By David J. Hill
The Tonawanda News
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Winning a $50,000 grant this summer in the Pepsi Refresh Everything contest provided a big boost for plans to build a skate park in the City of Tonawanda.
But organizers of the park, being built in memory of a late teen who loved extreme sports, have a few more monetary vert ramps to maneuver before their dream can be fully realized.
To help reach that goal, the Gregory Hayes Holler Memorial Fund is hosting a pig roast from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday in Firemen’s Park, located at 318 Two Mile Creek Road in the City of Tonawanda.
The GHH Memorial Fund’s second benefit, Sunday’s pig roast will be prepared by J.J. Richert, the chef at Torches in Kenmore. The $20 ticket price includes dinner and blues music by 12 Pack Jack. There also will be a cash bar, side raffles and 50/50.
The organization’s first fundraiser brought in $23,000, but with a price tag hovering around $100,000, that was merely a drop in the bucket for the park’s full completion.
The Pepsi grant has provided the GHH Memorial Fund with a total of $73,000 — enough money to complete the first phase of the skate park, Don Holler, Gregory’s father, told Common Council members during a project update he provided before Tuesday night’s meeting.
“It took a heck of a lot of work to raise $73,000,” he said. While it wasn’t easy, Holler said the end result will be a valuable free park for all kids in the City of Tonawanda. “I think this is a great project because there are so many kids that are not that much into team sports,” he said. “This is an individual sport. They can go there by themselves, or with a group of kids.”
Organizers are building the park in memory of Gregory Hayes Holler, who died in November 2008 at age 17. “After he died, we decided we had to do something to remember him by,” Holler told the Common Council, adding that Gregory’s doctor suggested building a skate park.
Holler said he hopes to break ground on phase one Oct. 10 and begin building the all-concrete park before November. The project requires the blessing of the Common Council because the park will be turned over to the city once its completed. Although they didn’t vote on allowing the project to proceed, Council members didn’t raise any objections to it Tuesday. A vote is expected at the council’s next meeting.
Councilman Richard Slisz asked who will be responsible for the park. Holler said liability shouldn’t be an issue. “These kids have a badge of courage. They don’t complain about bumps and bruises,” he said. Council President Carl Zeisz said the city’s liability would be no greater than if somebody gets injured in Niawanda Park.
Holler will use the $73,000 the group has raised to date to construct the first phase, which will be approximately 3,000 square feet in size and feature ramps with a maximum height of four feet.
The project is targeted for Ives Park, at the end of Elgin Street. City Recreation Director Linda Foels said space isn’t an issue, even with phase two plans calling to double the size of the park to 6,000 square feet. “We do have space for phase two without interference to the soccer field or the baseball field,” Foels said.
Organizers also hope to install lights in the park as a security measure, but it won’t be open after dark. Foels said the existing lights that shine on the ice pond could be turned to illuminate the skate park.
In addition to Sunday’s benefit, Holler’s group is continuing to seek other funding sources, including a grant through the Tony Hawk Foundation.
Tickets for Sunday’s pig roast are available at the following locations: Tonawanda City Hall; Torches on Kenmore Avenue; City of Tonawanda Recreation Department, 170 Fillmore Ave.; Squire’s Tap Room on Niagara Street; Chamber of Commerce of the Tonawandas, 15 Webster St., North Tonawanda; Lane Jewelers, 24 Seymour St.; and the Holler residence, 259 Utica St.
