More photos at skateoregon.com/archive/oregon/bay-city
Grand Opening
Sunday, October 21st, 2007
Noon to 6:00 pm
Bay City
More photos at skateoregon.com/archive/oregon/bay-city
Opening October 2007:
This just in, September 16th
We're ahead of schedule thanks to the excellent DreamLand crew. Formal dedication scheduled for Sunday, October 21st, Noon to 6.
Under Construction:
Here is a July update from Shaena:
Great news! Bay City was third on the list for the thirty grants awarded by Oregon Parks and Rec. and DreamLand is scheduled to break ground on August 13th with a projected completion date of October 15th.
We are all very thrilled and I'm looking at another option that might be great to have considering our wet weather. I've been talking to a few locals about the possibility of covering the park. Perhaps, considering the cost, we might look at only covering a portion. What are your thoughts? I'll also be talking to the DreamLand people.
Anyway, Sam, thanks for sharing our great news. I'm looking forward to one huge party come the middle of October.
In Process:
Bay City is in the process of community gathering, planning, and fundraising for a park they hope to open by Fall 2007. There is $42,000 in the City budget set aside for the park and grants and fundraisers are underway. Here is text from a flyer released April 2007:
The proposed Ken Downie SkatePark in Bay City will be a gathering place everyone will take pride in, a place that celebrates our youth. Skateboarders are our kids and friends and we want them to have somewhere to go where they are safe and welcome. Skateboarding is an exciting and fascinating sport; no wonder it's the fastest-growing athletic activity among today's youth. A challenging skatepark will provide a facility for our kids to be incredible athletes. We won't isolate this skatepark in some remote corner. As a community, Bay City doesn't shy away from kids or exile them to back-corners of parking lots or remote fields. And the City Council agrees; the upper park in Bay City already has a great covered area, picnic tables, and an excellent sidewalk leading right up to the site of the skatepark. The Bay City Council has repeatedly said they believe in a skatepark, but they could not allocate money from the budget's street fund.
We are lucky that an inventive bunch of young people has begun the process to make "Ken's Place" a reality. We have received conceptual drawings from Dreamland - builder of world-class skateparks. Our skatepark will be built to last and deserve to be named after Ken Downie, a man who loved kids and this beautiful part of our coast, a man who truly understood the reason we're here.
We're going to need to raise a lot of money for Ken's Place and we know it can be done. Fund raising usually falls in four general categories: Sweat-equity, In-Kind donations of equipment and materials, Grants, and Municipal bonds. While it's tempting to chase "easy money" by asking for grants or requesting Bay City to fully fund the skatepark, we know that isn't possible.
Grants requests are being submitted to Oregon Parks and Recreation, Tony Hawk Foundation and Nike. There are also lots of fundraisers in the works. There is an account at the Tillamook Branch of Sterling Savings Bank called Ken's Place Donation Account. Also, anyone with access to materials, or heavy equipment, or time to spare is encouraged to contact us.
Contact:
City HallSpecific Contacts for Ken's Place:
5525 B Street
Bay City, Oregon 97107
(503) 377-2288
baycity@oregoncoast.com
http://ci.bay-city.or.us