Gary Kent photo
Work on the new skatepark at Flournoy Park is nearing an end. Contractors believe the facility will be ready for skaters by the middle of this month.
Yann Curtis of SPA Skateparks uses a heavy hose to blow concrete onto a ramp being built at Flournoy Park. Curtis, an owner and vice president of the Austin-based company, has been overseeing construction of the $200,000 facility.
Gary Kent photo
“The flat work will go quickly,” Yann Curtis said Friday as he stepped back from blowing concrete into the form of a large ramp Friday morning.
Curtis, co-owner and vice president of the Austin-based company, SPA Skateparks, was braving the South Texas heat with a construction team at Flournoy Park.
The company was hired by the City Council months ago to design and build a skate park for the facility at a cost of $200,000.
After previewing the design at a special public hearing, the council gave final approval based on the reception the facility received from local skaters.
Curtis said he expects the construction to be finished by the end of this week or by the end of next week, if the weather cooperates.
The SPA crew has been busy building the ramps and sloped features at the facility. Once that work is completed, all that will remain will be the flat areas of the facility.
The skating structure will be one of the highlights of the improvements to the park. A walking trail, picnic facilities and public restrooms already have been completed at Flournoy.
The Beeville Garden Club has been enlisted to create a butterfly garden on the property.
Flournoy Park is one of the city’s most visible recreational facilities. It is located just north of downtown in land between North St. Mary’s and North Washington streets, north of West Hutchinson and south of West Huntington streets.
But little has been done to the park over the years.
The improvements are part of several recent park improvements approved by the City Council and paid for with more than $3 million in bond sales.
Gary Kent is a reporter at the Bee-Picayune and can be reached at 358-2550, ext. 120, or at reporter@mySouTex.com.
At 200,000/100 that comes to about 2,000 per skater so I do hope you take care of it, keep it clean, tagged free and safe for the users. I don't expect that to happen but I hope it does. I also realize it is now not your responsibility to take care of it. It is the City's who will continue to spend taxpayer funds to accomplish that.
I do wonder who bought the "weed sod" to cover the grassy areas? I could be wrong. Are those wild flowers or weeds?
HAHA!!! Yeah, I wondered the same thing about the beautiful "wild flowers" too! I thought all the landscaping, etc. would have been done after all the construction, etc. The Bermuda grass is already invading into the playscape and onto the walking path...
I know, I know, now you want to know what is a taxpayer? Don't have a clue do you?
The sport of skateboarding always gets a bad rap. I've dealt with it for my entire life. I encourage those that perceive the sport as a bunch of "skater dudes" to get on a board and spend a day skating. You will find that it requires agility, balance, effort and endurance. You stay healthy and fit. You build camaraderie with others. It's a universal language that can be enjoyed by folks world-wide.
But back to the money being spent. Yes, I agree with you 100%, it is a large sum of money and yes, our streets are in dire need of repairs but this allocation was only a fraction of what was approved in the parks improvement plan. With the money spent on this park, we're able to enrich the lives of over 100 children, young adults, and old "skater dudes" like myself. The possibilities of this new park as a whole are endless... I hope other parks in the community get upgraded in the future too.
Thanks for hearing me out and I hope I've given you a different perspective of the skater community...