The Windham Skate Park is open again, but the town’s Parks and Recreation Department and Advisory Committee have much bigger dreams for the space.

The skate park shares the roughly 9-acre lot next to the Public Safety Building with the town’s community garden. Parks and recreation officials would like to see the site turned into a community park that would be a resource for residents of all ages.

The skate park on Gray Road, which had been closed for seven months, now features five rehabilitated wooden skateboarding ramps, according to Parks and Recreation Director Linda Brooks.

Brooks said Tuesday that the skate park was inspected earlier this week and is now safe for bikers and skateboarders. There will be no paid supervision for users of the park.

The ramps were rebuilt from the original structures using steel reinforcements and a surface material called “Skatelite.” Several contractors from the area donated hours to the construction of the new park.

Older, deteriorating structures at the park have been removed.

The park was closed in late-April on the recommendation of the town’s inspector, who said the structures were inadequate. The wooden structures were rotting and had suffered the normal wear and tear from years of use.

On Tuesday, Brooks also presented the Town Council with a grant application to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, to support a proposed concrete skate park and additional elements of the community park at the site.

The early design plans involve keeping the newly rehabilitated park ramps, while growing the skate park with additional concrete structures. The skate park would stay on the parcel, but would be moved slightly to allow for more parking.

While more expensive, concrete skate parks are more desirable than wooden structures because they last longer and require less maintenance.

The grant, if approved, will help cover the design and construction of the concrete skate park as well as additional site work needed for the proposed community park. This first step in the project is estimated to cost roughly $350,000. Additional site work includes leveling the land, hauling in gravel and building a parking lot.

The town is applying for $168,000 from the conservation fund. The rest would be matched by the town through a combination of impact fees, money from the sale of Gambo Fields, additional grants and possible donations.

The Gambo Fields property, off River Road, was sold in May to the Windham Youth Soccer Association.

The grant application was approved unanimously at the meeting. Councilor Dave Nadeau was absent.

Brooks said Wednesday that now that the department has the council’s support with the project, they will be “talking quite a bit more” with the public about the project.

Sometime this winter, she said, the department plans to bring together users of the skate park with the contractors who will design and build it.

The department will receive news about whether the grant has been awarded in March. Meanwhile, Brooks said, they’ll continue to apply for other grants.

The grant presentation continued discussion of a community park that started in September, when Pat Moody, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, gave the council an overview of the project.

The concept for the community park is to preserve the existing skate park and community garden, while creating additional recreational spaces that appeal to a wider range of Windham residents, Moody said in September. The concept plan is loosely based on a design drawn by Sebago Technics about a decade ago.

Potential elements of the park, which would be phased in over time, include a playground, walking trails, basketball and volleyball courts and an ice-skating pond. The final costs of the project, to include the varied facilities, is to be determined.

The elements of the park were based on a wish-list drawn up by the seven-person Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, and a town-wide survey regarding the park. The survey has been distributed through email blasts and on Election Day.

Brooks said results of the survey, which is ongoing, will be used in deciding which elements of the park are ultimately included. Some elements included in the concept plan may be left out of the final designs, or swapped out for another element.

So far, she said, the playground, basketball and volleyball courts appear to be popular.

Another park resource under discussion is a “splash pad” – essentially a sprinkler park used by younger kids in the summer.

The Windham Skatepark has been re-opened following seven months of closure.