At the Taylorville Park District Board meeting Monday night, Evan Mitchell provided an update on the skateboard park. 

The news – not good. Mitchell says that Mayor Bruce Barry told him the city cannot provide liability insurance to a skateboard park the city does not own, which means the park district is responsible for liability they are not currently prepared for. 

Park District Recreational Director Bailey Hancock expressed frustration, because many alderman came to the park district board in November asking for a spot to put the skateboard park within the park district. 

Mayor Barry worked with the Quarterback Club, which Mayor Barry is president of, to help Mitchell raise funds for the project. They collected over $13,000. 

Vice President of the board and trustee Tanya Reno says she wishes Mitchell established his own 501(c)3 non-profit to establish the skateboard park. 

Here’s an exchange between Reno and Mitchell, where Mitchell concludes by saying the mayor told him the park district doesn’t want the skateboard park.

Regional Radio News reached out to Mayor Barry. He says the city will do whatever it can legally do to make this skateboard park happen, but it is up to the skateboard committee and park district to find other sources of revenue. 

Park officials say they are focused on renovating the pool, and all extra money they come across ends up in the fund for such renovations.

With that in mind, Mayor Barry says his family is pledging up to $40,000 to lay the concrete for the skateboard park pad. 

In November, the park district agreed to provide space for the skateboard park at the Don Bragg Sports Complex.

The city has not agreed to an intergovernmental agreement to work with the park district for the skateboard park.