Indoor Recreation Center and facility expected to open in
September
Morgan Hill – Halfpipe hounds and rail junkies can rejoice. There will soon be a new skate park in town.
Tossing aside dreams of a $1.2-million skate park, the city will build a $161,000 shredder playground at the new Indoor Recreation Center. Both should open in September.
“It’s cool; I’m glad they’re going to make it happen,” said skateboarder Sammy Aquino, 19. “This one’s falling apart. There’s a lot of stuff that’s missing from this one. It’s always fun to skate in a new park.”
Funding for the park will come from a $96,000 state grant and $65,000 in development impact funds. Mori Struve, the city’s public works operations director, said the city will solicit donations to supplement the budget, with a sponsorship program to pay for adding extra jumps and railings. Struve said he’s already received two requests to donate $5,000 to $8,000 to help build the park, news that caused Morgan Hill Mayor Dennis Kennedy to exclaim, “that’s awesome. That’s good news.”
The new park will be bigger than the city’s temporary playground on Butterfield Boulevard and consist of mobile ramps, jumps, spines and rails on asphalt padding. A million-dollar park could be built with a concrete pad and permanent implements that would require less maintenance, but improvements in skate park technology make a cheaper park a wise long-term investment, Struve said.
The aging wooden structures at the current park near the Caltrain station will give way to ramps and jumps made of galvanized steel. Struve said the park architect will be directed to build the most creative playground the city can afford, including a tiered pad with natural obstacles and a ramp just begging to be grinded on.
“What we really like about it is that we’re going to create a bi-level pad,” Struve said. “We’re going to create something more than you find in rectangular skate park.”
The city has been under pressure to build a new park because the current park, which opened in 2000 and was never intended to be permanent, is at the end of its useful life. There’s no room in the city budget to cover $10,000 in annual maintenance costs. In recent months, the Morgan Hill Youth Advisory Committee hosted a band concert at the Community and Cultural Center and has planned a fashion show and a T-shirt design contest to raise money for a new park. Dustin Vowinkel, 17, rides his bike at the Butterfield park almost every day. He said a concrete park would be better, but he’s still thrilled by the new place.
