Township Drops in on Skating Culture

West Orange will move forward with construction of a $117,300 skatepark at Degnan Memorial Park on Pleasant Valley Way, as well as upgrading a futsal court at Colgate Park, after a unanimous vote by township council Tuesday.

Construction for the skatepark is expected to begin by the end of September or early October, according to officials.

West Orange Mayor Robert Parisi said the skatepark, which will be located next to the park's playground, has been in the works since 2002, dating back to plans of the previous administration.

"The idea had been around for awhile and evolved through community interest. As it became more popular among kids, more kids were coming forward and questioning some sort of opportunity to explore that interest," said Parisi. "The town first looked at it seriously and had some proposal that came before the council. In one form or another, it's been around for quite awhile. And it has to do in the growing interest of the sport itself."

Before settling on the location of Degnan Memorial Park, township officials aimed for another site to place the skatepark.

"We had looked to do it in an area near Edison Central Sixth," said Parisi. "The land wasn't available due to class and trailer space."

The skatepark will be paid for through its inclusion in the recently passed zero percent tax increase proposal, along with the capital budget.

"We left the skatepark in the capital budget because it was a project that we wanted to go forward with," said Parisi. "There's been a lot of interest in public support for it."

Thanks to growing demand by students in the township's public schools, Parisi received a petition of more than a 300 signatures, pushing for the development of the park.

Parisi said before the skatepark, kids were reported loitering around school property, using hand rails, stairs, curbs and anything else they could find skate worthy.

"They have skateboarders on every one of their school facilities after school skating on the steps and sidewalks," said Parisi. "We looked at it the last year or two again and finally found a field we were comfortable with and decided it was time to go forward with it."

The idea of the skatepark wasn't just a recreation issue, but also a safety issue for the kids and patrons of the schools.

There is some opposition, however, to the construction of the park.

Joe Krakoviak, a resident who lives on Grand View Avenue and who's running for a township council seat in November, said he was denied certain information regarding the skatepark by town officials.

Despite the lack of information, he said the township went ahead with the plans anyway.

Krakoviak also saud that he was given one document upon his request, but it was document showing the diagram and layout of the futsal court at Colgate Park, not of the skatepark.

"I'm in favor of giving this project more time and more thought to increase the chances of success at the minimal burden to taxpayers," he said. "Livingston raised most of its money not from taxpayer money. I think we should give it a shot."

West Orange is a newcomer to the skate scene, with neighbor Livingston recently sporting a newly developed skatepark located on South Livingston Avenue in between the police station and the West Essex YMCA and hosts a number of young kids and teens almost every day.

Parisi said are high hopes for the park, joining the long list of the numerous recreational opportunities located within West Orange. Parisi said he wishes for township residents to withhold their biases about the culture of skateboarding and the connotations a skatepark could possibly bring to a community.

"I don't want to imply, nor should anyone else imply, that bringing a skatepark to Degnan will bring a bad element because that is just blatantly unfair," he said. "I'd like to think, we all, no matter what job we do, bring a bit of personality to the job. ... We think it's a nice addition to our recreation facilities and we will proceed."