The years-long push to construct a skate park in the city has picked up speed since the Vero Beach City Council earmarked $150,000 for the concrete complex, but the grassroots group spearheading the effort is struggling to raise the additional $800,000 it needs to make the longtime dream for skaters a reality.
The nonprofit Vero Beach Skate Park Alliance met last week with members of the public to discuss fundraising. The group is seeking grant writers and successful nonprofits to serve as mentors and show the alliance how to ramp up fundraising efforts.
So far, in four years, the alliance has raised a paltry $17,000 for the park and its current account balance is only $3,200. But the city’s substantial commitment has revived the group’s enthusiasm.
The City Council in its 2019-2020 budget year allocated $50,000 for the park and an additional $100,000 in fiscal year 2020-21.
“For the first time ever we have some financial backing that counts,” alliance member Brooke Malone said.
The group’s goal is to build a 19,000-square-foot facility at a cost of $950,000 at Leisure Square. It estimates annual maintenance costs at between $9,500 to $19,000, which would be offset by user fees.
The park would be a first for the city. Currently, the county’s estimated 11,000 skate enthusiasts must travel to Sebastian or other areas of the state to perform gazelle spins and frontside flips.
A park in Vero would provide a safe place for skaters — who range from preteens to senior citizens — to enjoy the sport, which is outlawed on city streets.
Island business owner Brooke Steinkamp frequently witnesses skateboards illegally zipping and flipping on beachside streets and private property. A park at Leisure Square would be ideal for both island and mainland enthusiasts, she said.
“Regardless of what your opinion is on skateboarders, everyone should be behind this project, because it’s literally giving them a place to go,” said Steinkamp, who owns Royal Palm Society, a boutique on Ocean Drive.
“It’s dangerous for the kids to be out there in the traffic,” Steinkamp added.
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