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A rocky spot for the future skatespot in Roxhill Park: It had full funding from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy and a green light from the city – and then came a donation. Usually a cause for celebration, but in this case, the city Skate Park Advisory Committee wants the Parks Department to turn it down. They say the donation announced early last month is locking the city into a contract for the skateboarding facility to be built by a company that ranked low when the Request for Qualifications went out. Read on:
When Mayor McGinn made that announcement at City Hall in early May that the Roxhill Skatespot would get a donation from skateboarding luminary Rob Dyrdek, visiting Seattle for a performance, members of the Skate Park Advisory Committee weren’t there – they say they’d only been notified at the last minute.
They are the volunteers who have been slugging it out for years to get the city to devote time, energy, money, and planning to the sport. They have now sent the city a letter opposing the donation – particularly because it comes with free design services from California Skateparks, which they say is not the right company to build a park on the unique Roxhill site.
The committee sent its letter a week ago. You can read it here in its entirety. This excerpt explains their concern:
… 3. California Skateparks submitted a response to the Roxhill Skatepark RFQ and the objective Consultant Evaluation Committee rated them lowest
During the initial round of ratings by the Consultant Evaluation Committee appointed by Parks as a part of the selection process for the Roxhill Skatepark, California Skateparks was rated the lowest of all received consultants, with only one vote by any Committee member. The Committee was composed (of) a Parks planner, two Parks landscape architects, the Chair of the Judkins Park Oversight Committee, a member of the Westwood Neighborhood Council, and a member of the SPAC. The SPAC representative found that the California Skateparks submission lacked detail, site awareness, and inspiration. These objective evaluations by a wide range of participants (skaters and non-skaters) clearly show that California Skateparks would not be selected as the designer for this skatepark in the absence of the donated services. Therefore, acceptance of this donation results in the selection of a sub-standard design consultant for this project.
… 4. In exchange for the donation we are relinquishing a considerable amount of control and input on what kind of skatepark goes into this site.
California Skateparks does not design the kind of skatepark that will work best at this site. The Roxhill Skatepark requires a custom design due to the site’s unique restrictions. The site is inhabited with mature trees, and therefore requires a non-contiguous design that incorporates these trees. The SPAC has researched California Skatepark designs throughout the country and feels that they are not a good fit for this unique site because they generally design skateparks with large, open footprints and limited site constraints. A large, open street plaza at this site would require the removal of many, if not all, of the trees. The SPAC does not support the removal of mature trees to build skateparks. At this site, the SPAC advocates for the selection of other skatepark designers that have a documented portfolio that includes the integration of creative non-contiguous designs that account for constraints such as trees. …
Also in the letter, the committee reiterated that they hope Parks will change its mind and reject the donation, also mentioning that it is not an overall benefit to the city, since the money not spent apparently will not go to another skatepark project.
Then the response came yesterday – short enough to publish here in its entirety:
June 27, 2011
Ryan Barth
Skate Park Advisory CommitteeDear Mr. Barth,
On behalf of Mayor McGinn as well as Seattle Parks and Recreation, thank you for your ongoing interest in the design of the Roxhill and Judkins skateparks and the donated services to be provided by California Skateparks.
As you know, the Rob Dyrdek Foundation has made a donation to the City of Seattle such that California Skateparks will design the Roxhill Skatepark and incorporate certain terrain features from the recent Street League event at Seattle Center at no cost to the City. The value of this donation is expected to be over $100,000. This donation is substantial and we believe it will be a positive contribution to the Roxhill project.
I understand that both Kelly Davidson and Kevin Stoops talked to you on June 23 to tell you that we intend to enter into a no-fee design contract with California Skateparks to provide for this work. As such, the consultant selection this week will only address the selection of a designer for the Judkins skatepark.
If you have any further questions on this, please contact Kelly Davidson at kelly.davidson@seattle.gov or 206-684-0998.
Sincerely,
Christopher Williams
Acting Superintendent, Seattle Parks and Recreationcc: Matt Johnston, Skate Park Advisory Committee
It didn’t address SPAC’s concerns, and they are not pleased. Johnston, a West Seattleite, also runs the SeattleSkateparks.org website, where he has published his reaction to the city’s reply (read it here in its entirety). He reiterates two points: “Seattle Parks is locking out community input by skipping the process that allows for it, and therefore, disenfranchising the stakeholders. … Seattle Parks is applying this donation to a fully funded project that doesn’t need it, instead of directing it toward a project in another community that does.”
So now what, aside from a ping-pong match of memos? Johnston writes that they are following up with the City Council.
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