Taking one step closer to building a skate park in town, the council identified a parking lot on Miles Avenue off of University Avenue as a possible site for the outdoor facility at a meeting April 19.

The lot is currently used as parking for the neighboring Balzer Field baseball park and a hiking trail. Although the design of the park is still in preliminary stages, town staff is looking at using a portion of the parking lot for the skating facility.

The choice of the parking lot for the park, however, did not meet with resounding approval from local skateboarders. Skaters told the council that the proposed space, which is about 10,000 square feet, was too small to accommodate those who would use the park and pushed the council to expand the proposed area of the park. Numerous skateboarders pointed to a skate park in Campbell, which they criticized for being too small. The park in Campbell is roughly the same size as the proposed Los Gatos park.

Given the choice between a smaller-sized park and no park, most skateboarders at the meeting said they would choose the former.

Some, however, cautioned against spending so much money for an inferior product.

"I just think that if we're going to spend the money to build a skate park, we should make it bigger," said Matt Holst, who has been skating for the past three years.

Skateboarders also took issue with using steel structures in the park rather than concrete ones. Steel structures can be moved, providing more flexibility with regard to design, but skaterboarders said concrete allows for a smoother ride and prevents more serious injuries.

A skate park in Los Gatos is not a new concept. Skateboarders have long bemoaned the lack of suitable places to skate in town and the expense and inconvenience of using skate parks in neighboring cities.

Last week's meeting was no exception: skateboarder after skateboarder told council members about running into trouble with law enforcement for skating in town and about being too young to drive to other more suitable locations in the Bay Area.

The town has looked at a number of sites during the past five years but has been unable to find a suitable location. Among the previous contenders: Vasona Park and Blossom Hill Park. Both were eventually rejected because of lack of consent from the county or complaints from neighbors.

Even if the town settles on the site and the type of skating structures, building the park may prove to be prohibitively expensive. Town staff estimates that the cost of the park, with steel structures, could run in the ballpark of a half-million dollars, excluding yearly maintenance and supervision costs.

The town could pay up to half of that amount through a grant but is looking to skateboarders to come up with the rest of the money.

"I sincerely hope that you stay with this and volunteer your input," Councilman Mike Wasserman told the skateboarders who attended the meeting.

The next town council meeting will take place May 3 at 7 p.m. in council chambers, 110 E. Main St.