ZELIENOPLE — After years of being discussed, a skate park is another step closer to coming to the community park.

A conceptual design of the skate park was presented Thursday evening at the park.

The park has been working with the West Seattle, Wash.-based skate company Grindline on the park.

Although final costs haven’t been determined, Grindline lead designer Micah Shapiro said total cost would be nearly $600,000. Grindline recently built a similar-sized park in Carnegie.

Park officials said they still have a way to go before reaching their financial goal of $600,000

Jeff Barkley, park board president. said they have collected $160,000 so far.

The 15,000-square-foot skate park would be by the swimming pool toward the park’s East Beaver Street entrance. It would replace the basketball court and some of the parking lot.

Both the basketball court and the parking lot would be moved elsewhere in the park.

Shapiro said construction would take five to six months to complete.

Features the skate park would have include a snake style bowl with one side having a roll-in area for beginner skaters. As skaters travel to the other side of the bowl, more features designed for intermediate to advanced skaters are prevalent, including a 7-foot drop area and a banked extension.

The bowl drops to between 4.5 and 5.5 feet deep.

Shapiro said the park would also be BMX-bike friendly.

“If you’re a skater or not a skater, it’s something that’s enticing and attractive,” he said. “It draws you in.”

Rails, quarter-pipes and stairs also are called for in the design for street-style skating. One unique feature is a “fish fry kicker,” a fish-shaped platform with a ramp serving as its “tail.”

Shapiro said this was added because of the fish fries the parks board had been doing to raise funds.

Other amenities include a fence, seats for spectators, a main entrance and lockers for people to change at.

The idea for a designated skate park in Zelienople has been talked about since the mid-1980s, park board members said.

However the current effort was fueled by the deaths of three Seneca Valley High School students in January, 2010. The three students, Sam Bucci, Elijah Lunsford and Trevor Barkley, were in a vehicle that slid off an icy road and into a lake.

The teens’ parents want to memorialize them with the park.

One problem the park faces is a creek that runs by the pool. The initial plan was to fill in the creek and stop its flowing. However, officials said that would be too costly and delay the project.

Shifting the skate park further away from the creek was the next option for them.

Several suggestions were made about the need for shaded areas for warmer days. The design has a tent-like structure in one corner of the skate park.

Some audience members said trees could be planted by the area to provide natural shade.

Barkley said maintenance for the skate park would be funded by money from future fish fries. That way the borough wouldn’t have to pay for that cost.

Maintenance would include litter control and sealing cracks that may develop in the concrete. Shapiro said resealing should be done in two to three year increments.

Barkley said the park board may look into crowdfunding sources for additional money.

Shapiro said Grindline will take suggestions for about a week before coming up with a final concept design.