This led to the city council adopting the 2007 Parks and Recreation Master Plan which included the development of a “Community-scale Skatepark/Plaza.” Since that time the city council has had numerous discussions on where to site a new skate park and the pros and cons of the sites. The support of the council and community services department has been wonderful as we work to bring this project to a new beginning.

The Wilsonville Skate Park Association (WSPA) will be making a presentation at the Nov. 16 city council meeting to respond to some prior questions asked by the council and to ask the council to finalize the site selection process by year-end. Please show your support by attending the meeting or sending a letter to the council at 29799 S.W. Town Center Loop E, Wilsonville, 97070.

Currently there are three sites under consideration: Courtside Drive (just north and west of City Hall), Murase Park (between the driveway and parking lot), and Memorial Park (expand the current location). Each site has its own set of unique features. The “best” site will depend on which features are most important to you. All three are owned by the city.

At this time the WSPA is only asking the council to select a site. We are not asking for construction funds. Current economic times are difficult and expenditures must be reviewed carefully. However, finalizing a site will allow the WSPA and city staff to begin the process of fund raising, grant writing and preliminary park design for citizen review. Without a site location and basic designs in place, it is nearly impossible to secure grant funding. The goal is to start construction in 2011.

The Council is interested in experiences other cities have had with skateparks. The WSPA surveyed the cities of West Linn, Tualatin, Tigard, and Newberg and heard an overwhelmingly positive response.
Accordingly, WSPA believes a new, full size skatepark will be a good addition to the city’s park system; provide expanded physical activity options, increase park usage and be a great use of city owned land.
The WSPA is a local citizen group focused on working with the city and members of the Community to develop skateboarding as a healthy activity for our community.

[ Wilsonville Spokesman ]

It’s just a hole in the ground now, lined with rebar and wooden forms. But the skatepark is fueling the dreams of young skaters all over Echo, Stanfield and Hermiston.

“It’s going to be great,” said Thomas Lowrance, 13. “There are lots of bikers and skaters here. When it’s a small town, you don’t have a lot to do.”

Ryan Denning, 14, also is excited. He said he tends to favor his bike because of the lack of skateable surfaces in town.

A crew from Grindline Skateparks, Inc. works on the a new skatepark in Echo. Photo by Erin Mills

“A lot of people sort of stopped skating because the park got a little boring,” he said, referring to the old skatepark, a small collection of ramps and rails. “I go on anything with wheels; I’m sort of a daredevil.”

Lowrance said he also bikes – Echo has a lot of good dirt to ride on. But he is planning on breaking out his rollerblades once the park is built.

“This will get more people out and active,” he said.

“Instead of sitting on their couch watching TV,” Denning added.

Echo leaders have been raising money through grants and donations – more than $105,000 – for the past two years for the project. When it came time to pick a designer, they chose Grindline Skateparks, the company from Seattle that made the Don Baxter Skatepark in Irrigon.

Grindline tried to fit as many features as it could into the space, said Dave Palmer, a Grindline Skateparks shareholder and one of the men building the park.

In addition to a deep hourglass-shaped bowl, the park will include, among other things, a spine – two ramps that meet at a piece of coping.

“We try to make the park from beginner to advanced as much as possible,” Palmer said. “And so you can generate a lot of speed.”

Palmer said skateparks have become a phenomenon. Cities are building more of them because leaders notice that skateparks get more usage than basketball courts and other sports facilities.

“People who get into it will travel – they might go to skateparks in Pendleton, Irrigon, here, and in Walla Walla,” he said. “It’s a weekend getaway.”

Dale Fife is an Echo resident who championed the skatepark and helped excavate the bowl.

“It gives them (kids) something to do outdoors and keeps them happy,” he said.

Fife said he was impressed with the Grindline crew’s quick progress. The first skatepark design ran into problems with underground fiber-optic lines, so Grindline created a new plan. It ended up superior to the first, with more features.

“These guys are all skaters, and they are really putting some effort into this thing,” he said. “I really appreciate what they are doing.”

