On a cool
evening during the winter of 1996, the Ukiah High School Auditorium
was packed with people and enthusiasm as the community discussed
the need for a skate park in the Ukiah Valley. As a result of
this forum, organized by Don Dolan, participants formed several
committees to help develop a skate park, including fundraising,
design, publicity, and site selection. As a result of this groundswell
of activity, on September 13, 1997, Ukiah held it's first UKIAH
SKATE PARK BENEFIT CONCERT AND SKATEBOARD COMPETITION. This two-day
benefit drew hundreds of participants and observers, and was an
incredibly positive community event.
As the months
drew on, however, without any meaningful progress on selecting
an appropriate site for the skate park, many committee members
grew discouraged. The Site Selection Committee realized that it
would be very difficult to move forward on their fundraising efforts
and a design for the new park without first identifying the location.
As a result their focus narrowed to selecting a site. Thus, the
Site Selection Committee identified, visited and ranked approximately
15 possible sites in the Ukiah Valley, and made their findings
available to the City of Ukiah. Out of these locations, the Volleyball
Court site by Low Gap Park best met the criteria identified by
the Committee, including safety, accessibility, multi-generational
exposure, and impact on neighbors. Unfortunately, at the time,
Ukiah High School was adamantly opposed to this location, so over
time, other possibilities were explored, including Todd Grove
and Vinewood Parks. In both cases, neighborhood opposition was
substantial, and the sites were not pursued.
Regardless
of these setbacks, the Skate Park Site Selection Committee has
slowly been making progress. Since 1996 the committee has been
working directly with the City of Ukiah Community Services. This
has proven to be a beneficial link, facilitating the exchange
of vital information between the Ukiah City Council and the Site
Selection Committee. As a result the committee narrowed their
search to two possible skate park sites: 1) the original favorite
at the Low Gap Park Volleyball Court, and 2) a parcel on Clay
Street near the Sun House.
After weighing
the benefits of each location the group opted to pursue their
second choice. The City of Ukiah entered into a long negotiation
process with the owners of the Clay Street property, but after
months of deliberating they were unable to settle upon a satisfactory
purchase agreement.
The Skate
Park Committee, was very disappointed and grew discouraged once
again, when suddenly a third prospect appeared. The North Coast
Railroad Authority (NCRA) expressed an interest
in locating the skate park on a piece of property adjacent
to the City of Ukiah's new Depot Park on Perkins Street. Negotiations
began again!
Time seemed
to crawl during the negotiating process, but in a few short months
the Ukiah Skate Park finally had a home. It was a warm June evening
in 2004, when the Skate Park Committee sat triumphantly in the
Ukiah City Council chambers awaiting the unanimous vote that secured
the parcel.
Finally,
after nearly a decade of searching, the Ukiah Skate Park officially
has a home. The committee can now move forward with fundraising
and design. Click HERE to find
out how you can help.
