Organizers prefer concrete park
Morgan Hill – Local skaters have another shot at getting the classic in-ground park they’ve been wanting for years.
A plan for a thriftier park with steel ramps was rejected by the city council last week when a construction bid came in too high – and new cost estimates on laying down a permanent concrete park were shown to be cheaper than expected.
It all led to the city council asking parks and recreation staff to work with youth leaders to renew ideas for a concrete park.
City officials working with the skater community say it’s welcome news.
“The skaters have made it clear, a skate park that has portable ramp elements is just not favored,” said Deputy Director of Public Works Mori Struve, who in August examined 48 concrete-styled parks built in California. “What really tipped this over is the parks that were done in last 20 years weren’t as expensive as I thought.”
Struve found the average cost of concrete-styled skate parks in the last six years has been $333,000. City officials had previously pegged the sum at closer to $1 million.
Concrete skate parks have been popular with skaters since the 1970s, when skaters in Southern California learned to use empty swimming pools to perform their tricks. Since then, smoothly contoured parks have popped up in a number of cities, and are often admired for their architectural appeal.
For now, Morgan Hill skaters must travel to Gilroy, San Jose or Scotts Valley to find curvaceous park terrain.
The city’s current skate park Butterfield Boulevard is equipped with above-ground wooden ramps. It opened in 2000 and was never intended to be permanent. City officials say it’s now approaching the end of its useful life.
The rejection of the steel-ramped park means a new skater playground won’t open Oct. 28, in conjunction with the Centennial Recreation Center. Struve said he’s not sure how long the delay would last. A section of Community Park will continue to be held for its construction.
“The next step will be to get an idea about what kind of design we want to pursue, get an accurate cost estimate and return to council,” Struve said, estimating the process could take three to four months.
Morgan Hill Recreation Coordinator Chiquy Mejia said skaters don’t mind the delay because they have the chance to help design a better park.
“They feel pretty good about it,” Mejia, who works the Youth Advisory Committee, said. “If we are going to do something permanent, they want us to do it right. They don’t want to have to worry about replacing ramps in the future.”
The only bidder on the steel-ramps project was Granite Construction, whose offer exceeded the city’s estimate by $230,000.
Granite justified its high bid for two reasons. First, opening the park in October would require overtime labor. Secondly, the company said sewer and water utilities to the site would require costly excavation work.
Faced with a $370,000 price tag for a project that was intended as a cheap alternative, city officials decided to reconsider the concrete park.
Building it would require fundraising. The city’s budget for the skate park currently stands at $161,000.
Struve, who recently helped the city win a $96,000 state grant for the project, said he’d apply for more funding opportunities if he can find them.
Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 201 or tb*******@mo*************.com.
