DYER | Skateboarder Justin Farrer still has plenty of ideas for Dyer's proposed skate park, but the plan presented to him and his fellow skateboarders recently "looks pretty good so far," he said with a smile.

Justin, 13, attended an afternoon meeting with 18 other youngsters who brought their well-used skateboards with them. Parks Director Mark Heintz and landscape architect Christa Lazarz unveiled the park, which would be in Pheasant Hills Park, the location all skateboarders agreed on at an earlier meeting.

Ground could be broken on the park before the end of this year, though a more likely start date would be spring.

"It could be ready right about the time you guys get out of school," Heintz said.

The plan proposes a park on the site of the old tennis courts, which are on the north side of the park off Hart Street. The park will be bigger than the one in Munster and much closer in design to Michigan City park skateboarders like so much.

Park officials had met earlier with the group to get their ideas, and incorporated them into the plan they presented. Heintz and Lazarz cautioned the group they had to work on the project with people other than skateboarders in mind.

For example, other park visitors might use the stairs leading down from Hart Street to the skate park, and so it had to fit in with guidelines published by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Lazarz did agree to remove the middle rail which tracked along the flat landing in the middle of the two sets of stairs, to provide a better skateboarding experience.

The group also would prefer that the park be for them, they said. BMX bike riders, who visit Munster's park, tend to "take everything over," as one youngster put it.

But the town "can't discriminate against anybody," Lazarz said. The distances between various challenges within the park should leave enough room for everyone.

The skatepark will close at dusk, along with the rest of Pheasant Hills, Heintz said. Pheasant Hills is "in a residential area," and its neighbors must be respected, he said.

Park users will not pay a fee, and do not have to be town residents. The group at the meeting had plenty of suggestions on the fine details: the four square-shaped picnic tables won't have much appeal and should be replaced by boxes, they said. And a bench feature in the center could be longer.

The plan now has to go before the Park Board for final approval. The estimated cost is $250,000, and will be paid from the town's $4.5 million park bond.