BRATTLEBORO — Will 2017 be the year that Brattleboro finally gets a skateboarding park?
It might be, if BASIC (Brattleboro Area Skatepark is Coming), the town committee that has been working for years to build a skatepark in town, can raise about $173,000 to do the construction work at Living Memorial Park.
According to a news release, the last regulatory hurdle for the skatepark was cleared in November, when the town received a modification to Living Memorial Park's existing Act 250 permit from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources to construct and operate the skatepark. The approvals include a stormwater-management construction permit.
The skatepark has previously received approval from the town Development Review Board.
While BASIC can now break ground for the skatepark, it still needs to complete one big fundraising push.
The committee already has $57,000 in hand from previous efforts to build the skatepark. They also have pledges from donors. But they will need a lot more money to complete the project.
According to BASIC, the design and construction budget for the 5,000-square foot skatepark is about $230,000.
BASIC has kicked off a crowd-sourcing fund drive, featuring a new video provided by Mondo Mediaworks that shows the tremendous potential for skaters in the Brattleboro area.
Follow the link to the “YOUCARING” site at the BASIC website, www.BrattleboroSkatepark.com, or go to their Facebook page, Friends of Brattleboro Skatepark, to see the video.