West Bend commission weighs sites, cost and timeline for replacement skate park

A Parks and Recreation staff presentation on Jan. 30 traced the history of West Bend's portable skate park, reviewed four city-owned candidate sites and described a fundraising and design timeline for a permanent concrete facility.

The presentation, led by Recreation Supervisor Ryan (last name not specified), said the city purchased the modular metal skate equipment in 2003 for about $80,000 and moved it between temporary sites for years. The equipment was stored in 2010 after repeated neighborhood complaints at the Barton Park installation and later moved to its present Main Street location in 2012. In 2024 a volunteer group, Friends of West Bend Skate Park, formed to pursue a permanent site and begin fundraising and permitting work.

Ryan told the commission the Friends group reviewed roughly 23 potential parcels, toured six finalists and focused on four city-owned sites as viable: the Regner Park sports-court area, the Regner Park site west of the soccer field (Park Avenue), the Kister Island Parkway green space / parking lot, and a site at Riverside Park near disc golf Hole 18. Ryan said the group's preference is for a concrete park rather than modular equipment and that a 13,000-square-foot concrete park commonly recommended for a community of West Bend's size would cost between $50 and $75 per square foot "which would put a 13,000 square foot skate park at a cost of between $1,625,000," using published estimates presented to the commission.

The staff presentation listed pros and cons for each city-owned site. Regner sports-court positives included existing parking, nearby restrooms, on-site electricity, good vehicular and pedestrian visibility and the ability to expand; challenges included being in the floodplain, potential impacts to Regner Park's large community events and the proximity to the Labyrinth Garden. The Kister Island parking green space was described as centrally located with on-site utilities but lacking restrooms and with nearby residences. Riverside Park had suitable soils for construction but would need utilities installed and would displace Hole 18 of the disc golf course. The Park Avenue/soccer-field site offers good visibility and on-site utilities but is used for practices, community events and overflow parking at times.

Commissioners discussed trade-offs. Commissioner Craig said he favored the soccer-field site because of proximity to regular park users and police visibility. Other commissioners and staff highlighted concerns about noise for nearby residences, conflicts with Regner Park's major events (Mud Run, July Fourth), and the requirement to perform soils borings and floodplain-related design work if a specific site is selected. Ryan stressed the need to identify a single location before major fundraising and before soliciting design proposals so that soils, utilities and floodplain requirements could be confirmed.

The Friends of West Bend Skate Park representative reported private-property conversations earlier in 2024 to acquire or lease a parcel, but said those talks had not yet reached a final agreement. Commissioners said the private parcel remained of interest but not settled.

No final vote or site selection occurred. Commissioners agreed the issue warrants more public notice; the chair and staff suggested advertising next month's meeting for additional public input and considering a formal vote at a future meeting once a recommended site is identified and key technical information (soils, floodplain, utilities) is available.

The commission and staff identified next steps: select a preferred site, obtain soil borings and other site investigations, draft a phased fundraising plan tied to design and construction phases, prepare a request for qualifications/proposals for skate-park designers/builders, and continue community outreach.