Plan for a new SLO County skatepark gets a big boost in funding
Directors of Cambria’s services district board have committed similar amounts of money to future projects a new skatepark and a public restroom at the East Ranch of Fiscalini Ranch Preserve.
The decisions by the Cambria Community Services District directors ostensibly ended what many in the community said they’d perceived as being an either-or situation, although some of the directors have said from the get-go that they supported both projects.
The directors confirmed their earlier approval of submitting an application for a state per capita grant that would provide $177,952 toward the $371,000 restroom project but requires a grant-match investment by the district for the balance. The board also confirmed a budget adjustment for the restroom allocation.
The design for that project is complete.
The directors also approved establishing setting aside a sufficient amount over each of the next three years to reach a target fund of $178,000 toward the skatepark, the cost for which is currently estimated at $661,000.
The district will also continue to support development of a design and permit for the new skatepark with continued project management by Ray Dienzo, district engineer for the services district.
Both expenditures were finalized at the Board of Directors’ Dec. 9 meeting, but the votes were not unanimous.
Director Tom Gray opposed both actions, after having argued forcefully against the expenditures that would each wind up taking some money out of the district’s general fund reserve account. Director Harry Farmer voted no on the restroom grant.
Sunday night, Julie Amodei, president of SkateCambria and an ex-officio member of the district’s Parks Recreation & Open Space Commission, posted a thank you to the CSD directors “for their commitment to the skatepark.”
She also updated the status of SkateCambria’s fundraising campaign, including “a generous donation of $50,000 last week from Steve Kniffen, who is representing a group supporter.”
That donation, Amodei wrote, brings the skatepark fund to $396,000.
“This is very exciting,” she continued in her posting, “as we now can move forward with the permit on the Main Street location (old skatepark) and complete additional reports that are needed. The RFP (request for proposals) will help with cost-value engineering and potential exemptions to get the overall construction costs down.”
Amodei concluded that, working with Dienzo, the group’s goal is “to keep the project moving forward in hopes of a park being in place by fall 2022.”
For details about SkateCambria and the park movement, go to www.skatecambria.com/.
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
