UNION TOWNSHIP — Trustees in this Clermont County township are committed to the idea of building a skateboard park, perhaps by next summer.

        No money has been budgeted yet, but it will probably be located in Clepper Park, which runs off Summerside Road north of Eastgate Mall, trustee Art Wiedenbein said.

        Neighboring Miami Township in Clermont County is already preparing to build one for its youth in Miami Meadows, a park off Ohio 131. That $60,000 project will be paid for with park levy money and a NatureWorks grant administered by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

        Miami Township expects it to open by early May, said Kim Laing, community relations coordinator for the township.

        Skate park plans are beginning to proliferate throughout the Tristate. Middletown's Baker Bowl Skate Park opened in 1999 in Smith Park.

        At least seven other communities are either discussing or planning skate parks, including Hamilton, Fairfield, West Chester and Anderson townships, and Florence, Ky.

        A young man approached Union Township's board of trustees last spring and made a pitch for a skate park.

        “He made a real nice presentation to us,” Mr. Wiedenbein said.

        “There have been others in the community who have said they wanted one. It's something for young people, and we try, through the parks, to hit all facets of the community.”

        Mike Powell, service director for Union Township, said a representative from Suburban Rails, a well-known Athens, Ohio, designer and builder of skate parks, visited the township to determine the best place for a skate park.

        “He made some sugges tions,” said Mr. Powell, and they settled on Clepper Park, looking at a vacant area near a parking lot and a walking trail.

        Mr. Powell said skate park construction can cost $60,000 to $250,000. Once trustees decide on how much they are willing to spend, then the township can advertise for bids, perhaps sometime in January, said Mr. Powell.

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