Westbrook’s skaters will soon have a place to call their own as the city has announced it is going ahead with plans to build a park with ramps.

The park will be located in Bicentennial Park, and construction is expected to begin this spring, with the park opening sometime in the summer. As an added bonus, city officials said the park would be built through donations and not by taxpayer money.

Local developer Tim Flannery has donated $20,000 toward the cost of constructing the park and City Administrator Jerre Bryant said the city is expecting several local businesses to be donating time and labor to help build the park. In addition, Bryant said the city also has about $62,000 left from the $75,000 Hannaford donated to help revitalize Bicentennial Park, and that money would be used to purchase materials.

Earlier this year, the council approved a $100,000 bond earmarked for playground improvements. At the time, the administration said some of that money could be used for the ramp park. Because of the donations received by the city, Bryant said all of that $100,000 could now be dedicated to the city’s playgrounds.

Westbrook skaters were not as concerned about where the money for the park came from, they were just glad to hear it was finally going to be built. “We’ve been waiting for a while to get it done,” said skater Tanner Dunea.

Skater Casey Ledoux said right now kids head over to the skate park in Portland, but he was looking forward to being able to stay at home in Westbrook to skate. “We haven’t had a place here to skate legally and safely,” he said.

“I think it’s awesome,” added skater Ryan Griffin.

Skater Matt Burnham said he thought the park would bring people, especially young people into Westbrook. “I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “The kids are really going to appreciate it.”

Westbrook Recreation Director Randy Peters, who helped work on the design of the park, said the project has been in the works for about 10 years. “It’s exciting that it’s finally going to happen,” he said.

Peters said the park would be about 100 feet by 100 feet and would feature concrete jumps and other elements. “It’s a good size and it should be very versatile,” he said.

The city decided to go with the concrete design rather than wood because the concrete components last longer, are easier to maintain and are less noisy than wooden ones, said Bryant.

Griffin agreed with Bryant, saying in his experience, concrete is better than wood because it allows skaters smoother transitions and jumps.

“It’s a pretty good design,” added Dunea.

The project was enthusiastically endorsed by the City Council Monday night. “I’ve been waiting to do this for 15 years,” said a smiling Councilor Ann Peoples.

Councilor John O’Hara thanked Flannery for stepping up and donating money to the project. “Mr. Flannery has made a tremendous donation,” he said.

O’Hara also addressed the 12 to 15 teens who came to the meeting in support of the ramp park, telling them it was nice to see young people so committed to something they believed was good for the community. O’Hara said he believed the skate park was something badly needed in Westbrook. “There is a gap in this community for kids from the ages of 13 to 17 as far as recreational facilities go,” he said.

Standing outside the council chambers, Ledoux said he was looking forward to the coming summer when the park will be completed, and he was grateful for the support the city has shown the project. “I think it’s great,” he said. “I’m glad the entire community is behind it.”

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