SARANAC LAKE - A group trying to develop a skateboard and inline skating center behind the police station asked the village board Monday night to dedicate the site as a village park forever. Board members made no commitment but said they would look into it.

Jon Vinograd, speaking on behalf of the SkatePark Committee, told the board that donors would be more inclined to invest in the community project - estimated to cost about $200,000 - if the village would commit to make the area a park "in perpetuity," as village parks are generally dedicated.

SkatePark organizer Peggy Wiltberger passed out design sketches of what the facility might look like: 11,379 square feet of space filled with a variety of ramps and rails. Currently, the SkatePark consists of some low-budget ramps and asphalt rises at the back end of the village offices' parking lot. The target site goes back a little farther into the woods from the current asphalt's edge.

If the site became a village park, it would not have to remain a skateboard facility forever but it would have to remain a park of some kind. Mayor Tom Michael said he was not sure about perpetual commitment - he said he would be more comfortable with 20 or 30 years - but he asked village Manager Martin Murphy to look into the pros and cons of making the site a park and report back to the board.

Bike racks

The village board on Monday voted unanimously (a 4-0 vote, as Trustee Jeff Branch was absent) to let the North Country Healthy Heart Network buy about 10 bicycle racks for downtown sidewalks with a $1,000 grant it has. Each $112 rack would have space to park two bikes.

The service is part of the Healthy Heart Network's "Eat Well, Play Hard" program, aimed at preventing obesity by encouraging physical activity and a nutritious diet. Encouraging bicycling is part of that goal, said the network's Jamie Konkoski, who presented the plan to the village board Monday.

Village workers could remove and reinstall the racks before and after every winter so they wouldn't get in the way of plowing. Konkoski said the only cost, other than staff time, would be the $1 bolts. Trustee John McEneany and Michael suggested some other means of removal - perhaps attaching each rack to a year-round "sleeve" in the ground - to avoid the hassles of bolt holes filling up with ice and dirt and cracking sidewalks. Nevertheless, all board members agreed the bike racks would be a good addition to the village.

Contact Peter Crowley at 891-2600 ext. 22 or pcrowley@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.