Future of Neepawa Skate Park in doubt
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- Published on Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Photo by Eoin Devereux. The temporary skate park ramps are nearing the end of their usefulness.
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
The future of a skate park in Neepawa is uncertain, unless more community support for the project steps forward. The current seasonal park, located next to the RCMP building, has been around for just over 10 years, but is nearing the end of its service life.
The combination of wear and tear to the ramps and a desire to find a more suitable location has driven Neepawa’s Leisure Services to explore a more permanent structure. Department manager Amanda Novak said the hope is to locate a new concrete skate pad in the Flats. Novak noted however, that if members of the community or local service groups don’t step forward to support the plan, there will be no desire from Town Council to push the proposal forward.
“[The community at large] needs to be the one that lobbies council for these improvements. If it’s not a community driven project, then [Neepawa Town Council] is not going to necessarily support it,” stressed Novak. “There has to be an example of local interest in the construction of a new, permanent skate park, for anything to happen.”
The original cost for the materials and assembly of the current seasonal park in 2005 was around $10,000, with the most of that investment provided by the Town. Novak said a permanent concrete facility will cost more, so there needs to be a strong will from the people for this project to turn it into a reality.
“We have to remove the existing temporary park. Its current location is no longer viable and a permanent outdoor skate park would fit into our long-term plans for the Flats nicely,” said Novak. “We’d like to see an organization come forward and present a plan [to Town Council] within the next year. Leisure Services could work with them, serving as a liaison to council and also as a resource to aid in the preparation of proposals for potential grants. We’re giving the public just under a year and if we don’t have any interest at all, then it must be set aside. For something like this, Town Council will not invest taxpayer money without community input and community enthusiasm. They want to see what the community wants. There has to be a group of leaders who get together and support this or else it’s not going to happen. Municipal dollars are tight and there are other priorities to be addressed, unless there are people who lobby for something like this, that they feel is a priority, it will not happen.”
