The Salisbury will be giving skateboarders a park of their own.
The City Council reversed a previous decision and voted this week to accept a $262-thousand grant from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources awarded the previous summer.
But the skateboarders will have to do without certain amenities such as drinking water and a permanent restroom.
Instead, there will be a portable toilet with a place for hand washing.
The newest member on the council, its president Jack Day provided the critical swing vote although he admitted it did not seem like the best site to him.
Opposing the decision were council members Terry Cohen and Tim Spies who made up the former council majority.
Spies called the park a terrible site and charged Mayor Jim Ireton with putting the council into a corner by getting the grant and painting opponents as “bad guys”.
Meanwhile, the Salisbury Daily Times reports that Susan Kirwan, who lives near the park site and is a pediatric nurse practitioner, said she strongly supports the facility adding that it will encourage children to exercise instead of playing video games.
She did have safety concerns including the lack of a restroom.
The paper reports that city officials plan to conduct two or three public workshops in the fall to determine the final design. The park could be open as early as mid- to late 2014