“I’m excited to see the plans we’ve worked on for years come to fruition,” Mayor David Futcher stated in a press release. “The skatepark will finally give kids who prefer action sports a top-notch facility on a par with the ones we’ve provided for team sports.”

A handful of skateboarders who kept watch over the skatepark site during construction and helped hand-excavate certain areas will have the honor of breaking in the concrete bowls, said City Engineer Mike Kardas.

“The mayor wants to reward that. … We’re going to let them have the first crack at it,” Kardas said Monday.

All the concrete work on the 10,000-square-foot skatepark is done, and workers will finish installing pool coping tiles today. The rest of the week the site will be cleaned up and seeded with grass.

“It looks pretty cool,” Kardas said.

Workers broke ground on the $364,000 project at the corner of Minor Road and Burcham Street in late August. Pacific-Tech Construction of Longview was the general contractor, and North County Concrete, which has prior experience building skateparks, was responsible for the finish work. The project hit a couple of snags during excavation, but the cost increases haven’t been tallied yet.

The city has prepared a master plan for park amenities, which it will rely on the community to provide, Kardas said.

“They can choose to build a section of walk every summer, add a park bench. … It was really the only way we could do it,” he said.

The skatepark was conceived nine years ago by Kelso Rotary club, which donated $45,000 toward the endeavor. More than half the total cost today was paid for through grants and donations, and the city covered the rest.

For information about the ribbon cutting, contact Shelly Timm at the Kelso city manager’s office at (360) 577-3301.

[ Daily News Online ]

WILSONVILLE, OREGON – It’s all about location, location, location. But choosing one seems to be a problem that no one can solve.

Jim Barnes, a parent and organizer of the Wilsonville skatepark Association, said last week he is preparing to make a presentation to the Wilsonville City Council later this month about finally settling on a location for a new skatepark.

“We are not asking for any funding, just a location,” Barnes said. “With a site we can start preliminary designs and fundraising for a new park. It’s an important piece.”

There have been three sites considered — Memorial Park near the current skate feature, Courtside Drive across from Wilsonville City Hall and Murase Plaza.

Barnes and his group plan to present more information to the council on Nov. 16, including a video of local parks to show councilors how they work. He’s hoping there will be some decision made that night about a prospective location for a new park.

Mayor Tim Knapp, however, said he doesn’t see the meeting as any indication of an imminent decision.

“I would like to see what the skate board advocates have to say before saying that we are making a decision that night,” Knapp said. “I don’t want to prejudge.”

Up to this point Knapp has said he would like to see council consensus on the location of the park. But elected officials have been and remain split on the issue.

Despite that, Knapp said he is committed to finding common ground.

“I don’t have any preconception of where it should be,” Knapp said. “Obviously I think it’s more appropriate when talking about a community amenity, to have a consensus on any proposal.”

Barnes said he wants to see the skatepark site chosen at the meeting regardless of consensus.

“I think it’s always hard to get five people unanimous on a topic,” he said. “I am hoping there has been enough discussion around the three sites, for people to have an opinion. I am hoping that the councilors feel that the youth of Wilsonville deserve a skatepark, or the opportunity for a skatepark — just as they have basketball, football and baseball fields. I am hoping the council will support this as a youth sport activity and they will feel enough support that a split vote could go forward.”

Councilor claims questioned
Councilor Michelle Ripple said during a council work session last month that the Park and Recreation Board unanimously approved the Courtside site. She did not note, however, that the vote was taken in December 2007.

Now, some of the members on the current parks board are calling her statements into question.

“At one point it was true,” said Brent Timm, a new board member. “But to say that now is a half-truth. It was true before I was brought on the board, but I don’t want my name on that approval. I can’t speak for the rest of the board, but I am wholeheartedly against the skateboard park.”

Timm is one of three new members on the board.

Parker Johnstone, another member of the board who initially supported the Courtside Drive site, also called into question Ripple’s comments.

