*** Council Not Ready to Commit Funds for Yakima Eastside Skatepark ***

Yakima, Washington -- 09/08/2004
Hope for a second skateboard park
in Yakima took a spill Tuesday.

The Yakima City Council agreed that building another place
for local youth to skateboard, this time on the east side of town,
was a good idea. However, the council wasn't willing to commit
$25,000 from federal grant money to design such a park, because
the recommendation hasn't gone through the right process.

Council said it needed to get the approval of a citizens' committee
established in February and to consider the proposal in the context
of the entire budget.

That process will conclude in December. Denise Nichols, the city's
parks manager, said the delay won't hurt her timeline. Nichols and
the Apple Valley Kiwanis Club hope to add the skatepark plan to a
larger project to develop the north end of Kiwanis Park, located to
the east of South Fair Avenue and north of Maple Street.

Plans for the park include building three little league fields,
a playground, and parking. The city hopes to raise a total of
$300,000, largely through donations from area service club
trust funds, to apply for a matching grant from the state. Kiwanis,
Lions and Rotary clubs have already pledged $200,000 to the
project, Nichols said Tuesday. Nichols would like to apply in
May 2006.

Apple Valley Kiwanis is leading the effort for the skatepark,
and donated another $2,000 to the project at Tuesday's
council meeting. The club previously donated $2,500.

Although Apple Valley Kiwanis members have quoted costs
between $250,000 and $300,000, Nichols said it's hard to
know how much the project would cost because it depends
on the design and materials. They are hoping to use wooden
modular ramps and half pipes that could be moved and rearranged
instead of the large, permanent concrete design at Chesterley Park,
which the city built in 2000.

Councilman Ron Bonlender, who recommended earmarking the
$25,000 for the skatepark, worried the council will put the
decision off indefinitely. Furthermore, he pointed out that the
council has the ultimate say on all budget decisions.

He questioned the council's consistency when it came to
proper procedures, particularly regarding the funds he
suggested spending on the park.

The city gets approximately $1.4 million annually in federal
block grant funds from the Department of Housing and Urban
Development. It can spend the money on community and economic
development on the east side of town, which previous councils
determined to be the part of town that most needs it.

The city set up the citizens' committee in February at Bonlender's
suggestion to advise the council on how to spend the grant money
and design a five-year plan for future spending.

The group began meeting in March, but committee
member Mary Harris said the group has fallen apart
over the summer.

In June, the council committed the city to pay Praeclarent,
a new call center, up to $200,000 over five years from the
block grant without asking the citizens' committee. The call
center has to use the money for training employees.

Yakima OIC got a tentative commitment from the council
last month for up to $75,000 each year from the block grant
to run the Southeast Community Center. The council said it
would run the proposal by the citizens' committee.

---------------------------------------------------

*** Raising Funds for New Yakima Skate Park ***

Yakima, Washington -- 09/07/2004
The city of Yakima is receiving money towards a new skateboard park.

It would be located in Kiwanis park. The Apple Valley Kiwanis club
has already raised $5,000 for it. The park is estimated to cost between
$200,000 to $300,000 to build.

The city hopes to leverage around 50 percent of the funding.
While there already is a spot for skaters at Chesterley park,
city leaders feel not everyone has access to it.

"It's very important for the community to have a facility like
this accessible on the east side of yakima," says Neil McClure,
assistant mayor.

---------------------------------------------------

** Skateboard Park Plan Gets Boost by Kiwanis ***

Yakima, Washington -- 09/07/2004
Another skateboard park, this time on the east
side of town, may be in the works for Yakima.

The Apple Valley Kiwanis Club is driving the effort to build a
skateboard park at the northwest corner of Kiwanis Park,
which is east of South Fair Avenue and north of Maple Street.

At Tuesday's council meeting, the club will add $2,000 to
its previous $2,500 donation and lobby the city to kick in
$25,000 so architects can be hired to design the park.

With plans in hand, club president Dave Severson reasons,
it will be easier to raise the remaining money for the project,
which he and fellow planners estimate will cost between
$250,000 and $300,000. Planners hope to complete
construction in 2007.

Inspiration for the park came from across town. The city of
Yakima built a concrete skate park in 2000 at Chesterley Park
at 40th Avenue and Powerhouse Road.

"The (skatepark) on 40th is so incredibly successful,"
Kiwanis member Gailon Gentry said Friday. "It's just packed.
So you know kids like it. And the kids on the other end of town
have nothing."

Gentry started planning this project two years ago and approached
the city's parks department about building on the park that Kiwanis
started and donated to the city years ago. Gentry said the skatepark
project would improve the city's overall package when seeking funding
for future projects at the park.

City parks and recreation manager Denise
Nichols was unavailable for comment Friday.

For now, the club is seeking the $25,000 from the city's annual
grant of approximately $1.4 million from the federal Department
of Housing and Urban Development. The money is meant for
community and economic development in what past councils
determined to be the most needy part of town, generally areas
east of 16th Avenue. The city has used the funds to give incentives
to companies to locate here, to clean up graffiti, and run the
Southeast Community Center, among other things.

"They've never used these funds for something like this before,"
Councilman Ron Bonlender said Friday. Bonlender, an Apple
Valley Kiwanis member, plans to recommend allocating the
$25,000 for the project at Tuesday's 2 p.m. meeting.

Although a citizens' committee is advising council on
how to spend the grant, the council will have the final say.

The meeting will be in the Council Chambers,
129 N. Second St.

Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
All Things Northwest in BMX!
***** Gene`s BMX *****
http://www.genesbmx.com