The Illinois Valley YMCA skate park will be reopened after briefly being out of commission.

At the 2026 State of the Cities conference, Peru Mayor Ken Kolowski sprang the surprise announcement of the group effort that is providing $12,000 to fund the needed repairs on the skate park.

The cities of La Salle and Peru, along with the Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce and the Citizens Service Organization all chipped in $3,000 apeice for the effort.

The skate park had been closed since March 30 with what Illinois Valley YMCA CEO Chris Weittenhiller called “wear-and-tear” issues.

The official reopening date for the skate park was not announced at the conference.

Weittenhiller said at a Peru committee meeting that the wooden ramps of the skate park are “structurally sound,” but the rubber coatings have worn off with time.

Kolowski said that outgoing IVAC CEO Bill Zens called him the day after the meeting to discuss a possible collaboration effort to reopen the park, in conjunction with the city of La Salle and the Peru Citizens Service Organization.

“It just took one simple phone call to get the ball rolling, but it all came together for this good thing that I know the YMCA is going to be happy about,” Kolowski said. “It’s a skate park, but it is also a public park. You do not need to be a YMCA member to use it.”