By Janice Podsada
Herald Writer
MUKILTEO — The Mukilteo high school student who asked the city several years ago to consider building a skateboard park is now a student at the University of Washington.
The Mukilteo City Council began discussing the possibility of building a skateboard park in 1998. And on Monday night, the council promised to decide once and for all whether constructing a skate park is feasible.
In a 6-to-1 vote, with council member Ken Kromann voting against the measure, the council gave the go-ahead for city officials to discuss forging a partnership with the Mukilteo YMCA.
The city and the YMCA have expressed interest in locating the park next to the Mukilteo Family YMCA branch at 107th Street SW and 47th Avenue W., said Mukilteo city administrator Rich Leahy.
At this point, however, the park is on the city’s wish list.
"It’s an unbudgeted item," Leahy said. "It’s a nice thing to do, but we have to figure out how to fund it."
The cost of constructing a 10,000-square-foot skate park —approximately the size of two tennis courts — could run anywhere from $250,000 to $600,000, Leahy told council members.
Under a hoped-for partnership with the YMCA, the city would provide the funding to design and construct the park, while the YMCA would operate, supervise and maintain it.
"It would be open to the public at no charge," Leahy said.
Jeff Dunleavy, executive director of the Mukilteo YMCA, said he’s ready to start talking to the city.
"I can tell you that teens are a very high priority with the YMCA, so naturally we would be interested in finding a way to do this. We would want to make the park available to the entire community," he said.
Dunleavy said if negotiations go well, the YMCA could seek approval for the partnership from its volunteer board of directors as early as May.
Skateboarder Jonathan Robinson told the council Monday that the popularity of inline skating and skateboarding has soared in the last few years. A skate park would not only give teen-agers a place to gather, but offer a safe venue in which to practice such things as kick flips and "fakies" — riding backward.
"I see kids skating in busy streets all the time," Robinson said.
Other local communities have reduced the cost of their skate park construction by soliciting private funds and, in some cases, taking advantage of donated labor, Robinson said.
Council member Kromann, who voted against the measure, told the council the city shouldn’t be involved in the project. "I’m less than enthusiastic about the city footing the bill for the skate park," he said.
"I don’t think it’s the responsibility of the city to provide entertainment for its citizens."
You can call Herald Writer Janice Podsada at 425-339-3029 or send e-mail to podsada@heraldnet.com.
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