Skate park plans on hold

Plans for a skate park here are on hold temporarily, but it still could become a reality next spring, the planning committee said.
“We’ve taken a bit of a hiatus for the summer,” said Mark Jones, president of the Fort Frances Kiwanis Club and a member of the committee.
“We know the park will not be built this year.”
With many people on summer vacation, it makes more sense to wait until fall to resume planning, he added.
Earlier this summer, the committee was hopeful it would get the go-ahead from town council and begin building the skate park before the fall.
But the proposed location at Second Street East and Reid Avenue, adjacent to the Memorial Sports Centre, posed a few problems.
Because of a waterline dissecting the land, the committee had to move the proposed skate park south of the waterline, where it would take up 35 parking spots which would have to be replaced.
In addition, because the skate park would be designated as a “structure,” town bylaws demand another 45 new parking spaces be built.
“It’s possible we might get that set aside, but we’d have to appeal to the committee of adjustment. All that takes time,” Jones said.
Because of the problems at the current site, the committee may discuss looking for another location for the skate park.
“We’ve briefly considered another site or two, but my feeling is that the location at the Sportsplex would be ideal,” Jones remarked.
“A remote site would have some benefits and some drawbacks,” he added.
Locating the skate park next to the Memorial Sports Centre would make it easier for the town to service the site. Garbages need to be emptied, and if it is fenced in, the park would need to be opened and closed at appropriate times.
The upcoming municipal election in November is another stumbling block. “Getting a new council in the fall, that puts a bite on things,” Jones said.
The skate park committee plans to meet again in early September to discuss its options.
“That gives us time to regroup, and we’ll attack it again in the fall,” Jones remarked.