The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The local skateboard park committee is looking for your support to build a skate facility in Flin Flon. Through the Aviva Community Fund, Flin Flon has applied for funding for a $300,000 skate park. Grant recipients will be chosen through online voting across the country, so residents of the area are encouraged to visit the website and cast their votes for Flin Flon's skate park. Mike Dubreuil, the city's recreation manager, and committee chairperson Alex McGilvery are asking for help to make the skate park a reality for the residents of Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach and even tourists. The Aviva fund is offering $1 million to a minimum of 10 different projects. The projects with the most votes get the money. Voting starts Monday for Flin Flon and will continue for the next 10 days, until November 5. Visitors to the website may vote once a day, for 10 days, for the project of their choice. Dubreuil and McGilvery hope to get enough votes from not only residents of Flin Flon and area, but also their friends and relatives out of town. They hope to get enough votes to reach the semi-finals, where more voting takes place. "If we are successful, we could get (a) portion or all of the (funds) for the park," said Dubreuil. In all likelihood, Dubreuil anticipates the city will be able to get a portion of the funds. He encourages everyone to vote for the project as it's "access to money that isn't coming out of local pockets." While the committee is hopeful that residents will come through with votes, Dubreuil says there is a plan for the skate park to be built either way. Planning The project is still in the planning stages, but Dubreuil says a number of locations have been taken into consideration for the outdoor skateboard, BMX and roller-blading facility. "Right now we're focusing on the money. The location is yet to be determined," he said. Though the money is first and foremost, Dubreuil says the committee is interested in getting input from residents. He says whether the money comes from the Aviva grant or committee fundraising, "rest assured, we are going ahead with this project." McGilvery, a minister at the Northminster Memorial United Church,, hopes to see a big push on voting not only from those who will use the park, but also those who wish to see improvements for the city. He says the committee is going as far as to encourage residents to set the Aviva website as the home page on their computer Ð just as a reminder. Both Dubreuil and McGilvery say even if 1,000 people each vote 10 times, that adds up to 10,000 votes for Flin Flon. Dubreuil says some people often don't help when it comes time because they don't feel they are making a difference. Through votes, he says "we could end up raising a large portion, if not all, to improve our community and add some additional facilities for the age group." McGilvery says that all the parks in the area are made for kids under 12. The proposed skate park would be geared toward those ages 8-19, though it would open to others. Currently, skateboarders are able to use a park in Creighton, but can typically be found on Main Street or even at playgrounds. Nick McGilvery, an avid skateboarder and BMX bike rider, says with the new park, it will be nice to skate without the fear of running over children. "It would be quite a different experience," said the 18-year-old. "I've been to different parks before (and it will be good) for the kids in the community who would like to learn to skateboard." See 'Resid...' on pg. Continued from pg. Though no plans are concrete to date, Dubreuil says in a perfect situation, the park would open next summer. But for that time frame to be reached, residents must vote and encourage others to do so. "We have some very aggressive goals," said Dubreuil. "Our goal is to break ground in June of 2011. The construction is six to eight weeks. "The goal would be that the skate park is open by August." Dubreuil says the park will have a park-friendly design with trees, benches and grass. "It's not going to be an eyesore. It's something that will flow well with the already existing rocks and trees in the community," he said. In addition to the Aviva fund, the Flin Flon Skateboard Park Committee has been applying for other grants as well as approaching local groups. The project has some money in the bank from a previous function held this summer when a skate team visited from Winnipeg. "This is an opportunity to take a big chunk out of what we need to raise," said Dubreuil. "It's an opportunity to provide a safe facility that will be available for generations to use." The elder McGilvery says after speaking with a group in Thompson, he was told that putting in a skate park was the "best investment they had made in their community in years." Looking at the current design for the Flin Flon park, both McGilvery and Dubreuil agreed that changes could be made. "The design is tentative," said Dubreuil. "We don't want to pour concrete until we know what (users) want. It's their park to use." Dubreuil hopes for a challenging park for skaters. "As the numbers decline for minor ball and minor hockey, this offers another outlet for those kids who are not involved," he said. Dubreuil stressed the committee does not "want to just go half way" on the project. "We're going to raise the funds and get the proper park," he said. For Dubreuil, the biggest thing is to be able to bring something new into the community. "It's an opportunity for people to physically make a difference in their community," he said. To vote for Flin Flon to benefit from the Aviva Community Fund, visit www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf7605 For more information or to get involved with the project, contact Mike Dubreuil at 681-7502.
