PARIS – A $5,000 donation has been made toward a proposed community skateboarding park.

John Parsons, a member of the local Skate Park Planning Committee, announced the gift to committee members by e-mail on Sept. 24.

The money, Parsons said, was given to Paris Town Manager Steve McAllister by an anonymous donor.

“It’s a local business person and I was talking with them about the project,” McAllister said Wednesday, the day the donation was made.

McAllister added that he believes the park is going to be nice “and useful for all ages.”

“The skate park committee could still use donations,” he added.

The committee has been pursuing plans to build a skateboarding park, estimated to cost $177,000. About $94,000 has been raised to date, but some of that money is earmarked for future maintenance of the park.

According to preliminary plans recently presented by designer Wally Hollyday of California Skateparks, the park could cover 7,600 square feet of a 16,000-square-foot area available in Paris.

Through the donation of materials, equipment and labor, he said, the committee may be able to build the park for as little as $70,000.

The skate park committee is not expected to meet again before having more detailed drawings and estimates from California Skateparks.