Carpinteria City Council unanimously votes in favor of skate park bid

CARPINTERIA, Calif.-The Carpinteria City Council voted unanimously to move forward with a skate park construction project by accepting the city's one and only bid.

The city received and approved the $2,089,242 bid from Lash Construction of Santa Barbara.

The money will be used to build a park designed by Dreamland Skateparks out of Oregon.

The bid is 50 percent more than the city expected to spend, based on an engineer’s estimate. It is about twice as much as the amount raised by the Carpinteria Skate Foundation.

The city will need about $700,000 more to pay for the contract.

City authorized a budget increase to its Capitol Improvement Project Expense Fund for what the city calls Project PK-19-003. Monday night's vote allows the transfer of funds from Carpinteria's Special Projects Reserve Account.

Carpinteria Skate Foundation plans to use future contributions to help maintain the park, but the nonprofit will not have to split the difference in costs.

Julia Mayer is the foundation’s community outreach coordinator and asked if she could shake their hands after the vote.

"You know coming out of two years of Covid with fields being closed and schools being emptied, this community has really understood the need for a place for kids to go and especially after the Olympics last summer, skateboarding is an Olympic sport. These kids are not truants, these kids are just awesome, doing their thing, being creative," said Mayer.

During public comments Mayer told them the foundation will continue to fundraise if it will help.

"If what is take is us finding that money I will overturn every cushion every couch in all of Carpinteria to find it."

Many parents like the chosen location right next to city hall and the city's law enforcement office.

"As a parent I always like the idea that it's going to be next to the Sheriff's station. I've already discussed that with my daughter," said Russell Ruiz," Most important we are going to feel she is safe there."

Jason Lesh of the Carpinteria Skate Park Foundation said it will mean a lot to kids who don't take part in team sports at school.

"There's a lot of us that don't fit into the team sports mold, there's a lot of us that don't really fit into school, but a lot of us fit in at the skate park,"said Lesh.

Members of the public and the council said delays could lead to higher costs while gas prices are spiking and while imports are impacting inflation.

Local kids and adults currently skate on sidewalks and in local parking lots. They skaters said It is not ideal.

If all goes as planned, supporters believe the park could open to the public as early as January of 2023.