Dickinson, ND, moves closer to building skate park

The Dickinson Park Board took a step in the direction of constructing a concrete skate park in the city at their meeting Monday afternoon. The board agreed to seek bids on the project which has been in the works for nearly two years.

The proposed project would replace a $70,000 metal skate park that was used for about seven years. The old park was torn out of Eagles Park in South Dickinson in 2008, said James Kramer, director of parks and recreation.

The new park is estimated to cost $175,000 to $200,000, Kramer said. It is to be constructed on the north side of the West River Community Center.

The design for the park has been researched and discussed for six to eight months, Kramer said. The original plan was to have a concrete bowl structure, but the Park Board is now leaning toward a plaza layout, Kramer said.

A skate plaza’s design concentrates on structures such as planter ledges and stairs, Kramer said.

Concrete is quieter and not as hot as metal, Kramer said. It is also less maintenance.

“I think we were surprised, because I think we all felt the bowl is what everybody seemed to want,” said Scott Kovash, Park Board commissioner. “They’d rather have a plaza, which is probably good for the fact that the bowl, from what we understand is probably the most costly park to put in.”

A bowl and half pipe may be added to the park later, depending on cost and funding, Kramer said.

“We know that our budget allows us to go to about 7,000 square feet,” Kramer said.

The old skate park was about 6,400 square feet, he added

A $25,000 Tony Hawk Foundation grant will be used to help fund the proposed park. The Park Board will either use reserve funds or finance the rest of the bill, Kramer said.

Since bicyclists, skateboarders and inline skaters will use the facility, all their needs were taken into consideration, Kramer said.

“I think we all thought this was mainly for kids, but apparently there’s an awful lot of adults that are into this as well, which is good,” Kovash said.

Kramer said the different dynamics to consider posed many challenges, but he believes a skate plaza should fit everyone’s needs.

“We want to accommodate all of them, knowing that skateboarders are probably the largest majority of our users,” Kramer said.

Area residents were upset when the former skate park was removed.

Kramer said it was taken down because it was in a poor location. It was not visible and was heavily vandalized, he said.

“It definitely cost us money to have it in one spot, take it down and move it to another spot,” Kramer said.

The Park Board was hoping to have the skate park up sooner, but ran into funding issues. The park district’s oil revenues decreased and it had to use funds for flood damages from last spring, Kramer said.

Construction may begin as early as this summer and the facility is expected to be open this fall, Kramer said.

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