Though it appeared during last week's Naperville Park District Board meeting that most board members support putting a skate park at the northeast corner of the Garden Plots, commissioners agreed to postpone a decision.
Several commissioners said they had not been given enough time to analyze the three site options at the Garden Plots and at nearby Knoch Park, so the vote was put off at least a week until a budget meeting set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Barn, 421 Martin Ave.
"I'm not sure why we are rushing into things," Commissioner Scott McGibbin said.
More than a year ago, Park District officials began looking for a site to build a park for skateboarding and in-line skating that would give teens, who are not permitted to skate in the downtown area, a place to go.
"This has been going on for a year and a half," said Park Board President Tom Kruse, who opposed the delay. "We need to step up to the plate and approve a concept of where the site will go."
Kruse supported the Garden Plot location.
"Every time we talk about this, we put another barrier in the way," Kruse added.
After meeting with skateboarders, parents and gardeners, the Park District staff recommended a site across the street from the Garden Plots on the northern portion of Knoch Park west of the tennis courts. The location would not displace the gardeners or the sports teams who use fields on the southern half of Knoch Park, they said.
But some board members rejected that site, saying the space was too tight. They objected to the loss of green space and the site's proximity to the intersection of Hillside Avenue and West Street.
The Garden Plots, which are not all being used, do not have the same space confinements, and any displaced plots could be shifted to an open area, Park District officials said.
"We're not in danger of not having enough places to garden," said Commissioner Mary Lou Wehrli, who supported building a skate park next to the Garden Plots.
Additionally, the access road to Sportsman's Park could be shifted to serve as a buffer between the skaters and the gardeners, Park District officials said.
A permanent, 20,000-square-foot skate park is scheduled to open next summer. While the Park Board continues to mull over a location for skaters to go, it decided last week to block off a portion of the parking lot of Meadow Glens Park on Muirhead Avenue to serve temporarily as a skating facility.
Although the Park District is waiting for the ramp materials to arrive, the parking lot opened to skaters on Saturday.