Robert Carr remembers the first time his son stepped onto a skateboard. Little Bob was only four, holding tight to a kite as his father guided him onto the board for the first time.

Now, 24 years after a snow cave collapse at Stratton Mountain Resort in Vermont claimed the lives of his son, Bob, and his friend, Jake Shumway, Carr finds solace in visiting the Hopkinton Spirit Skate Park.

Built in their memory in 2003, the park sits close to Hopkinton Middle High School, and Carr often watches as a new generation of kids races up and down the ramps, perfecting their tricks.

“That’s one of my favorite things to do,” said Carr. “I’ve known these kids, they’re in their 50s now and they’re bringing their kids out there on tricycles and scooters and it’s really fascinating to watch. There’s an invisible choreography.”

But this beloved skate park is in dire need of repairs. Its once-smooth wooden ramps now have chips, loose screws, and, in some cases, entire sections have been removed for safety reasons.

Restoring the park through professional contractors would cost around $200,000, a price tag that looms over the town and its taxpayers.

For Carr and the Hopkinton community, the thought of losing the skate park is simply unimaginable. It’s more than just ramps and rails; it’s a living tribute, a sanctuary for skaters young and old.

The town’s solution — another fundraising and community effort to help restore the skate park — is an approach the select board also views as a promising option. But this time, residents invested in the park’s restoration are pushing to include a line item in the town’s budget for ongoing maintenance, hoping to avoid the need for future emergency repairs.

Loren Clement, leading the effort to save the skate park, noted that many people in town are eager to donate, provide labor, and even supply lumber because the park means so much to them.

“I know it’s important to keep it going and be sure you don’t want to see the yellow tape get there,” Clement said during Monday’s selectboard meeting. “Before fundraising starts, the yellow tape shows up. I want to get ahead of that and not see it.”

This isn’t the first time the town has come together to rescue the park. In 2016, a similar outpouring of support raised the necessary funds to rebuild the ramps and replace damaged signage.

“I think it’s an asset that the town appreciates and they want to keep it going,” said Carr. “I just think kids can have some activities that they could do that are healthy and keep them in shape, get them out of the house and find some kind of passion that they want to get up and do every day.”

For the skate park rebuild, the vision includes bringing back the novice ramps, carving out spaces where older adults and young children can practice at their own speed, and gradually building confidence before moving on to the more challenging features.

The group planning the skate park rebuild is also considering involving school students by integrating the project into math lessons, as designing a skate park requires calculations and formulas for determining the radii of the curves and bends.

This skate park has become more than just a local treasure; it’s drawn skaters from neighboring towns and serves as a gathering place for friendship and community. Many who began their skating journeys here have sharpened their skills and gone on to achieve success as professional skateboarders.

But for Carr and his wife, Carole, the park’s significance runs deeper. It’s a place where they feel the presence of their son and his friend.

“I just see them there all the time,” said Carr. “It’s helped me deal with the loss, gave me a focus and a goal to accomplish and to keep it going. I just like to keep it going for as long as possible and make it something that the kids want to go and do.”

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan   can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com