New skate park on its way

Jose Paul Corona

Teenagers pleas for a skate park at the Oak View Community Center were

heard.

The Community Services Commission and the City Council approved a plan

for a skate park at the center.

“I think it’s going to be great for the neighborhood,” said

Councilwoman Connie Boardman. “A great number of people have spoken for

the need of a skate park in town.”

There are two other skate parks in the city -- one at Murdy Park and

another at Huntington Beach High School.

Many of the children and teenagers who live in the Oak View

neighborhood, however, don’t have a way of getting to the city’s other

skate parks, Boardman said.

Skateboard enthusiasts have to wait for the city to hire someone to

build the park and get a conditional use permit. Design plans must go

before the city design review board, said Bill Fowler, superintendent of

Recreation and Human Services.

Despite the final hurdles that must be cleared, construction is set to

begin in October said, Colleen Gelfer, the community services supervisor

at the Oak View Community Center.

“[The kids] are very excited,” Gelfer said.

When they heard there were park improvement funds to be spent,

teenagers at the center began vying for a skate park, Gelfer said.

“Skateboarding has really taken off in this neighborhood,” she said.

A group of about 20 youths met with a landscape architect and gave

input as to what they wanted the park to look like, Gelfer said.