Skateboarders no longer have to resort to the downtown district and residential streets, when, in the months to come, they will have their own place to call home.

The DeKalb Park District, headed by District President Dave Emanuelson, answered the call of many in-town skaters who felt the park district needed to do something to accommodate their hobby.

“We were asked if we could [build a park] as opposed to having [skaters] being downtown,” Emanuelson said. “We visited a couple skate parks in California and looked at several built in the Midwest.”

A citizen’s advisory committee was established that comprised of extreme bicyclists and skater enthusiasts ranging in ages from 12 years old and higher.

The proposed site for the skate park originally was designated for Welsh Park, but because of poor parking and monitoring, the site was changed to Katz Park.

Emanuelson said another problem other sites may have presented would have been poor drainage. The skate park is shaped like a bowl, built somewhat underneath ground, and, therefore, many locales would have caused standing water to linger after heavy rains for a considerable length of time.

Emanuelson also noted other benefits for having the project built in Katz Park because the park offers significant supervision, a baseball diamond that lights up during the nights during warm periods, sufficient rest room facilities and adequate parking.

The project is expected to cost about $70,000, primarily reserved for labor, concrete and rock and would be funded through taxes. Emanuelson said at that price, it’s worth it because other parks similar to this could cost upward of half a million dollars.

As to be expected, not everyone in DeKalb is anticipating the construction and cost of a skate park.

“Some people in town obviously are not in favor of it,” Emanuelson said. “But we’ve stayed on target. Most the community, however, is in favor of it.”

Emanuelson said the project currently is about two-thirds of the way completed and should be finished, provided the weather recurrently doesn’t hinder construction, by the end of May.