With estimates for the development of a 5.76-acre parcel of land at Jaycee/Ehlert Park still well above the village’s budget, Brookfield is seeking aid from a world famous skateboarder to help pay for part of the proposed design.

This month the village is expected to complete an application for a grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation to help pay for the construction of a skate park, which is part of the new design for Jaycee/Ehlert Park. The amount of the grant, if awarded, could be anywhere between $1,000 and $25,000. The full cost of the skate park is estimated to be over $50,000, according to Assistant Village Manager Keith Sbiral.

If Brookfield does win any grant money, Sbiral said he expected the award to be on the lower end of the spectrum, since the grants are specifically targeted for communities with a median household income of $50,000 or less. According to the Village of Brookfield website, the village’s median household income in 2002 was estimated at just over $60,000.

“Brookfield is a little outside of the median income range, so I don’t expect we’ll get a huge amount,” Sbiral said. “I called the foundation to ask if they’d consider us and they told me that we should submit an application.”

Meanwhile, last week Brookfield officially solicited bids for the entire development project, which will include everything from installing storm sewers to new soccer and baseball fields, bocce and horseshoe court, walking paths, lighting and a parking lot, which will be located south of Shields Avenue at the Sunnyside Avenue right of way.

Brookfield received a federal grant for the project in 2006 for just under $400,000. At that time, Brookfield estimated the improvements would cost roughly $800,000. In June, the village received a new estimate from Hitchcock Design, its design management firm, of $1.6 million.

Sbiral indicated that some of the changes in the plan include narrowing the walking path from 10 feet to eight feet, shrinking the size of the skate park and changing some aspects of the field grading and storm water management.

After scaling back some elements of the design, Hitchcock pegged the final design estimate for the improvements at $1.4 million. The village will open bids from contractors for the park improvements at the Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 24.