Say hello to your new Seattle skatepark, to be built this Spring:

Robert Nellams, who heads up the Seattle Center, recently presented the state of things down at Seattle Center.  It turns out, that SeaSk8 was one of the highlights of 2009!

What was really great though, was how positive his impressions are about skateparks now that the park has been on the campus for some time now.  Something that Nellams and others at Seattle Center weren’t super sure about when we originally suggested it.

Check out 84:00 to hear Executive Director Robert Nellams giving major props to the Seattle skateboarding community as a result of his experience with SeaSk8.  He says, “I believe that the skateboarding community gets a raw deal”…”(SeaSk8) is a great…I will repeat this… is a great addition to Seattle Center.

This is a huge win for skateboarders in Seattle, and a great testament to the work that was done by SPAC and most notably John Carr and Ryan Barth on the SeaSk8 project.

Too bad there’s no bowl!  (ha ha just kidding…)

Funding passed the committee of one, and we are on to the full council vote next week.

Skip to 109:00 for the skatepark discussion.

Meet me at the Skylark for a celebratory beer tonight?

The meeting will be in the usual location in the Parks and Recreation Building located at 100 Dexter North, Seattle, WA 98109.  The current draft of the meeting agenda is pasted below.  Sorry for the late notice.  This date crept up sooner than expected given the holidays.

As always, please check www.seattleskateparks.org <http://www.seattleskateparks.org/> for more information.

Skate Park Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda – January 11, 2009

*Meeting will begin @ 7pm sharp*

1. Approval of Agenda

2. Public Comments (limited to 2 minutes per individual)

3. Delridge Skatepark Update

4. Dahl Playfield Skate Dot Update

5. SeaSk8 Update

6. River City Update

7. Lower Woodland Update and Application for Lights

8. Northgate Redevelopment Update

9. John and Summit Skate Dot Update

10. Jefferson Park Skatepark Update

11. Parks and SPAC Communications Regarding Upcoming Projects

12. SLAG Update

I don’t think anyone expects this to be Seattle’s next big thing, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to get skated.  These photos come courtesy of Seattle Parks Department, and don’t really show a lot of the stuff you want to see, but I’m sure there will be some more very soon.  Please send them in if you get some, and I’ll try to get some myself next week.  And before you freak out, the ledges at the bottom of the stairs are at the edge of the park, and are meant to control traffic and rogue board action.

The City Council vote that was supposed to put the Delridge construction funding into play has been delayed until January.  The reasoning for this as explained by Susan Golub from Seattle Parks:

The Delridge skatepark funding ordinance is at the City Council.  The Council staff person assigned to review it was slammed with work, and there were a couple of solely technical corrections that needed to be made… so, the bill will be the first item before the Parks Committee in January.  The staff person had no substantive issues, the technical corrections have been made, so it should be smooth sailing.  The delay until January on the funding ordinance will not have an impact on the project schedule.

It’s entirely conceivable that there were higher priorities than the Delridge funding, and Parks has assured me that the construction can still start in the Spring if the funding comes through in January.  The only real concern I can see is that the committee that will be voting on this funding is now going to be chaired by new council member Sally Bagshaw, with whom skatepark advocates have never met.  I’m also curious about what these technical corrections were, and why the details about them weren’t communicated to us.  I’m only concerned because sometimes there are underlying issues that aren’t outed for political reasons and there could be some risk here that we don’t know about.

The plan is for Ryan, Scott and I to head down to the meeting in January where they’re voting on this funding so we can introduce her to the SPAC and the Citywide Skatepark Plan.  I’m buying the first round of beers when this funding goes through.  This design process has been stressful.

There has been a skatepark in the plan for Jefferson Park’s mega-redesign since at least 2002 when the “final” site plan was published as a result of funding from the last Seattle parks levy.  Well now it looks like this.  The new Parks For All levy brings $1M for a skatepark project in this much needed area of the city, which has nothing to offer in terms of safe and accessible (official) public skateable terrain.

There is also a $10K donation from Sub Pop records that’s just waiting for someone to get the design process started.  But guess what?  No one has stepped up to make it happen.  Boo. The lawn bowling area?  Yeah, that has a group of people behind it.  Someone even stepped up to make sure that the squirrels have a place to store their nuts (okay I made that up…but c’mon skaters!)

