ZELIENOPLE — A group working to raise money for a memorial skate park made it clear Tuesday that the users of the park will hold an important role in the design process.

The Zelienople Memorial Skate Park Committee of the Community Park Organization had a public meeting Tuesday night to begin getting feedback from the community on its design.

The park would be built in the community park in memory of three young men, Trevor Barkley, Sam Bucci and Eljah Lunsford, who were killed in a vehicle accident in 2010.

With a final goal of $400,000, the committee has been raising money for about four years and has surpassed $132,000, said Jeff Barkley, park association president and Trevor’s father.

Micah Shapiro, lead designer from Grindline Skateparks, gave a presentation to a crowd of about 50 people on what considerations go into designing a park.

Based in Seattle, Wash., Grindline designed Pitcher Park Memorial Skatepark in Carnegie, Allegheny County, which was built this year.

What made that park and others like it around the county successful was the support of the community and especially the skateboard and BMX bike users, Shapiro said.

“The goal is to make them feel like it’s their skate park; they have pride and ownership in it. It goes a long way to managing any problems with crime and graffiti,” he said.

The designers want to make the skate park design unique to Zelienople and also timeless so that it will be used by future generations.

The park is planned for a 15,000 square-foot area adjacent to the swimming pool and is currently occupied by a basketball court and part of the parking lot.

Though they said they were in favor of the idea of the park, several Beaver Street residents expressed concerns about noise.

Richard Goehring, who lives on East Beaver Street, asked if the noise and the presence of a skate park so close to the street could lower his property value.

“I’m not against the skate park, I’m against where you want to put it,” he said.

Shapiro said that if designed and built properly with smooth concrete, the wheels of the skateboards would make much less noise than they do on regular pavement.

The noise from the park would be no louder than the pool or the sound of aluminum baseball bats on the nearby fields, he said.

The site for the skate park is in the park master plan that has been approved by borough council, Barkley said.

The location that was chosen is in keeping with the committee’s goal of building a facility that is visible and accessible, he said.

“It’s not about hiding a facility like this. It’s about putting it out in the open much like our ball fields are, much like our swimming pool, much like our playground are. Having it be a part of the park that is seen and used that will help continue with the long-term growth of that facility,” he said.

Other people spoke in support of the project and in support of skateboarding culture.

David Etheridge of Canonsburg, Washington County, said he came to the meeting to advocate for skate parks.

Etheridge said he supported a similar skate park in Canonsburg which has received an overwhelmingly positive response since it was built.

Information on upcoming events to raise money for the park can be found on the Zelienople Memorial Skate Park Facebook page.