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The Mangawhai Activity Zone (MAZ) Charitable Trust is attempting to secure $300,000 from Kaipara District Council in a last-minute bid to enhance facilities at its skate park in Mangawhai, ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The trust wants the money to construct flow bowls and a “street plaza” to help New Zealand skaters’ preparations in their quest for Olympic gold.
Flow bowls consist of two interconnected shallow bowls, which permit skateboarders to perform tricks as they skate from one to the other. A street plaza is a variety of obstacles that might be encountered on a typical street.
Trust chair Colin Gallagher says MAZ has been trying to secure $500,000 from Council’s Reserve Contribution Fund for three years for upgrades to the activity zone, but “hasn’t had any joy”.
In May, Council voted to establish a $300,000 contestable fund using reserve contribution money.
Community groups from across Kaipara district can apply for money from the fund to create or improve open spaces in their communities.
Mr Gallagher says it’s appropriate MAZ should get the bulk of this money because most of the reserve contribution money has been generated from developments within Mangawhai. Moreover, he says the skate park remains extremely popular, while other parks the Council has prioritised for funding
are under-utilised.
“There are kids and mums and dads all over the park during school holidays and lots of other places are just dead quiet including Council’s priority parks,” he says.
Mr Gallagher concedes skate bowls are expensive things to build, but says once they are built, they last a long time and require little maintenance.
In addition to the improved skating facilities, MAZ also want to install a pump track at the park and is seeking separate funding for it from Foundation North.
Applications for Kaipara District Council’s Reserve Contributions Contestable Fund close on September 13. Fund queries may be directed to funding officer Jenny Rooney, grants@kaipara.govt.nz
