Colfax council approves final skate park plans, authorizes bid solicitation

The Colfax City Council on July 9 approved final plans for the Colfax Skate Park and authorized the city manager to solicit construction bids. The action followed a multi-year community effort led by the nonprofit Colfax Green Machine and presentations from the park designer, New Line Skateparks, volunteers and industry partners.

The project as presented is an approximately 8,000-square-foot community-level skate park designed for mixed skill levels and multiple wheeled activities (skateboards, scooters, BMX). Ty Connors, vice president of Colfax Green Machine, and Kenton Russell of New Line Skateparks reviewed the final plans and said the drawings and construction documents are bid-ready. "This is the closest we've ever been," Connors said of the project's progress after a decade of volunteer work.

Why it matters: The park represents a long-standing local effort to provide a recreational amenity for Colfax youth and regional users. Funding includes grant awards, Parks & Recreation funds set aside by the city and in-kind and cash donations the Green Machine raised. Staff said in-kind materials and services tied to the project total roughly $100,000 and cash donations about $40,000; the city noted existing Parks & Recreation funds are encumbered for this project and would not be diverted to other uses.

Funding, scope and procurement

City staff and project partners said the project's base scope is bid-ready; alternates in the bid package include a shade structure and additional benches that could be added if funds permit. The city manager and project manager told the council they would solicit bids from qualified contractors; if bids exceed the available budget, staff will return to the council for direction.

Donations and in-kind commitments

Crystal Howard of Skate for Concrete and Robert Dugan (construction materials industry) confirmed multiple local companies have committed materials and aggregate donations to reduce hard construction costs. City staff confirmed there is a donation agreement with the Green Machine; council asked that the agreement include the specific dollar and in-kind amounts referenced in the staff report.

Neighborhood concerns and maintenance

Nearby resident and councilmember Larry Hilberg recused himself from voting because his property lies within 500 feet of the site and spoke from the public lectern to express concerns about project scale, safety, and the adequacy of final budgets before solicitation. City staff and the designer responded that the park is roughly 8,000 square feet (typical for a community park of this type), that construction documents are stamped and ready to bid, and that alternates are limited to a few edge amenities.

On maintenance, New Line and staff said ongoing upkeep for a project of this size typically is modest. A designer representative said typical average annual maintenance for similar projects is about $500 a year, though higher-traffic regional parks can cost more.

Council action

Councilmember motioned and the council voted to adopt a resolution approving the final skate park plans and authorizing the city manager to solicit bids for construction. The motion passed; staff will advertise the project for bid and return if bid results require council decision on scope or funding changes.

Quotes

"This is the closest we've ever been, and I'll see the final hurdles," Ty Connors, vice president, Colfax Green Machine.

"The majority of those pretty renders are actually in the base bid," a New Line representative explained during the meeting, indicating that most of the park features depicted are included in the base construction scope.

Context and next steps

The project has been under community development for about 10 years. With council authorization to solicit bids, the next steps are public procurement, bid evaluation, and award (subject to available funding); staff will return to council if bids exceed the combination of grants, donations and city Parks & Recreation funds set aside for the project.