Though the conversation is started, Elma residents likely are a long way away from needing to tighten their trucks, strap on their helmets and nail the perfect drop-in.
If most of that first sentence is Greek to you, you’ll probably be less excited to hear that the City of Elma was asked to build a skate park.
“Skateboarding is a lot of things — a sport, a hobby, a self-expression, and some even consider it an art,” skate park advocate Caleb Branton told the council during its Feb. 5 meeting. “Many skateboarders and people who are learning to skate look for spots to ride. They look for anything that is possible to do tricks. They’ll look for curbs, parking spaces, local businesses.”
“Putting in a skate park in Elma would draw local riders from skating businesses and private property to skating the skate park Elma provides,” Branton added. “This will also create a less chance of vandalism to property that skateboarding can cause to happen.”
The skate park would draw skaters from other areas into Elma where they would also patronize local businesses, according to Branton — that’s in addition to being what Branton called, “a cool hangout spot.”
Some suggested locations for a skate park are:
• Veterans Memorial Park — as an extension to the current park. “It’s out in the open, it’s easy to see, and it’s in the center of town,” Branton said. “And the electricity is already done, so it’s already lit up.”
• 10th Street Park – “It’s by the baseball fields, it’s by the playground, it’s lit up, public rest rooms and water are already installed, and there’s less traffic,” Branton said.
• Horseshoe Park – Branton noted the park is close to the school and said, “It would be making use of an unknown park that’s not being used to its full potential.”
Funding ideas include a Tony Hawk Foundation grant, offering grants from $1,000-$25,000, or the Grays Harbor Hotel Motel Tax, fundraising and local sponsorships.
Construction could be done by Granline of Seattle, a company that specifically designs and constructs skate parks.
The cost of a skate park varies depending on the size and features, Branton said.
A 4,000 square-foot skate park could cost $200,000, Branton said, to which Councilman Jim Taylor affably said, “Well you ain’t getting that one,” much to the amusement of the rest of the public and the other council members.
Taylor, however, was open to the idea of a skate park.
“I’ve been here in Elma for a couple of decades now, and I know this has been an ongoing problem in the city because we don’t have really any kind of activities that our youths could access,” Taylor said. “My son many, many years ago skate boarded, and he enjoyed it immensely… This would be a worthwhile project, but I don’t exactly know how to get it off the ground at this point.”
Overall, the council and mayor seemed agreeable to continued discussions for a skate park.
“Anything to get kids out and engaged and active, away from their video games and computers, and doing something physically active is great,” Mayor Jim Sorensen said.
Councilman David Blackett was clear, however, that the only way the project could move forward is with outside funding.
