Fairview looks to build skatepark at school

By Shannon Wells

The Gresham Outlook, Nov 28, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

Artwork courtesy of City of Fairview

Fairview city leaders have renewed talks with the Reynolds School District Board on a proposed skateboard park on the grounds of Fairview Middle School, 1200 N.E. 201st Ave.

The city first approached Reynolds board members in 2007 with the concept of building a 10,000-square-foot skatepark in a parking lot near the Halsey Street school’s athletic fields. Receiving enthusiastic support from the board, city planners pursued design, geotechnical study of the space and logistics on issues such as maintaining parking spaces.

With those steps completed, city planners are working to generate momentum for the park with the board as well as community members.

At a Nov. 12 Reynolds board meeting, Fairview Senior Planner Lindsey Nesbitt and members of the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee delivered a presentation on the skatepark to the board.

Here are some of the topics addressed:

• The park will be maintained by the city of Fairview.

• The intergovernmental partnership between the city and the district will not require a financial contribution from the school district.

• Design sketches illustrate how the skatepark can be constructed while maintaining the current number of 107 parking spaces in the lot.

•••

The school board withheld a full endorsement until further questions can be addressed. Issues raised include long-term plans for the middle school, parking space and how juvenile gang and crime activity in and around the city might relate to the park, said board Chairwoman Theresa Delaney-Davis.

“In two years, a lot of things have changed,” Davis said. “There have been changes in the economy, our population and crime rates.”

However, she added, “there’s plenty of good kids who want to use (the park) too.”

“We just didn’t have our arms around (the skatepark concept) at the time to make a decision,” she said of the recent meeting. “We encouraged the city to bring some additional study back to us. That was the outcome.”

Although some questions arose that planners hadn’t anticipated, Nesbitt said she and her colleagues are committed to a cooperative dialogue.

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