FORKS SKATEPARK TAKING SHAPE

By Chris Cook - Forks Forum editor

A crew from Grindline, the world-class skateboard park builders out of Seattle, is in Forks and working away at Tillicum Park.

A finely-tuned skateboarding concrete bowl that looks like an empty below-ground swimming pool is the main feature of phase one of the new Forks Skatepark.

The site is located near the Department of Natural Resource’s rear parking lot. The bowl phase of the park will be connected by a 10-foot-wide smooth concrete walkway. Plans call for the wide sidewalk to be used comfortably by both pedestrians and skateboarders. The walkway will have a slight tilt for drainage and be dotted with skateboard features.
Work is now underway on both phases of the park, and a drainage system is being built into the concrete bowl to allow for Forks’ rainy climate.

The facility is owned by the City of Forks, and will be debt-free when completed.

On Wednesday, Dave Zellar, the head of public works for the City of Forks, and Darren Greeno, co-owner of West End Surf shop on Division Street, gave an overview of the $72,000 project to a West End Business and Professional Association gathering at the In Place Restaurant.

Zellar said the concept for a skatepark in Forks first came up about eight years ago, and five years ago a grant from skateboard legend Tony Hawk to an ad hoc group of local skaters known as the Forks Session Association seeded fundraising for the recreational facility.

Buying bolt-down skateboarding ramps, for about $1,000-$3,000 to be placed on a tennis court surface was considered, but didn’t seem durable enough.

The opening of West End Surf in 2007 drew Greeno and his surf shop partner Leah Hornaday into the picture after they relocated from the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

They said “we can make this happen,” Zellar said, and helped move the project to reality.
The couple sought out top-notch skateboard park builders from across the Northwest, he said, and drew the interest of Grindline.

Greeno said the company didn’t want a firm from California or Oregon creating a skatepark “in their own backyard,” and were attracted to the project.

He said Forks is getting a good deal from Grindline on construction costs. Volunteer help includes concrete finishing labor from two local contractors and eight professional concrete finishers. All told, the city should end up with a park valued at over $100,000, or about 25 percent less than normal. Usually $40 per square foot, Forks project will come in at about $30 per square foot.

The Forks City Council recently put  funding for the project over the top with cash advances to the city’s skatepark funds. Since then, the Quileute Tribe, private donors and volunteers offering labor and concrete forming expertise have stepped up to help out, Zellar said.

Greeno said young local skateboarders are pitching in, too.

“Kids pulling nails out of two-by-fours spent three hours each day of their spring break before going to baseball practice” in working on preparing the plot in the park where the skatepark is being located, he said.
Zellar said the city has checked with its insurance company, who has given the go-ahead for running the park, with a requirement that warning signs be posted.

Greeno said there are about 40 active skateboarders residing in Forks, mostly ranging in age from 11-17.
Many are serving as volunteers during the construction, gathering 2x4s for concrete forms and doing other jobs.
“We have a crew of kids who can say, ‘I built this skatepark,‘” Greeno said.
He said the combination of Grindline’s expertise and the strong volunteer effort will make the park “one of best skateboard parks in the world.”

Rules for skateboarders using the park are being drawn up, Zellar said. On the list is the use of helmets when skating and other details.