BOYLE — Skateboard enthusiasts in Boyle will certainly be ... stoked ... to have ... a rad sesh ... and attempt some ... gnarly ... tricks at the new skateboard park.
Now that the fundraising has been completed and the ground broken, skaters can expect the project to be finished this summer.
At the May 31 Village of Boyle council meeting Greater Athabasca Community Foundation (GACF) president Lindsey Stanton and secretary Terryl Turner finalized the general location of the 125-foot-long park east of the Millview Recreation Complex and work started June 6.
“Thank you for your involvement and commitment to our community,” said mayor Colin Derko. “That’s pretty special.”
The group approached the council asking if they could run the skate park north and south, but Derko had concerns for future projects if that was the case.
“I don't want to be hard-assed or nothing like that but, man, we're screwing up some prime property if we start scooting out into the middle of that, because then that just splits it up,” he said. "Are we going to let a $200,000 10-year-old skate park get in the way of a $5 or $7 million or $10 million municipal centre?”
Council also had some concerns about a company coming in who have not even seen the area where they will be building the skateboard park and asked CAO Warren Griffin to get involved.
“The contractors are working on our soil,” said Derko. "The GACF group, in all fairness, they're about the fundraising and making sure that they get what they paid for. But I think public works and us need to be responsible for what's happening to our land.”
One of the requirements was “virgin soil” so Griffin was tasked with ensuring it was OK for the skateboard park to enter a short distance into an old sand volleyball area.
“Warren, if you wouldn't mind stepping in with the contractor and just talking to them directly so that you could say 'OK, guys, you have mentioned the virgin soil thing and we're about to go out and have a look at some of this,’” Derko said.
With the direction of the skateboard park running east to west and the proximity to the splash park, the whole area north of the ball diamonds will now be kid-friendly including the batting cages and washrooms.
The GACF has been fundraising toward the skatepark for a while with several projects including several along the fence north of where the skatepark will go along Taylor Road like Easter eggs, sponsored tractor tire wreaths, signs for Mother’s Day and more.
The project was scheduled to start in July, but the company was able to start sooner so it is expected to be completed by the end of June with North Corridor Co-op donating all the rebar and Rock Solid Concrete donating 45 yards of concrete to the project.
