History

Fundraising Milestones:

  • 2006: $20,000 raised through a $10,000 matching grant from Northfield HCI
  • 2013: $60,000 allocated for the skateboard park by the Northfield City Council
  • 2013: $1,000 grant from the Northfield Area Foundation/Grace Whittier Fund
  • 2014: Launch of the GiveMN.org page and a fundraising partnership with the Northfield Rotary Club

Older blog posts (February 2013-February 2014) can be found here.

Discussions about a permanent skateboard park in Northfield began six years ago, in June 2006, when a group of local youth organized the Northfield Skateboard Coalition. The Coalition pitched their idea to the Northfield Parks and Recreation Board, and began fundraising for a skatepark. Between October 2006 and April 2007, $10,000 was raised through a matching grant from the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative.  In 2011, the Northfield Union of Youth acquired equipment for a skateboard park in Riverside Park. There has not been even a temporary skatepark in Northfield since the summer of 2011.

According to the March 2008 master plan for city parks, the three leading possibilities for the site of the skatepark are Memorial Park, Ames Park, and Babcock Park. Memorial Park was the first choice of the skateboard coalition in the early stages of the discussion, but the choice has met consistent opposition from neighborhood residents. Ames Park was originally favored by the City Council, but was removed from consideration by a vote of the Council in June 2009.  In November 2012, the PRAB recommended sending to the city council a ranked list of preferences for a permanent park location, with Riverside as the first choice and Old Memorial as second choice. The PRAB also requested an allocation of $30,000 to begin construction of the park. On December 4, 2012, the City Council unanimously approved the PRAB recommendations, with an additional $30,000 allocation for park construction from city funds.

 In 2013, Old Memorial Park was chosen as the location of the skatepark, and in 2014 a site to the west of the pool was chosen. Also in 2014, the City contracted with Pillar Design Studios for the design of the skatepark. Pillar's design is based closely on preliminary design work done by Charley Markson and other members of the Skateboard Coalition. 

Here's a rough timeline of the process so far:
  • November 2005: Memorial Park master plan adopted (including pool and surrounding greenspace).
  • June 2006: Northfield Skateboard Coalition founded. Favors Memorial Park as location for skatepark.
  • October 2006: Skateboard coalition receives a $10,000 matching grant from Northfield HCI (expires in 2012).
  • March 2008: Park system master plan adopted (listing Memorial, Ames or Babcock as possible skatepark locations).
  • June 2009: City Council votes 5-1 to eliminate Ames Park as a possible site for the skatepark.
  • July 2009: Temporary skatepark located in Babcock Park.
  • Late 2011: Northfield Union of Youth acquires skatepark equipment from the City of Plymouth.
  • Early 2012: Parks and Recreation Board begins considering a location for a temporary skatepark.
  • May 2012: Temporary skatepark opens in Riverside Lions Park.
  • October 2012: PRAB committee makes recommendation for site of a permanent park; the full PRAB tables the motion to accept the recommendation, in order to explore the possibility of the YMCA site.
  • November 2012: PRAB recommends Riverside Park as the site for a permanent skatepark, with Memorial as an alternative site. The PRAB also requests from the city council an allocation of $30,000 to start construction of a skateboard park.
  • December 4, 2012: The City Council approves the west side of Riverside Park as the location of a permanent skateboard park, and approves the allocation of $30,000 in park board funds with an additional $30,000 (from a city source to be determined) for construction of the park.
  • February 5, 2013: The City Council approves the allocation of $30,000 from the park board and a matching $30,000 from the city's general fund. The Council directs the park board to oversee the project, with completion of the project in 2013.
  • May 9, 2013: The PRAB decides to move forward with a skateboard park in Old Memorial Park, citing prohibitive costs for site remediation due to poor soils in Riverside Park.
  • September 25, 2013: The PRAB holds a design workshop with Spohn Ranch to solicit input from skateboarders and neighbors on the design of the park.
  • January 9, 2014: The City of Northfield sends out a Request for Proposals (RFP) to potential skateboard park designers.
  • Spring 2014: Pillar Design Studios chosen to design the skatepark.
  • September 9, 2014: Presentation to the Northfield Rotary Club. resulting in a fundraising partnership.
New materials (April 2012 and following)
Older materials (2005-April 2012)
Opinion Pieces
Above: possibly the earliest mention of a skateboard park in official city documents.

The information on this page was originally compiled for Northfield.org. The original post can be found here.

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