Nags Head Considering Renovations to YMCA Skate Park
The Nags Head Board of Commissioners agreed this week to approve an application for a National Endowment for the Arts grant that, if approved, could go toward designing and developing plans for a future renovation at the town-leased skate park, located at the Outer Banks Family YMCA.
If approved, the National Endowment for the Arts “Our Town” Grant for $15,000 would require a local match from the town of an additional $15,000, which would then designate the combined $30,000 for work at the skate park, the amount estimated for design plans. The town’s planning staff is currently finalizing a survey to determine community preferences for any future renovation of the skateboard facility. Town staff has discussed the project with Nags Head’s Arts and Culture Committee, who are supportive of incorporating public art within the park, which is the basis for the grant request.
“Allowing us to submit the grant application doesn’t necessarily commit us to that $15,000,” explained Nags Head Planning Director Michael Zehner at the Board of Commissioners’ meeting on Wednesday, August 5.
If the application is successful, the Board would need to decide at a later date whether the matching town funds could be made available or if the grant award should be declined.
The grant also requires a partnership with a non-profit cultural arts or design organization, and town staff has been coordinating with Dare County Arts Council on this.
The grant application was to be submitted today (8/6/20).
Built in 2003, the town has maintained and operated the skateboard park since 2015, when Nags Head entered into a no-cost lease agreement with the Outer Banks Family YMCA, on the premises of which it is located.
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