A skatepark in Carmi? One local man hopes so and he’s hoping others will hop on board in support. 29-year-old Jake Burnett has always been into skateboarding. His father was a skateboarder too and after taking a brief hiatus when his children were little, Burnett says the “boy it’d be nice if” turned into a “let’s explore this” after a social media post last summer gained some traction.
Basically what happened…I mean I didn’t really push to advocate for a park…I’ve always wanted a park in Carmi. But the thing that happened was a sidewalk buckled last summer; I made a video [of me on a skateboard doing a trick] and saying ‘it’s not a skatepark but it’s still fun” and I posted this video. People said Carmi needs a skatepark. And these people didn’t even skate and were behind it. I should push for this.
Burnett is the first to admit he’s not necessarily sure how to make it happen, but he’s glad the conversation is moving in the right direction even if slowly. And a recent find has renewed his push.
Initially, I thought it would go well and then it kind of stalled out. I’m sure the city got busy. I just recently came across these ramps that were available and the city actually reached out to me to see if I was still interested in a skatepark and I was like yeah! It’s on their radar. I don’t know if they’re going to make a decision on it, but it’s definitely on their radar so I want to start pushing again.
Burnett has launched a petition aimed at building interest and community backing.
I want the city to see that it’s not just skateboarders that think we need something. We have parks for little kids, but there’s not a lot for adults to do here. I would say that you’d be amazed, you go to the Evansville skatepark and there’s above 50 year olds everywhere. It’s insane. They’ve been doing it their whole lives.
Huntington, Indiana has listed ramps and rails and other equipment for sale that Burnett thinks Carmi could get for as little as $500. That’s equipment he says would cost six figures if purchased new. He hopes the city would potentially get a good deal on that and then he wants the petition to turn into a committee to help fundraise for a concrete pad to put that equipment on, location to be determined.
Burnett says bringing the project to fruition would make Carmi a destination for skateboarders. You can find more information and sign the petition at https://www.change.org/p/support-the-construction-of-a-carmi-skatepark?recruiter=1422863822&recruited_by_id=5269a0b0-8110-11f1-96ab-1d1bccf8dff4&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard&utm_platform=ios_app&utm_medium=copylink&share_id=ZDWD6SzMTV.