Local skaters can soon hit the fresh pavement and break in a pristine skatepark, which is expected to start construction in late July or early August.
The Enumclaw City Council officially awarded a bid to Grindline during its June 26 meeting.
The senior Project Manager at Grindline said now that the construction contract and the bid have been approved, they expect to begin construction by Early August. He said they want to finish construction before school starts, but construction usually last two to three months.
Enumclaw Parks and Rec Director Alina Hibbs said initially, they expected the park to be ready by early summer, but there were a few unexpected delays.
“We had intended to start getting construction documents in January, but with all the holidays, I think that set it back a bit, probably not much,” Hibbs said. “But we also had to advertise the bid twice” due to an error with the paperwork.
The skatepark costs $330,245 for an all-concrete structure featuring various drop-ins, grind rails, cake stairs, concrete ramps, and a design inspired by Mt. Rainier.
“We really liked the Mt. Rainier idea, and I think the public did too because when you’re standing at the skatepark, you see that overwhelming beautiful Mt. Rainier,” Klinedinst said. “So we got a couple of items in a new rendering based on volcanoes.” Instead of painting a graphic to represent Mt. Rainier across from the volcanoes, Klinedinst said there are two bumps across from the volcanoes on the top part of the skatepark, which represent the two peaks seen on Mt. Rainier.
Klinedinst said most of the design from start to finish was inspired by public comment. One piece he said he’s most excited about is an area which will have a brick design imprinted on the concrete, which is inspired by a skatespot in New York City called the Brooklyn Banks.
At previous meetings that aimed to gather public opinion, one of the most popular wish list items for the skate park was lights at night.
However, Hibbs said lights were not part of the budget.
“Lights isn’t something we’re installing at this phase in the project. There is potential for future lights,” Hibbs said. “That was very desired, but lights are very expensive. It would’ve added a lot to the budget cost.” She said that light funding would most likely come from grants in the future.
A child sustained an injury due to unsafe ramps last July. The park was fenced off after the injury because the city didn’t think it was worth the cost to fix the unsafe ramps. The city removed the ramps shortly after and re-opened the mostly-empty park. With the skatepark materials consisting of only concrete and steel, Klinedinst said with proper low maintenance the park should last years. Parks they constructed in the early 2000’s he said are still holding up, and he imagines they’ll be useful for much longer.
