The Ojai Post

It's important that the kids get their skate park, by whatever means necessary.

Another suggestion:

A nonprofit roller-skating rink, which would become a community hub where families (not just kids :) had fun, made new friends, met old friends -- all while getting a little exercise.

The roller-skating rink could be a green (eco) design, with bamboo flooring, etc.

Bands could play on Fri/Sat nights, organic food and drink (no alcohol) could be provided.

Good wholesome fun.

Sincerely,

Jock Doubleday
http://spontaneouscreation.org
http://therevolutionwillnotbeorganized.org

Jock,
How much $$ have you put forth?

roller skating rink??! Jock this ain't the 50's.

Many real estate agents, until recently, made serious dough claiming Ojai is an artistic community. An "Art Colony" where creativity abounds. I see that on occasion. I think some of this legendary creativity needs to be applied to the skate park. Skate Ojai has done fantastic work and they have raised a lot of money to get this thing done. They've even gotten donations of material and labor for building the park. For their efforts, they appear to be being jerked around by the city and slowed or stalled at every turn. It seems to me that we need a good old fashioned Barn Raising...uh, I mean Skate Park Digging.

What, can't be done?

You can't do that?

Why?

We are somehow forced to hire a multi-million dollar company called SITE Design Group, ltd. to tell us how to build a hole in the ground with rebar and concrete? A company that isn't even from Ojai, much less the Ojai Valley. They are headquartered in Solana Beach, CA over 180 miles away.

Why?

I'll direct you to The Story of the San Pedro Skate Park Association. A group similar to Skate Ojai, only they didn't have nearly as much money. They did have the exact same obstacles placed in front of their dreams though.

skateboarders in this Los Angeles Harbor district took matters into their own hands after trying for years to get the local powers that be to build a community skatepark. Out of frustration, they set their eyes on an underused, out of the way, eyesore of a spot under the Harbor freeway, right across the street from the bustling shipping terminals of the Port of LA.

Here's some video of what's become of what they built without money--just will and creativity.

They didn't even have a lease on the land!

We can't do the same thing?

Why?

Don't we have the creativity?

Damn. Sorry #4 is me.

I think that is a great idea ! I'm sure we have some very skilled people who work with cement that could do this. The hardest part would be getting the smooth finish on the cement. All the other stuff is mainly labor of putting in the re-bar and doing the digging. It would be exactly like an owner-builder type of arrangement where inspectors would inspect the work at various stages of the work.

Woo Hoo!! We agree! I'm very pleased. really. And here's the kicker, we let the kids design it--free. After all, I haven't skated in many a year, and I wasn't particularly good at it when I tried. Give me a bike and I'm great, skateboard--dead.

There's more than enough environmental consultants and other professional builder types that could easily get it through the permitting process.

Here's one for the Palin crowd:

"Get 'er done!"

Can anyone say 2nd Opinion? These guys built the Oxnard skate park for which they won 2 awards.

When I was in my earlier adulthood, I used to hang out occasionally at the world famous Burnside Skate Park in Portland, Oregon. It was the early 90s and me and friends would go there early in the morning after working all night. Under the cities most central bridge, in a gritty industrial neighborhood local skaters independently created the park, dragging in bags of concrete, mixing it there and then staying over night in sleeping bags to make sure no one messed with the work.
here's link a video pod from current tv that tells the story of how the park was created.
http://current.com/items/88988306_diy_skate_park

As former Ojai skatepark manager and skater for over 20 years I am disgusted withthe ridiculously slow movement to get this done. There is no excuse for this and it show how little certain individuals care about youth and community. Even though I am not a current resident I have been following this process. If the city were to allow a different process for the design/build then they might get a lower bid. However, I have skated several hundred skateparks over the last 20 years, and Site Design Group teamed with CA Skateparks as the builder is hard to beat. They have the best finishing skills I have seen, and they have made very fun parks to ride. The funds raised are impressive, yet not enough. If the city allowed the citizens of Ojai to take a more "grass roots" approach they could produce what they want for much less. On the other hand we all know that Ojai has expectations that exceed what many other communites expect. The park should be aesthetically pleasing, safe, and provide challenges to skaters of all levels. My favorite skateparks are Burnside (portland, OR), Channel St. (san pedro), and Washington St(San Diego). All of these park were renegade parks built by skaters on public property, which were then accepted as positive additions to the community. They also lack the "prison fence" that surrounds most of the city parks in California. The way that this process is going says a lot about the Ojai. Bureaucracy and uninformed opinion has made this project take over 15 years.

ps. A roller skating rink has nothing to do with this topic, not to mention they went out of style in the 1980's.