FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Fairhope skateboarders will soon have a chance to learn about plans for construction of the city’s first skateboard park.

The Parks and Recreation Department will provide a status report on the project at the first City Council meeting in 2008, the council decided Monday.

“I’ve had lots of calls regarding the skateboard park,” Councilwoman Debbie Quinn said at Monday’s council meeting. “I would like to put it on the agenda for the first meeting in January. I know a lot of the kids want to come to the meeting.”

The council agreed for the city to give an update at its Jan. 14 meeting.

“People come in all the time asking about the skate park,” said Nina McBride, co-owner of Adrenaline, a Fairhope Avenue store that sells skateboards, surfboards, clothes and accessories. “I tell them the city has money for it now, and they are required to use if for that purpose. They are very excited to hear that it looks like it’s going to happen.”

A special place where people can ride skateboards instead of city streets or parking lots has been discussed for more than a decade, said Billy Michalopoulos, one of the organizers of a citizen committee to promote the park.

That committee sponsored two skateboard demonstrations, circulated a petition and helped get people to a public hearing about it during the past two years, he said.

“I know when they had a public meeting about it, they had well over 100 people turn out,”McBride said.

That meeting took place Aug. 15, 2006, at the Fairhope Civic Center.

“I want a skateboard park in Fairhope so people won’t get mad at us for skating— and we can have a fun place to skateboard,” wrote Ben Tarver in a letter submitted at the event.

A sign-up sheet for the event has 131 names on it.

“We consider this to be a most important project in the city and backed by the Fairhope City Council,” Mayor Tim Kant wrote July 25, 2006, in a grant application to the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Development. “We have found a growing interest in our youth to participate at such a facilitate, and we certainly strive to provide safe affordable recreation to the community.”

On Aug. 27 this year, the City Council passed a resolution to accept the grant in the amount of $38,000 for a skate plaza, stating that the city would hold in reserve in that amount to match the grant as required by the application, which can also be through in-kind services.

The application stated that the project budget was $87,000.

On Oct. 22, Mayor Tim Kant announced that an anonymous donation of $25,000 had been received and directed the Parks and Recreation Department to move forward with the project.

On Nov. 21, Eddie Boyette, the department director, said that a crew had recently surveyed the property, and the next step would be to complete information necessary to put the project out to bid.

Boyett said the construction must follow plans described in the grant application.

Those plans show a triangular-shaped sidewalk with concrete slabs at each end and steps, ledges, rails and other skating obstacles.

The skateboard plaza will be located at the Volanta Street Municipal Park next to the rear of the city recreation center. on U.S. 98.

“I think what most people want to know is when it will be built and what it will look like,”McBride said. “They’ve discussed this for five years. The closer they get to building it the better. Absolutely we are going to be at the meeting.”

The update on the skateboard park will be at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 14, in the council chambers at City Hall.