The Dylan Duncan Memorial Skatepark in Kingwood, the city of Houston’s first public skate park, recently underwent improvements to its skate facilities. On July 16, the city of Houston Parks and Recreation Department hosted a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the improvements made to the skate park, located at 3950 Rustic Woods, Kingwood. The Dylan Duncan Skatepark, originally called the Kingwood Skatepark, opened as the city of Houston’s first public skate park in 2004. In December 2006, the park was renamed in honor of local skater Dylan Duncan, who died in 2005. “It's all about honoring the memory of a young man who had a passion for skating and skateboarding and helping these young kids right now—especially in the summertime here around Kingwood," Houston City Council Member Dave Martin said. "It's a great place for them to gather. ... It’s good for the kids, it’s good for the community." Dylan Duncan’s mother, Nancy Duncan, attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony July 16. She said she is happy with the renovations that were made to the skate park, as both neighborhood children and their parents frequent the facility. “He was a good boy, and he had a lot of friends, and they even now on Facebook and stuff people write stuff,” Nancy said. “So it makes me feel good that he's not just forgotten.” Wayne Wilson, division manager with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, said the park closed for roughly a week while new equipment was installed. During that time, the department removed and replaced the park’s mini half pipe, added a new kicktail and ramp, power-washed and painted gazebos, and made other improvements. Furthermore, Martin said he wants the city to begin expanding the skate park in the next year, as the city owns land behind the existing park. To fund the expansion, Martin said his office has discussed splitting it with the parks department as well as applying for funding from nonprofit skateboarding foundations. “When I was growing up, skateboarding wasn’t that big of a deal, but now ... there’s a lot of endorsement money that's going around,” Martin said. “We'd like to be able to tap into some those resources and make this [skate park] even bigger and better.”