Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Ken Kowalski sees more kids skateboarding in his constituency lately than playing more traditional sports.
Consequently, the provincial government has given $105,000 to the Centralta Tourism Society in the Town of Legal to help build a skateboard park of its own.
By the end of this year, Kowalski said, the $220,000 project should be complete. He believes it will be fancy, sophisticated, and alongside other steps the town has taken in recent years.
“Legal is really a changed community,” said Kowalski. “That little community has really caught wind of a whole series of things in the last decade to improve it. Children are very important to [the people of Legal] and there are a lot of children in fact within that community.”
Mayor Albert St. Jean said through a news release that projects like this one “keep our town alive” and will “keep and attract young families to Legal.”
In the same release Jules Jasmin, president of the Centralta Tourism Society, said the funding shows the province’s support for physical activity for youth.
The skateboard park will be located in Citadel Park and will have francophone décor.
The funding comes from the province’s Community Facility Enhancement Program, which is lottery-driven.
Legal had put in a request for the money, following on the heels of similar skateboard park projects in Barrhead and Westlock, which Kowalski said have proven to be surprisingly popular so far.
“Last Saturday I was at an event near a skateboard park and there were 25 young kids out there, boys and girls,” he said. “We’ve done a number of them and I know there are some other communities that will probably have a desire for one as well.”
Kowalski added, however, he will not be trying out the skateboard park for himself when it opens.
“I’m sticking to the library and golf,” he said.
The next item on his agenda will be the opening for the new cultural centre in Morinville in June. He called that project huge, one that was put together and brought to life in “remarkable time.”
The provincial government pitched in $3 million for that project and the federal government added another $3 million, covering roughly half the cost.
