Skatepark Progress Redux

According to Eureka city councilman Jeff Leonard, concrete's coming to the old hole #9. Unfortunately, it seems that they're nowhere near completion anytime soon.

We at Cooper Discourse have heard this one before, and will believe it when we see it. Remember the sign that said "Coming summer 2008?" At least they made good on the creekside restoration next to the old #5.

Here's Leonard's press release. Typo alert!

"Great news! We’re pouring concrete at Cooper Gulch this summer!

"The Eureka Skate Park went out to bid – and this year’s low bidder is over $150,000 less than last summer’s best bid. On April 21^st, the Eureka City Council will award a contract to the lowest bidder – Danco Construction.

"Last summer, the site preparation work was completed and a drainage system installed The total cost to build the remainder of the Eureka Skate Park is $400,000 – and we’ve raised $278,000. We’re well over half way to our goal!

"We’ve broken the skate park into six different sections. The first two sections are the largest and most complicated. If we can raise another $40,000 before April 21^st, we can award 3 of 6 sections – nearly 2/3rds of the total park. Of course, we’d like to build the entire park this summer.

"To finish the entire project, we need to raise over $100,000. To bridge that gap, we are going to (1) recruit additional in-kind donations, (2) search for additional grant funding, (3) apply to the County of Humboldt for funding, and (4) kick-off a community fundraising campaign in April.

"The more money we raise – the more skate park we can build this summer! If you have specific questions, please don’t hesitate to call or email.

"After 20 years on the drawing board, the Eureka Skate Park will finally be a reality for Humboldt County’s youth. Thanks again to all of our community sponsors, including Coast Central Credit Union, McLean Foundation, Eureka Rotary Club, Leon’s Car Care Center, Matson Vallerga Architects, Schmidbauer Lumber, Mercer Fraser Company, Maples Plumbing, City of Eureka, Tony Hawk Foundation, and Security National.

Thanks for your support! Jeff Leonard."