On December 1st, there’s going to be a meeting about the overall expansion of the park, and it’s really important that someone shows up to support the skatepark part of the project.  If you live in that area, and you would like to see your one million ten thousand dollar skatepark not suck, or better yet, actually happen….then please turn out to the meeting and get involved.

Shoot me an email if you need more info, encouragement, or help getting plugged into the ultra-gratifying world of skatepark advocacy.

The next scheduled meeting for the Seattle Parks and Recreation Skate Park Advisory Committee (SPAC) will be next Monday November 9.  The meeting will be in the usual location in the Parks and Recreation Building located at 100 Dexter North, Seattle, WA 98109.  The current draft of the meeting agenda is pasted below.  Hope to see you there.

Please note that Parks has just received the Delridge Skatepark revised design package from Grindline Skateparks based on the input received during the last public meeting for this skatepark.  This will be your first chance to review the revised design and provide additional comments.  The SPAC will work with Parks to distribute this design to the community if you cannot make the meeting.

Skate Park Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda – November 9, 2009*Meeting will begin @ 7pm sharp*

1. Approval of Agenda

2. Public Comments (limited to 2 minutes per individual)

3. Delridge Skatepark – Revised Design Review and Comments

4. Dahl Playfield Skate Dot Update

5. SeaSk8 Update

6. River City Status

7. Lower Woodland – Lights?

8. Northgate Redevelopment Update

9. John and Summit Skate Dot Update

10. SLAG Update

Well looky-here…

Guess what came a’wanderin’ into the ol’ inbox!

I’m not saying that this has anything to do with skateboarding, but I do think it’s pretty interesting that the guy who is running the project to restore the Hat and Boots is also the principle pimp on the River City skatepark project.  You’re darn tootin’!

My question is why does the Parks Department always write press releases in this ridiculous Comic Sans font?

The press release:

HAT ‘n’ BOOTS: TOGETHER AGAIN
Iconic art and roadside kitsch from “Premium Tex” fully restored
Seattle Parks and Recreation is happy to announce the restoration of the landmarked Hat ‘n’ Boots will be completed the first week of November.  The Hat ‘n’ Boots located in Oxbow Park at 6400 Corson Ave. S. were moved from their former location at the “Premium Tex” Texaco gas station on E Marginal Way to Oxbow Park in December 2003.

“The restoration of the Hat at Oxbow Park is another gold star for this tenacious South Seattle neighborhood,” said Mark Johnson, Senior Associate at Jones & Jones Architects. “Without the vision of the community in the late 90’s to save and relocate the Hat ‘n’ Boots, one of Seattle’s most iconic roadside attractions would have been lost.  Let the celebration begin!”

The boots had already been restored, and repainted in the original colors and design when the Pro Parks Levy funded Oxbow Park first opened in 2005.   Parks started restoring the Hat in the summer of 2009.  The scaffolding and tent that have surrounded the structure for months during construction will be removed on October 15, 2009 and the final coats of paint will be applied when weather permits.

Jones and Jones Architects led the design of the restoration project.  The construction of the hat included a combination of skilled contractors. Seattle Center’s Welding Shop completed the welding of structural reinforcement; materials were donated by Capital Industries; sandblasting and priming was completed by Seattle Parks Paint Shop and Turnstone Construction is responsible for the detailed concrete work and final paint.

Seattle Parks is very appreciative of the efforts of all involved to work together and make this project a reality.

For additional information please visit http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/proparks/projects/oxbow.htm <http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/proparks/projects/oxbow.htm> or contact Kelly Davidson, project manager 206-684-0998 kelly.davidson@seattle.gov <mailto:kelly.davidson@seattle.gov>

I usually don’t post up general interest stuff, and try to keep it local, but I could easily see this going down in the Seattle area with all of the moneyed companies trying to be hip around here. It’s a concept for a “pop-up” skatepark, otherwise known as crappy pre-fab, themed for a specific brand.

These concept themes are actually appealing (to me anyway), Transformers and Space Invaders, but chances are they’d be some lame corporate theme instead. Replace the giant invader with a soft drink can and you get the idea. Anyway, check it out here.