ZELIENOPLE — The late Jeff Barkley spent the better part of the last nine years working to make his son's dream a reality.

That dream — a skate park in the borough — was a goal of Trevor Barkley, who in 2010 was a Seneca Valley student designing the park as his senior project.

He had been working on plans for the project on Jan. 27, 2010, before leaving home for a meeting at the Zelienople Volunteer Fire Department. The vehicle carrying him and two friends — Sam Bucci and Elijah Lunsford — slid off the road and plunged into a lake, killing all three students.

Through the grief, Jeff Barkley and community members rallied to keep the memory of the three boys, all avid BMX riders, alive through the Zelienople Memorial Skate Park. It became a passion project for many, particularly Jeff, who devoted his time and energy to finding grants and donations to build the park.

“He lived it,” said his wife, Amy Barkley. “It was so important to him, which made it so important to me.”

As the deadline for using grant funding nears and nearly a decade has passed, those closest to the project are finding themselves faced with another challenge. Jeff Barkley died in November, leaving a void his family and friends say, at times, feels insurmountable.

“No project, especially one with personal commitment, is done without someone taking the lead,” said Don Pepe, Zelienople borough manager. “Jeff was the guy who did that, and that sort of thing is lost. He was the guy. ... I will never ... appreciate somebody more when it comes to something like that.”

However, those involved with the project said they feel a renewed sense of urgency to complete it.

“It was obviously a personal goal for us as a family to work on the skate park and get that created after Trevor's passing,” Amy Barkley said. “I felt that with his passing, I wanted to finish that for him. We were so close (to finishing) that I just couldn't not step in and give my all to make sure this gets done.”

Others involved with the project said they were unsure who would take the lead moving forward. Jeff Barkley handled most of the paperwork and grant applications, and worked closely with borough officials on the project.

It wasn't until a recent park board meeting that Amy Barkley shared her intentions of taking over the role. She was named co-president of the project — the same title held by Jeff Barkley.

“That was such wonderful news,” said Linda Gass, a project co-president and Trevor Barkley's mother. “It brought tears to myeyes and I said, 'Jeff would be so proud of you.' We're so thankful that she is wanting to still be a part of it.”

Pepe said he is pleased by the involvement, and is confident the project will continue to progress. He said specs of the project are almost ready and will be bid around mid-March. He said the goal is to break ground after the July 4 holiday. The plan is to have the project completed by the grant's 2020 deadline.

Pepe said funding is almost 100 percent, including a 2017, $200,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The project also received $10,000 from the Tony Hawk Foundation.

However, grassroots fundraising has accounted for the remainder of the roughly $615,000 cost, although a gap needs to be filled.

To help with that, the organization will host Friday fish fries throughout Lent for the eighth year. The dinners take place from 4 to 8 p.m. from March 8 through April 19 at American Legion Post 474 on West New Castle Street in Zelienople.

Amy Barkley said her husband's rallying cry was that the group would build the skate park “one fish dinner at a time.” In the early years, she and Gass said they would serve 150 people and feel overwhelmed.

Now, the dinners have become a community staple, attracting anywhere from 600 to 700 people each week. Amy Barkley said it serves as a gathering for members of the community after the winter months, and attracts entire graduating classes who use it as a reunion. She said because of that, the group will host the fish fries even after the fundraising goal is reached.

“It's really spoken to us as a family,” she said.

It's also a reflection of what has made the project successful thus far. Amy Barkley said the support of the community has been overwhelming, and has helped keep the project moving forward. She said she hopes that support continues as the group gears up for “the hardest part.”

“It's the ninth year into it and we're so close and we just want to see the finish line,” she said.

Gass said she knows the next year will be emotional, but she and others are motivated by the image of the ribbon being cut for the grand opening. Jeff Barkley may not be in that image, but he's undoubtedly there in spirit.

“He's with Trevor and I know he's happy,” she said.

Amy Barkley said it devastates her to know Jeff Barkley won't be around the see the project come to fruition, but his hard work will pay off in the coming year.

“For him to not see it completed, it breaks my heart,” she said. “It sounds selfish, but I'm doing this for him. He was a very caring and giving man, always worried about everyone else. I couldn't not participate.”