Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr., said that ever since he has been in office, many young East Haven residents have approached him requesting a skate park. The new year started off with good news for those who had made those requests as the town received a $200,000 grant from the state’s Local Capital Improvement Program to construct a skate park and new basketball court at Melillo Middle School.

“We had talked about it over the years, but it never got built, whether it was due to the location or money,” said Maturo. “Now that we’re in a pretty good financial situation and we’re able to get money from the state, this is an opportunity to do it.”

In addition, the town received $100,000 to reconstruct the fencing at Memorial Field to increase safety at the park and prevent fly balls from damaging neighboring homes and cars. The site design of the skate park is expected to be completed by February with construction beginning in April. Both projects are expected to be completed by this June.

Just two days after receiving news of the grant, Jakob Zito, a senior at East Haven High School, visited Maturo’s office with a pamphlet on skate parks that he had created for school. The project outlined the cost of a skate park, as well as the benefits.

“I was able to tell him we’d just gotten the okay from the state to put in the park—he was thrilled,” said Maturo. “I showed him our plans.”

Plans for the skate park will take up 6,500 square feet of the proposed 10,500 square foot project; the remaining 4,000 square feet will be a new regulation basketball court. The new project will replace one of the four tennis courts at Melillo. The skate park will include a custom-poured concrete bowl, ramp, rails, and other elements.

The Town of East Haven is also beginning a sidewalk installation project on North High Street to connect Route 80 to the center. Maturo noted that the sidewalks and the central location of the skate park at Melillo will make it convenient for all residents to be able to use.

Another benefit to using the property at Melillo Middle School is that it is already a facility run by the Recreation Department, which will oversee the new facility.

“It’s already paid for, already fenced in, already a rec facility, and has enough parking, so the location suits it real fine,” said Maturo.

Maturo is happy to add another feature to town for East Haven residents.

“With seven parks, a swimming pool, the skating rink, the teen center, and the commission, this is just another added feature so we have something for just about everybody,” he said.

While he is happy about the addition of the skate park, he is one person that will not be using the skate park.

“During one of my campaigns in the early days, one of the kids came to my headquarters about a skate park and had a skateboard. I said, ‘I know how to skateboard’ and then fell off and broke my ankle,” said Maturo.