Skateboard park problems to be dealt with in Feb. 11 report
By Nelson Daily Editor
By Timothy Schafer, The Nelson Daily
Civil engineering questions still surround the proposed skateboard park site in the community complex parking lot and those answers will only come from local politicians, says one of the people working behind the scenes on the final report.
A Nelson and District Recreation Commission meeting last Thursday revealed the final report on the skateboard park at the Nelson and District Community Complex parking lot isn’t done.
But the one big stumbling block for the report is the site condition and trying to qunatify what are those issues are because it is not a typical parking lot, said Regional District of Central Kootenay community services general manager Joe Chirico.
He said there isn’t a question of how the park will look on the site anymore.
“The question would be is it a site that is going to be too problematic and whether there would be too many civil costs involved. That still needs to be determined,” he said.
“But no matter what, there is still going to be the issue of how it moves forward in terms of responsibility.”
Meaning, who will assume the liability for the skateboard park, the City or the RDCK. Neither group has committed.
The report — now having been delayed for over three months — is expected to provide both City council and the RDCK board of directors (the two partners in the NDCC) with some options on the site.
The ultimate answer for the park lies in what kind of creative solutions they come up with, and who picks up the reins of responsibility.
A deadline of Feb. 11 has been set to complete the report. Christine Schmidt, Rob Levesque and Jodi Vousden, acting RDCK manager of recreation, are still finishing some of the detailed costing for the final report.
Over one year ago City council took the report of its appointed skateboard park committee and made a recommendation to “further explore the feasibility and associated costs of locating the outdoor skatepark adjacent to the entranceway of the” NDCC, behind the Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce building.
But because the skatepark is currently slated for development on the grounds of the NDCC, the report on the park is the responsibility of the RDCK recreation staff.
The skateboard park committee, the NDCC, as well the recreation commission were directed to reconfigure a layout of the NDCC’s parking lot to allow for a 10,000-square-foot “destination” venue.
Currently, the grassy site in question at the NDCC would allow for only a 7,500-sq.-ft. park but a 10,000-sq.-ft. one would be desirable.
A bigger park would herald the loss of some parking. The report is also expected to outline the pros and cons of having the regional district run the facility.
Note: The Kootenay Lake Outdoor Skateboard Park Society’s recent bid in the Aviva Community Fund contest finished in 13th place, and ended up out of the money.
