| High costs, construction glut keep skate park on paper Published in the March 28, 2007 issue of The Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle By Dee Camp Chronicle staff Tonasket's skate park project is the victim of high construction costs and plenty of west side work to keep contractors busy, according to Georgine Epley, chair of the B3 Skatepark Project committee. She said the most recent update she received from city planner Chris Branch and skate park designer Jon Ortgeisen is that Dreamland, the lone bidder in the most recent request for bids, came in high. Ortgeisen now is suggesting the city submit the bid request only to the companies with which he is familiar and has worked since he knows their pricing and quality, Epley said. "At this point, since the bid was put out the first time in September 2006 and no bids came back, the city is able to actually choose a contractor and award the bid" to it, she said. Another problem is that it's a contractor's market and the best companies with which Ortgeisen has worked "have openly told him they do not need to bid on a skate park so far out of their territory because they have enough work in King and Pierce counties to keep them busy," Epley said. "So, at this point we are once again set back because we are a small rural town that is too far out to be important," she said. "We are now paying for our distance from the big cities." She said Tonasket mayor Pat Walter has been supportive of the project, as has Ortgeisen. "We are just hitting one more snag in a long line of snags, and everyone continues to be supportive and optimistic," she said. Skate park planners originally anticipated having the in-ground, concrete park and accompanying BMX track done by now. The facilities are planned at Chief Tonasket Park. Proponents have raised more than $100,000 through fund-raisers and a variety of grants, including ones from the state Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation and the Tony Hawk Foundation. More information is available at www.tonasketskatepark. org. |
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2007 The Chronicle, Inc., Omak, WA 98841, unless otherwise noted. |
