San Jacinto City Council will meet at 7 tonight to evaluate what could become the design for the city's first skate park. One San Jacinto skateboarder, Carlos Aquino, said that when he heard about the proposal last year, "To be honest, I didn't think they were serious."
Input from young skateboarders and parents at two community forums led to designs that the San Jacinto City Council will consider tonight for the city's first skate park in Sallee Park.
The city hired Grindline Skateparks Inc. of Seattle, Wash., last year to come up with conceptual designs based on results of one community forum.
At a second forum last month, lead designer Micah Shapiro of Grindline presented three alternatives.
Based on skateboarder feedback, Shapiro came up with a hybrid design that incorporates a bowl with what are called "street elements," like rails, stairs and a quarter-pipe ramp. The proposal is for a 6,700-square-foot design near Sallee Park's Jim Conner Youth Center on Idyllwild Drive.
"Because it's all street, there's a lot more ledges and rails. I think it will be fun for everybody," said Kevin Valenzuela, 17, of San Jacinto, at last month's forum. Shapiro and users talked about incorporating features to appeal to skateboarders with different levels of experience.
Valenzuela and his friend Carlos Aquino, 19, of San Jacinto, skateboard at skate parks in Chino, Palm Springs and Riverside. They use streets in town but at places like Valley-Wide Regional Park and San Jacinto High School, he said, "We get kicked out of some spots."
Aquino is encouraged by the city effort. "To be honest, I didn't think they were serious," he said, when he heard about the proposal last year.
The council has about $100,000 in the 2009-10 budget for the skate park, and Riverside County 3rd District County Supervisor Jeff Stone committed $10,000 in assistance, according to a staff report by Mike Emberton, public works director.
Depending upon the elements chosen, the skate park is expected to cost between $150,000 and $200,000, Emberton noted in the report. Additional money would come from a city redevelopment account.
The council meets at 7 p.m. at San Jacinto Unified School District offices, 2045 S. San Jacinto Ave.
The park will be the only one in the San Jacinto Valley. The cities of Beaumont and Banning opened skate parks in 2007.
The design alternatives can be seen on the city's Web site: www.ci.san-jacinto.ca.us. The hybrid design is a part of the online council agenda.
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