Township Committee approves contract for design work related to park.
By: Mark Moffa
WASHINGTON The Township Committee last month approved a resolution paying $8,200 to Van Cleef Engineering for design work on a skateboard park and appointed a committee of local youngsters to help with the project.
Committeeman Vince Calcagno has spearheaded the effort to build a skate park in the municipal complex across from the police station.
The municipal complex is located at the corner of Robbinsville-Allentown Road (Route 526) and Route 130 North.
"We’re going the next step in trying to actually design the park itself," Mr. Calcagno said.
He asked Mayor Dave Fried to appoint six township children who skateboard to a committee to help John Reymann of Van Cleef Engineering design the approximately 8,000-square-foot structure.
"There’s all sorts of ramps and half-pipes and quarter-pipes that you could put in," Mr. Calcagno said. "The kids can draw on their experience from different parks they’ve been to."
The skateboarders appointed by the mayor were Andrew Stephens, Peter Boucher, David Schindewolf, Doug Hayes-Patterson, Patrick Calcagno, and Forrester Bridges.
Patrick is Mr. Calcagno’s son.
They will join Recreation Director Chris Merias in figuring out how the skateboard park will be designed, operated, and constructed. Mr. Calcagno said the group was to meet sometime this month.
In February, Mayor Dave Fried announced the Matrix Development Group would do the ground work and paving for the park at no charge to the township. The mayor said the township will need to pay for the park equipment, although he said most of those funds will come from money received from developers for adding recreational facilities.
Matrix is the development group constructing the warehouses in the township’s Northeast Business Park.
Administrator Jack West said the park likely will cost approximately $100,000, although the exact cost will depend on the design specifications devised by the skateboard committee.
The mayor said the township does not plan to hire someone to supervise the facility. Instead, he said, police officers will be expected to keep an eye on the park.
"It really sort of goes back to our community policing initiative," Mayor Fried said.