The Richfield City Council authorizes contract talks to build the park there despite some objections.

On a 4-1 vote, the Richfield City Council decided Tuesday night to go ahead with plans to build a park for skateboarders in Augsburg Park.

Councilman Fred Wroge and several citizens who testified at a public hearing during the council meeting objected to the park's location but not the concept of building a facility in the city.

Recreation Services Director Jim Topitzhofer told the council he had resolved his earlier misgivings about the Augsburg Park location when a new site plan moved it away from a nearby sledding hill and avoided the removal of a tree. He said he still has reservations about the plans for the facility, saying two features he'd like to see in the final version of the park should be added.

"There's no ramp and no trap in this plan," he told the council as he showed a sketch of the facility's configuration, which does include a rail, steps and another ramp. "We're thinking we want to press them on the design and get a little more for the money."

The council's action directs the city to negotiate an agreement with Hardcore Skateparks, Inc., to design and construct a Tier 1 park. Tier 1 means it will have no features taller than 40 inches and won't require supervision or user fees, Topitzhofer explained.

The city built a Tier 2 skatepark with Edina and Bloomington several years ago at the Southdale YMCA on Xerxes Avenue South and 74th Street.

Six people testified during the public hearing Tuesday night, with three opposing the skatepark park's proposed location.

The opponents said they'd prefer another location, objected to the loss of the basketball court in Augburg Park (it will become part of the skatepark) and worried that teenagers attracted to the new facility will damage the park.

Council member Wroge challenged the validity of a scoring system the Richfield Community Services Commission used to rank all the parks in the city for suitability to host the skatepark.

"I'm in favor of a skatepark," he said, "but I'm concerned with how we get to Augsburg Park."

Wroge said flaws in the scoring makes him think Roosevelt Park, on the southern end of the city, would be a better location.

He cast the only vote against going ahead with a park contract.