Wheels may roll at skate park in 2010

City seeking $600K grant for phase two of Wade Creek Park

By Evan Jensen

The Estacada News, Apr 15, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Evan Jensen / Estacada News

Harley Tallon, Ben Gallagher, Connor Tallon, Hayden Lovett, Chris Ledbury and Nathan Gibson rode their skateboards to Wade Creek Park last week to try out some "sick tricks' when temperatures topped 70 degrees. The boys will be among the first to try out the features of the city's new skate park when it's built. Earlier this month, the city applied for a $600,000 grant for phase two of Wade Creek Park.

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When springtime temperatures topped 70 degrees last week, Estacada Junior High School seventh grader Harley Talon made his way to Wade Creek Park with a group of friends to ollie, grind and kickflip their skateboards near the city’s future skate park.

“That move was sick,” one of the boys told Talon when he ollied over a cement parking block. The six-member group of friends — Harley Talon, Ben Gallagher, Connor Talon, Hayden Lovett, Chris Ledbury, Nathan Gibson — spent the afternoon riding skateboards in Estacada, sipping Mountain Dew, and swapping stories about other skate parks they’ve visited. But they all wondered when Estacada would have its own skate park where they could land their “sick” moves.

Last week the city of Estacada submitted a state grant application requesting an estimated $600,000 for phase two of Wade Creek Park, which includes a 10,000-square-foot skate park, horseshoe pits and sand volleyball court.

“We will hear back from the state at the end of July,” Project Manager Dave Piper said. “If we get the money, we will go directly to the design phase, finish that in about six months and bid the project in the spring of 2010. In the best of all worlds with full funding, we would do the construction over the summer.”

In late 2008, the city of Estacada purchased the former Y&E Market property, adjacent to the existing Wade Creek Park and public library, for $168,000 after holding the property for months with an extended contingency agreement. The city only had $110,000 in funding when the property owner accepted the city’s offer, but before the city had to go into debt to pay the balance, Clackamas County and local donors came forward with additional funds to pay cash for the site.

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