Butler City Council on Tuesday discussed a possible extreme sports event to take place at Father Marinaro skate park on Short Street.

Bruce Bryner of Butler presented the idea of having an X-Games style event at the park. Bryner has put on the Butler Winter X snowboarding event at the Butler Township Park each of the past two years.

He hopes to use the summer event as a fundraiser to help restore the park, but city officials are worried about liability with such an event, at least this year.

Solicitor Jim Coulter advised against the city allowing the event without a $5 million insurance coverage by Bryner. Council estimated the price of that coverage to be up to $2,000.

Bryner said he did not have coverage for the events in Butler Township, but instead had all participants sign a waiver.

Councilman Bill May, who is head of the parks and recreation department, said he inspected the park with Bryner and they determined about half of its ramps are unsafe.

May said he is going to reallocate about $2,000 in the parks department budget to replace or repair those ramps, but Coulter said it would still be unwise to approve an event without having a qualified source inspect the safety of the park.

Bryner questioned why the city would oppose the event even though children are using the park for the same purpose.

Coulter said the competitive aspect of the event would lead to the participants pushing themselves beyond what they would typically attempt.

“The event goes beyond the original purpose of the park,” he said.

May agreed, and said it was in the city’s best interest to postpone possibly approving the event until next summer after repairs are made and the city can find an inspector.

Bryner said he understood the city’s stance, but said he would likely still try to host the event at another location this year, and that may prevent the city from getting it next year.