Is a Skatepark in Montclair Closer to Becoming a Reality?

Standing before the Town Council, Montclair High School students made an articulate and impassioned plea on Tuesday night for support for a skatepark in Montclair.

In a nutshell, here's the nitty-gritty of how a skatepark could shape up:

Size of skatepark - 10,000 square feet

Cost of skatepark - $350,000 to $400,000

Funding of skatepark - Would come from private sources, mostly with the help of Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence.

Details of skatepark - No fence or attendant. Sign would say "skateboard at your own risk." Another sign would say "helmets are mandatory."

Closest other skateparks - Bloomfield has a skatepark but you have to pay a $30 membership fee to go there. Livingston has a skatepark but you have to be a resident to go there.

Here's what happened Tuesday night at the Town Council meeting:

Jon Segal, 15, told council members that he's looked at skateparks across the country and that "they are appealing to the eye. That's what we're going for."

The presentation was an agenda item that attracted a packed council chambers, many of whom were young boys holding skateboards.

Sharon Szymanski was on hand to represent her 16-year-old son, Chester Leopold, a skateboarding enthusiast who is away at camp this week.

"Skateboarding is a sport just like tennis, baseball, basketball, or anything else and we should have equal support for this," she said.

Currently, she said young people had to either pay fees or travel long distances to skateparks in places such as Hoboken in order to enjoy their sport.

Proponents of a skatepark in Montclair asked the council to pass a resolution that would not allocate funding but that would simply state the council's support for the group's efforts.

Although some council members raised questions, no member - and no one in attendance - spoke against the idea.

Indeed, it appeared that most council members supported the idea of a skatepark.

Here's what some of the council members had to say:

Renee Baskerville: "I'm committed to assisting you in any way I can and have been from the beginning. I'm with you."

Kathryn Weller-Demming: "I applaud you for taking the initiative. I think this is fabulous."

Roger Terry: "I'd be willing to help you out. We'd have to carve out an area in one of our parks."

Cary Africk: "It's highly unlikely the town will donate 10,000 square feet of land. It would be a very difficult problem we'd have to face. I support it and think it's a wonderful sport. But I think you have your work cut out for you."

Africk suggested the group contact Essex County about perhaps setting aside some space at the county-owned Brookdale Park.

Mayor Jerry Fried said the council would study the group's proposal and perhaps come up with wording for a resolution, perhaps by the council's next meeting in two weeks.