TEGA CAY, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) Tega Cay skateboarders riding though a city council meeting in support of another rider.
16-year-old Matas Zilinskas lives in Tega Cay and has been skateboarding for the last three years has limited practice time because he the nearest skate park is more than 40 minutes away.
Over the summer he started a petition to bring an inclusive skateable park to the Wind Haven community that now has more than 600 signatures.
At this Mondays Tega Cay City Council Meeting Matas and members of the two boards the SC Active Teen Enthusiasts and an 18 and up advisory board presented again in hopes of getting a new park.
Although city council says there’s no room in the budget now they are still considering it.
Matas says this experience has taught him a lot.
Matas Zilinskas, chair of the SC Active Teen Enthusiasts Board or SCATE Board, says, “I’ve had to meet with the landscape designer and Elizabeth Duda almost every week and discuss plans for what we’re going to do, what our next steps are we’ve had to get the word out over multiple platforms, social media, Facebook stuff like that it’s definitely helped.”
Elizabeth Duda, chair of the SCATE Advisory Board, says, “So it is so impressive that Matas stood up and put together this petition and said that he wants a place to skate, he got his friends to work with him, he reached out to community members so I think he’s an outstanding example of someone who is working towards his dreams already at this young age.”
Both the SCATE board and the adult board, plan to continue meeting about building a new skateable park. Matas says he’s proud of what’s been done so far and hopes to continue raising support and wants to raise the $300,000 needed to start the project.
