ANDERSON TWP. — About 100 teens gathered at Beech Acres Park every Thursday afternoon this summer to ride in-line skates and skateboard on wooden ramps built by some of their fellow skaters.

        Now, park officials are trying to decide whether that weekly event will continue next summer, or if a permanent park open every day could be possible by next spring. The Anderson Park District will present ideas for two possible skate parks, one made up of steel surface structures and the other of poured concrete, at a meeting in the large shelter at Juilfs Park at 5 p.m. today.

        “We could get it done sooner with the surface structures, but the poured concrete is one or two years down the road,” said Troy Euton, director of planning and development for the parks district.

        The district has set aside $200,000 and 24,000 square feet at Beech Acres for the park. That funding would make a 15,000-square-foot section of steel surface structures possible by spring. And after additional funds are raised, another 9,000-square-foot area could be built out of concrete, Mr. Euton said.

        But the consensus among many of the skaters who attend a weekly “Skatefest” at Beech Acres leans toward waiting for the concrete park.

        “I don't think a surface park is a good idea,” said Kyle Vanderpool, 14, of Anderson Township. “I think the cement park is better and they should just keep running Skatefest until they can build one.”

        Kevin Muente, 31, has been skating since he was 14 and has had experience with the steel parks. He's hoping Anderson will hold out for a concrete park.

        “Steel tends to rust, and it gets really hot in the summer. So if you fall, you not only feel the pain of hitting the ground, but you can get burns as well,” he said.

        Falling is something every skater knows comes with the territory. In addition to the safety concern, the parents who organize Skatefest say they want a park the skaters will use and appreciate.

        A concrete park is “what the kids are holding out for. It would be a lot easier to take the shortcut, but we're in it for the long haul,” said Christy Larrison, a parent of a skater and a volunteer at the event.

        Skatefest requires several parent volunteers each week who collect the $2 admission charge, check that everyone has a signed release form and supervise the set-up and tear-down of the wooden ramps.

        So far the group has raised $4,500 at Skatefest and through car washes and other fund raisers for a permanent park. Mrs. Stevenson said there are plans to apply for grants for the project, but that has been difficult without a design plan.

        “We're hoping to hit a home run somewhere with a donation,” she said.

        But for an all-concrete park, the skaters themselves would have to raise an additional $200,000 or more, which is why the park district is considering all the options, Mr. Euton said.

        With Skatefest being only a weekly event and the nearest skate parks located in Miami Township and Kenwood, skaters can still be seen at entrances to businesses all along Beechmont Avenue. In recent years, Beechmont Mall has been one of the more popular places to skate.

        “We've been watching very carefully, and run them off as soon as we see them,” said Floyd Cadwallader, chief of security for the mall. “It's not that we're anti-kid here. It's just that we don't want somebody getting hurt. We just can't allow them to endanger themselves or our customers.”

        To donate to the Beech Acres skate park or for more information, visit the park district's Web site at www.andersonparks.com.

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