, but he added—and he stressed this is his personal view—a smaller skate park is better than no skate park, and that is something the transition board might be able to accomplish.

Originally, the park was to be constructed by Pillar Design Studios, and that might still be the case, but Stabak said at least one other company had also been contacted.

The original design for the park was created by Pillar, an Arizona-based firm that has an

international reputation for building skate parks, and has completed many parks in various countries.

At the meeting of the county legislature when the $36,000 commitment was made, Strauch said, “Our goal from the outset was to deliver a destination park, one that attracts skaters of all skill levels from within the community as well as the county and beyond.”

The contribution from the county was a bit controversial at the time, because some of the county legislators said a contribution to this project would lead to requests for funds for projects from all 15 towns in the county.

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