Wilkes-Barre’s Hollenback Park could be site of new skateboard park

WILKES-BARRE — The skateboard park built on city tennis courts will be removed and discussions renewed on locating it to Hollenback Park, Mayor George Brown said.

Skateboarders damaged the paved surface of the public courts at Barney Farms to the dismay of Brown who promised to remove the obstacles.

The city-owned property will be cleaned up this week and the courts restored, Brown Monday said. He’s also scheduled a meeting Wednesday with Charles Barber, president of the Luzerne Foundation about a better location for the park.

“We started this about a year ago and met with Charles Barber,” Brown said.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic put the discussions on hold, but they’ve been reactivated after the damage done to the courts was brought up at the March 26 City Council meeting.

Brown said Hollenback has available land and its location near the Cross Valley Expressway make it accessible for people to come and use what he envisions as a first-rate skateboard park similar to those in Montana he showed a reporter.

The discussions about a park have been ongoing for a long time and have involved Wilkes-Barre and Luzerne County, Barber said. They’ve bogged down for a variety of reasons.

“It really simplifies the discussion,” Barber said of having the city take the lead and choose Hollenback Park as the site.

The Foundation would act as a partner and assist with funding on a project Barber estimated would cost in six-figure range.“It all depends on what might be contributed and what the municipality can pay for,” he said.

For instance, Barber pointed out, the city will contribute the land and the Foundation can solicit funds especially for the project.

“The beauty of our role as a trusted intermediary would be to guarantee donor money will be used for its intended purpose,” Barber said.

It’s too early to tell what resources the Foundation might be able to provide, Barber said. But, he was glad to be talking about the park again.

“COVID was more of a postponement than a stop. It’s a good idea. We’ve got the right coordination and right people involved,” to bring the project fruition in the very near future, Barber said.