Skate Society raises $1,600 towards upgraded skate park in Medina
Provided photos: Pictured from left include Medina Skate Society members Cathy Puff, Mayor Mike Sidari, Terri Nelson, Alex Feig and Dawn Powell.
A skateboarder does a trick off a ramp at the skate park on Sunday.
MEDINA – The Medina Skate Society raised about $1,600 on Sunday with a meat raffle and special event at Butts Park in medina, where the Skate Society wants to upgrade the equipment for skateboarders.
Alex Feig, president of the Skate Society, estimated about 40-60 people stopped by for the two-hour event.
The Skate Society is pushing to raise money as part of a matching grant. Medina has been awarded up to $250,000 from the Tony Hawk & Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundations. Medina had $202,000 raised locally before Sunday’s event.
The Village of Medina will be building a new public concrete skate park over the next year thanks to a pair of area donors who wish to remain anonymous, Feig said.
The grant deadline is March 30 at which point every dollar that has been raised will be doubled and the Village of Medina could have $500,000 to build a skate park, which will be used by skateboarders, bikers, scooters and in-line skaters as well as be an architectural work of art, Feig said.
The skate park is anticipated to be a new hub of activity for families, organizations and even radical skateboarding tourists from far and wide.
The Skate Society is requesting $2,500 contributions each from the Village of Medina, towns of Shelby and Ridgeway and Orleans County.
The Skate Society wants to name the new skate park in memory of Luke Nelson, who passed away unexpectedly in April 2017. “Luke’s passion to fix his beloved skate park has inspired family, friends and community members to love and appreciate their local skating scene and skate park,” Feig said.
