Revelstoke council gave city staff the go ahead to sign a $730,000 contract with Newline Skateparks to build a new skateboard park in Kovach Park next summer.
The city will also be hiring the engineering firm WSP Canada to oversee the construction at a cost of $68,1000.
Construction is set to take place next summer, said Laurie Donato, the city’s director of parks, recreation & culture, during Tuesday’s council meeting.
“A substantial amount of funding is now in place and in order to secure a build for 2018, the city will need to enter into a contract with Newline Skateparks Inc.,” wrote Donato in a report to council.
Council’s decision means it’s the beginning of the end for the Columbia Valley Skateboard Association’s seven-year-long goal of building a new skateboard park in Revelstoke.
“Its really nice to get to this stage. It’s been a long road,” said Karl Jost, the president of the CVSA. “This shows it’s going to be built next year.”
The CVSA was able to raise almost $800,000 over the years. They received $250,000 from the tourism infrastructure fund, $150,000 from the Columbia Basin Trust’s Recreation Infrastructure Program, $125,000 from the Economic Opportunity Fund, $20,000 from the CBT’s Community Initiatives Grants, $10,000 from the Revelstoke Credit Union and $5,000 from the Revelstoke Accommodation Association.
The city will be contributing $150,000 and the CVSA raised $82,340 through other fundraising efforts, bringing the total available for the park to $792,340.
That doesn’t include any in-kind donations or money the CVSA is still hoping to raise.
“We haven’t factored any (in-kind donations) into the funds we’ve secured to date,” Donato told council. “The construction company is quite confident a lot of that does come through closer to the construction date.”
Donato recommended the city sign an $800,000 contract with Newline, but council showed concern that if the extra money wasn’t raised in the next year — either through fundraising or in-kind donations – then taxpayers would be on the hook.
“I think the skateboard guys and girls have done a good job. I can tell you as soon as you approve and its going forward, the fundraising stops,” said Mayor Mark McKee. “Where are we going to get the money Laurie?”
Donato replied that the design-build contract could be tweaked based on the funds available, adding: “I can’t guarantee (the CVSA) won’t come back to council next year and ask for more money in the budget.”
She said it was necessary to hire WSP to manage the project because staff did not have the resources to do so.
When it came time to approve the funding, council amended the contract with Newlinw downwards to $730,000.
“Maybe that’s the incentive we need for the fundraisers to get the extra kick,” said McKee.
The money is $300,000 less than the CVSA hoped to raise to build the 20,000-square-foot skateboard park it envisioned. It means the project will have to be scaled back, said Jost.
“We’re going to have to re-design, but keep the same idea of features as in the last park,” he said.
Jost said they were working on confirming in-kind donations and were going to keep fundraising.
“I want people to know we can go above and beyond this to add all the nice details we want to see,” he said.