Skatepark effort closing in on goal
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Participants in the Janesville Outdoor Skate park Committee's Roll-A-Thon fundraiser cruise the bike trail on Saturday. The event sought donations for the proposed skate and bike facility in Palmer Park.
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Participants in the Janesville Outdoor Skate Park Committee's Roll-A-Thon on Saturday register for door prizes. Each $25 in pledges and donations earned particpants a ticket for chances to win merchandise prizes.
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The janesville Outdoor Skate Park Committee held a Roll-A-Thon fundraiser on Saturday. The event was held on the proposed site of the skate and bike facility in Palmer Park. The city may donate $50,000 to the project which will allow it to begin construction sooner than expected.
JANESVILLE — Construction of Janesville’s first skatepark could start next spring, an organizer said Saturday.
The inclusion of $50,000 for the facility in the proposed 2009 city budget would certainly help the effort, said Roger Streich of the Janesville Outdoor Skatepark Committee.
Streich said even without the $50,000, he hopes to start construction next spring. The question is whether the facility could be built in one, two or three phases, he said.
The estimated cost is around $300,000, Streich said.
Streich and his wife, Fern, said they hadn’t expected the park to be a part of the city budget, and they were well aware that a proposed budget item is far from a sure thing.
“If we go on the assumption that the city council will approve it, then it’s a huge blessing,” Streich said.
Streich talked to a reporter at the latest in a string of fundraisers, a “roll-a-thon,” Saturday at Palmer Park, where the skatepark could be built.
Streich said the effort has about $25,000 cash on hand and $40,000 in in-kind contributions from companies that would help build the park.
In addition, Lycon has pledged to supply a third of the concrete, and two sand-and-gravel operations, Prairie and Churchill, have pledged another third.
Streich said he is also having discussions with other companies that might supply concrete, limestone and excavation work.
With the cash and pledges in hand, Streich said the effort has enough momentum to approach foundations for contributions. Foundations want assurances that a project is likely to be built, he said.
Local foundations and the Tony Hawk Foundation are on Streich’s list. Hawk is a famous skateboarder. His foundation gave $12,500 to the Beloit skatepark effort, Streich said.
Streich plans to approach local service clubs and private businesses for donations in exchange for their names on a plaque. Naming rights in exchange for a large donation will also be considered.
Streich said local youths should have a safe, legal place to skate
“We believe in the youth, and we believe they have the right to skate,” Streich said.
Streich has said he wanted to fund the facility without any government help, but now he said he wouldn’t be ashamed to take the money, in light of a city initiative to spend about $1.3 million over two years to help build baseball diamonds, in a partnership with Janesville Youth Baseball at the city’s Youth Sports Complex.
“These kids have just as much right to enjoy their sport as an individual as other kids have to organized team sports,” Streich said.
A previous city council established a skatepark site in Palmer Park, near the corner of Palmer Drive and Mohawk Road. But recently, some have said a better location might be near the batting cages on Jackson Street near the Rock River.
Streich has said he has opposed the Jackson Street site because it’s too close to several bars and to a large number of sex offenders. Now, he said the committee encourages the Palmer Park site but would consider another safe location.
“Someplace is better than no place,” he said.
If you go
The Janesville Outdoor Skatepark Committee will have a Scoopie Night fundraiser from 4-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Culver's Restaurant at 2421 W. Court St., Janesville.
Oct 13, 2008 at 9:40 a.m.
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Anyone who thinks that this will disrupt the dog park should really think hard about what they are saying. The park will be nestled down in the trees to the left of the parking lot. The dog park extends straight out and to the right. If you want to complain about the quiet dog park, do you complain when kids are a little loud playing on the playground equipment, does the sound of voices and laughter really bother you? How about when the dogs start barking, will the sound of some kids talking bother you that much? Cars drivng by on the road will make more noise then the wheels on the ramps. Hopefully knowing that kids have a place to go, like you do with your dog, to recreate will be consolation enough for the "disruption" it may cause.
Oct 13, 2008 at 8:23 a.m.
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Thats great. Now the dog park is not going to be a peaceful as it always has been.
Oct 12, 2008 at 2:22 p.m.
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I agree with you as far as the batting cages and children's museum proposal, but if Monterey Stadium closes, where do you suggest our high schools hold their football games, let alone track meets?? neither school has the room to accomidate for those events.... not to mention, Wilson School does have more programs available to their students than any other elementary school in our district... downtown has been the one place in town that's kept the most people's attention and viewed in a degrading manner... why discriminate the 4th ward for leud and unruley behavior when it's city wide??
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the way I see it is that Rotary Gardens used to be a BMX track years ago... the owner/founder bought it out to give our city a free garden to enjoy... as of recent, the gardening committee put a price tag on it, which has had a large negative impact on our community and the people that used to enjoy it, even those that did donate to aid in the cost and effort put forth to keep the gardens looking beautiful... I say level the gardens and put the track back where it used to be... it will give the people/kids more of a positive outlet than what is available to them and keep them out of trouble...
Oct 12, 2008 at 12:24 p.m.
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I understand your concern of using tax money. You have to remember that the skate committee has been working on this project over 5 years and yet to get any large donors to come forward to bring this park to reality. Yet every city around us has a skate park built in those 5 years. Those cities saw a need for a park that these kids and young adults can safely skate and BMX biking. In the 5 years the committee has had many fund raisers but only get a few hundred dollars because people are not coming out to support this effort. You folks who are complaining is why Janesville a city of over 60,000 people does not have a skate park. You create a negative attitude for this project. People from outside of Janesville can not believe a city of this size does not have a skate park. You folks want to keep Janesville in the dark ages.
Oct 12, 2008 at 12:01 p.m.
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The sex offender issue is a red herring. If they are such an immediate concern, then the city should close the batting cages, Monterey Stadium, Wilson School, and Fourth Ward Park, and the YMCA (and Children's Museum!) should not be downtown. The numbers are higher because the central city has more density -- more people per square mile. (Not to mention the study was done using the highly scientific "Google Maps" method.) This part of the city also has more families with children. Yet we have not seen an epidemic of stranger adult-child sexual assaults.
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Just last night I drove past the Jackson location and a mere two blocks away, at dusk, there was an enormous game of ditchem going on with more than a dozen kids of all ages storming around an empty lot.
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This is just more prejudice directed against the Fourth Ward and downtown area.
Oct 12, 2008 at 10:02 a.m.
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Don't forget the Children's Museum.
I recognize the effort behind this project, and respect the fact that the organizers have worked so hard. I definitely would like to see the park go in at the Jackson Street location, but that's just my opinion. I feel that the solution to the sex offenders/bars is not to abandon the area, or more importantly, the children who live down there. Bring in a positive. I believe that there was also a federal grant available for that specific location, I don't know what ever became of that.
Oct 12, 2008 at 8:38 a.m.
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I understand the good nature of this effort, but I'm not thrilled about my taxes going up while funding this. The city should let private donors fund this project until economic matters settle. The city is raising taxes and utility cost for 2009, but is helping to fund a skate park, bike tunnel, and bike path extension. All this while we are in the middle of our --worst financial crisis since the great depression---. Even more, Janesville will suffer more than most areas nationally, due to continued layoffs at GM and other local manufacturers. Brilliant!!!
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