An equipment operator with contractor Deig Brothers is moving a load of dirt at the site of the future skatepark off Riverside Drive.
They’re working on Phase I of the project — preparing the site and laying the groundwork for the skate features to be built. This includes ground leveling, drainage and running power for lights.
After the ground breaking in December, the site sat quiet as Deig Brothers worked on other projects until a couple weeks ago. So far, they are on track to hit the April 16 Phase I deadline.
“I know a lot of people are excited and anxious for it to be complete,” said Interim Parks Director Steve Schaefer. “And so are we — (we're) hoping that we can get it going, and phase II bids come in, and we can award it. So we're feeling confident.”
Schaefer said they won’t be hitting that summer completion goal — even October or November will be tight.
“And we're at the mercy of these specialty contractors, because these specialty contractors are doing projects all over the world. So getting in our queue and making sure that we can get our project under contract is important.”
Phase II is constructing the actual park features which requires that specialty contractor. He said bidding should be open March 15.
The budget is still about $1 million dollars with Phase II using most of that. Schaefer said hopefully they’ll receive bids to keep it within that budget.