“It is true that nearly a year ago, I, along with others on the Parks and Recreation Board, considered all possible locations that were presented to us and determined that the property adjacent City Hall was the most desirable place to locate a new skating facility,” Johnstone wrote in an email to the Spokesman. “Since that time, I have done extensive research into the design, construction costs, and ‘collateral’ issues involved with skating facilities, and in reflection, feel the most fiscally prudent place to locate a new facility is in Memorial Park – if the decision to move forward is made. I have stated my position clearly, so for someone to say that the Parks and Recreation board is ‘unanimous’ is incorrect.”
Ripple maintains the December 2007 is the only official vote of the Park and Recreation Advisory Committee, and therefore she is right in saying they were unanimous.

“Some of the people on now weren’t on then, but it was unanimous,” Ripple said Friday.

Council still split on location
If the decision can be made to site the skatepark, it appears the mayor will make the deciding vote.
Councilor Alan Kirk said last week he still is opposed to the Courtside Drive location.

“I think it’s still status quo,” Kirk said. “I haven’t heard anything about which site is preferred except for the Courtside Drive. And my opinion is well documented about that site.”

While he remains against the Courtside Drive site because of the value of the unused commercial property, other councilors are advocating for the vacant land because of the visibility.

“Visibility is the key and the Courtside site has the best visibility, bar none,” Ripple said. “Every study that has ever been done on this topic says that visibility is the key factor. The Courtside site has two public streets right there and the kid’s perception will be that people are always watching them.”
Ripple said she won’t support the Memorial Park site because of safety issues she outlined last summer. Last week she said she doesn’t like the Murase Plaza site either.

“We can’t afford to build it, so like the pool which we sited 10 to 12 years ago, we can site the skate board park now, and change it if a better site is found,” Ripple said. “I will not support the Murase Plaza site because I don’t think it’s visible enough. Plus we had a gang shooting there.”

Kirk said he wants to hear the presentation Nov. 16 before commenting on the Murase Plaza site.
Councilor Steve Hurst said he currently favors finding a skatepark location.

“I think we should site it even if there isn’t unanimity with the council,” Hurst said. “I want to see it built. It needs to be done because there is a huge demographic of kids who skate. I think visibility is vital and the Courtside location could also help to bring extra business to Lamb’s Marketplace and other businesses in the area.”

[ Wilsonville Spokesman ]

“I’m excited to see the plans we’ve worked on for years come to fruition,” Mayor David Futcher stated in a press release. “The skatepark will finally give kids who prefer action sports a top-notch facility on a par with the ones we’ve provided for team sports.”

A handful of skateboarders who kept watch over the skatepark site during construction and helped hand-excavate certain areas will have the honor of breaking in the concrete bowls, said City Engineer Mike Kardas.

“The mayor wants to reward that. … We’re going to let them have the first crack at it,” Kardas said Monday.

All the concrete work on the 10,000-square-foot skatepark is done, and workers will finish installing pool coping tiles today. The rest of the week the site will be cleaned up and seeded with grass.

“It looks pretty cool,” Kardas said.

The City Council will determine the park’s hours and rules at Tuesday night’s 7 p.m. meeting.

Workers broke ground on the $364,000 project at the corner of Minor Road and Burcham Street in late August. Pacific-Tech Construction of Longview was the general contractor, and North County Concrete, which has prior experience building skateparks, was responsible for the finish work. The project hit a couple of snags during excavation, but the cost increases haven’t been tallied yet.

The city has prepared a master plan for park amenities, which it will rely on the community to provide, Kardas said.

“They can choose to build a section of walk every summer, add a park bench. … It was really the only way we could do it,” he said.

The skatepark was conceived nine years ago by Kelso Rotary club, which donated $45,000 toward the endeavor. More than half the total cost today was paid for through grants and donations, and the city covered the rest.

For information about the ribbon cutting, contact Shelly Timm at the Kelso city manager’s office at (360) 577-3301.

[ The Daily News Online ]