The City of Merrill Parks & Recreation Commission, along with the Mayor’s Special Skate Park Committee (made up of local interested citizens and skaters) met with lead designer and co-owner of Spohn Ranch Skate Parks, Vince Onel. Spohn Ranch Skate Parks, from California, is one of the leading Skate Park Design & Build companies in the country.
The meeting took place at the Merrill Area Recreation Complex on the site that was mutually selected by the Parks & Recreation Commission and Skate Park Committee. Spohn Ranch was selected to create a design for a new, state of the art skate park for the community that will fulfill the needs of the growing popularity of the sport in our community, as well as a design that will attract skaters from all over the state and beyond. The site meeting was followed by a joint meeting between the Parks & Recreation Commission and the Skate Park Committee, along with Onel from Spohn Ranch.
The meeting was very well attended with local skaters who were given the floor to express their ideas, opinions, and visions for the future skate park. It was wonderful to see so many people working together on this initiative and in the end will provide the best possible design and park for all to enjoy! Spohn Ranch left with a long list of ideas to aid in the design process that they are currently finishing up. Once the first draft of the design arrives, it will be reviewed by the Skate Park Committee and Parks & Recreation Commission and shared with the public for any revisions. Parks & Recreation Commission and Skate Park Committee meetings are open to the public and anyone interested is welcome to attend and share their thoughts.
It is the goal of the Skate Park Committee and Parks & Recreation Commission to have a final design by the end of the year to be able to begin fundraising for the project.