?Burlington skateboarders were dealt a blow last week when Seven Days magazine broke the news that the construction scheduled for the city?s new waterfront skate park would be delayed yet again. The decision to delay construction of the park until spring came after initial bidding contracts were ?a couple of hundred thousand dollars? above the budgeted amount, Director of the Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) Pete Owens told Seven Days. The cost of pouring and molding concrete in the winter has contributed to the project?s delay, the article stated. Mayor Miro Weinberger said he expects estimates for this part of the project to come in slightly lower during the spring. Maven skate shop owner Brendan Foster, who has been heavily involved in the development of the new skate park with his wife and Maven co-owner Trina Zide, said he was neither surprised nor disappointed to hear about the delay considering the reality of the park?s cost. ?We always knew that a fall start date was going to be iffy anyway,? Foster said. ?We have to do this when it?s right, and under the ideal conditions.?While he understands that the postponement of the park is frustrating, he added that the history of the park?s development is rife with delays far longer than this most recent one. ?I think people are more upset that it?s just taken this long to get here,? he said. ?The lawsuit is what really held things up.?The lawsuit Foster referenced happened in 2011 when Burlington resident Alison Lockwood and District 4 Coordinator Peter Keibel together challenged the development of the park on the grounds that it required an Act 250 permit. The Vermont Superior Court Environmental Decision eventually overturned Keibel?s decision after Weinberger appealed, and voters eventually approved the park in November 2012, the Cynic reported. The skate park is part of a large waterfront development undertaking known as the Waterfront North Project. The city approved a $6 million grant toward funding the project last November, the Cynic reported last year. The skate park itself was projected to cost between $400,000 and $900,000, CEDO?s Special Projects Manager Kirsten Merriman Shapiro told the Cynic. ?After about 10 years out in Vermont winters, you can start to see the wear and tear. It was always the intention to transition to a concrete park, which would have longevity and durability,? Shapiro said. Last spring, Shapiro and Owens said the new park, slated to be constructed at the location of the former Moran plant, would be completed by this fall ?at the earliest? due to a lengthy zoning and bidding process. ?The mayor?s very committed to seeing this happen,? Shapiro told the Cynic. But some skateboarders are not so sure. Trent Wiseman, a recent Burlington resident who paid a visit to the current skate park this past Sunday, said he is ?always skeptical? about recreational developments of this kind. ?Back in Tampa, where I?m from, I remember the city wanted to build one in my neighborhood,? he said. ?It took years. I think they finally finished it the year I graduated high school.?Sophomore Will Schroder said he isn?t surprised about the delay. In his opinion, Burlington is known for having a great skate culture with remarkably few good places to grind pavement. ?The pictures I?ve seen [of the new park] look awesome, and we really need it,? he said. ?There are so many skaters but not a lot of places to go. This park is pretty small, and Talent is tight as well.??At this point, I?m not sure about the new park,? Schroder said. ?No faith. Hope.?But Foster said its important that Burlington residents should face facts about the challenges that accompany any new development project, and support City Hall?s campaign to move things forward. ?It?s important for us to continue support the mayor?s office on this, and give them credit for their decision to do this in the first place,? he said.