Skate park to open
The date for the long-awaited grand opening of Waipukurau’s Sk8park in Russell Park has been announced.
The $205,000 skate park will be officially opened on April 8 in time for the Easter school holidays. It had originally been planned to open in time for the 2016/17 summer school holidays but a series of weather delays pushed back the date.
Perhaps frustrated by the delays, a group of youngsters decided to ride the half-finished skate park at the end of February— unfortunately on the same day that concrete had been freshly poured at the site— but did not cause any permanent damage.
But the district’s skateboarders and scooter riders will be able to ride freely when the park is opened next month in a celebration being hosted by the Waipukurau Sk8Park Development team— the community stakeholder group which has helped steer the project through the consultation, planning and construction phases— with the help of the Inspire Youth Council.
CHB district councillor and youth worker Kelly Annand, council’s representative on the development team, said a number of people deserved special praise for overseeing the project to fruition.
“I would like to take the opportunity to thank Jacob Hema, Ryan Pauling, Kereti Rahui and Jono Craig who are the main players in the development team.
“It is an honour to work with such a dedicated, hardworking team and it’s so exciting to see their dream become a reality,” Mrs Annand said.
She also acknowledged the vision shown by the previous district council for including the project in its long term plan, and said special thanks needed to go to councils’ utilities department and Higgins Contractors, for going “above and beyond”.
She said Epic Ministries’ Ivan the caravan, which is used to promote the CHB Youth Strategy in Action plan, would be on site for the opening, which would also include a sausage sizzle and spot prizes for the youngsters.
With the skate park in the final stages of completion, Mrs Annand said the whole Russell Park redevelopment concept was also nearing completion, and thanked the community for their patience.
“The concept was a passion that led me to stand as a councillor three and a half years ago. Like many people when driving over the bridge, to see young people and whanau making use of the park, it makes my heart smile. All the hard work has been worth it, as it was always about ensuring our young people are heard and given opportunity in CHB,” she said.
The opening on Saturday April 8will begin at 10am. The public is welcome to attend and youngsters are encouraged to bring their skateboards and scooters.