Repairs to Skatepark Approved

The David Gentile Skatepark at the could be up and running by early summer.

Town Council on Monday night approved funding for repairs needed for the park, which has been closed since December 2009 because of safety issues.

Council accepted a bid from Whirl Construction for $12,500 for repair work and a $7,200 estimate for possible repairs.

The park, which was built in 2002, features wood ramps with skatelite surface. Once the skatelite sheets are removed from the wooden bases, those bases will need to be inspected, said Financial Officer and Acting Township Manager Tom Merchel. The additional $7,200 is to cover those possible repairs.

Whirl, based in Port Monmouth, is the only company on the East Coast certified to make repairs to the skatepark, Merchel said.

“We’re hoping the work will be done within approximately 30 to 45 days,” said Merchel. “It depends how long it will take to get the material and it will take at least four days for baes repairs.”

According to previous reports, repairs to the park include replacing 25 sheets of skatelite, replacing malfunctioning hardware and general maintenance issues.

The skatepark was built in 2002. It is a named for David Gentile, who was paralyzed from the neck down in Moorestown High School football game in 1979, the park was completed with the help of a $120,000 donation from David’s mother, Joan Gentile. David died in 2001 at the age of 36.

The park has seven major elements in its design and a variety of surfaces, including mini ramp, hip quarter with bank, middle rail box, corner rail box, hip bank with quarter, small island and center pyramidal with jump box.