Skate Park Open and future plans
tl;dr; We’re not done yet! More things are planned and, with continuing support, built in the 2024 construction season!
The Skate Park officially opened for the public on October 21st, 2023. We had one VERY perfect weekend right after that, and now fall/first winter is settling in. It’s been freezing rain today as I’m writing this very update!
The Skate Park has been our focus as we begin the process of turning what was a disused baseball field into a community asset. With so much support from the Montana Pool Service (MPS) and Montana Skatepark Association (MSA), and so many more, the Skate Park was just a vision back in the early part of 2023.
The County, with community input, came up with a (conceptual) site reuse plan. This plan acted and acts as a wish list, a conceptual aid for where things could be, and what could be. It doesn’t make any guarentees. Now we’ve actually got one part of that plan done, in what is honestly a very short timeframe, only around 8-9 months!
If you’re curious that image comes from page 13 of the 55MB Community Park Plan PDF
Some of the discussions and comments received in the meeting at Poor Henry’s, and with the students of Clinton Elementary have already led to things unrelated to the park. For example, the Clinton School District/Clinton Elementary School is in early talks to provide space for an outdoor classroom/nature area on school property.
We’ve been asked by the community many times if the Skate Park is it, and the answer is definitely not! The focus this past year (not even a whole year even for those of us behind the scenes!) has been on the Skate Park as we had funding promises for that improvement, provided they could be matched.
Looking forward definitely to-do for when the 2024 season opens, and already funded etc, are toilets and trash recepticles. There simply wasn’t time within this construction season to complete those projects.
The concept plan above is still the overall goal, it was not something that was likely to happen in a single construction season. It is also nothing set in stone. As the park is re-activated and the community becomes more aware of it, more input is being heard. Fundraising and grant writing efforts will be ongoing. The priority for the 2024 construction season in the park itself is still in flux, but right now that looks like the walking trail, which is definitely achievable early in next years construction season. We’re pretty sure County PTOL can make that happen, but as with any construction, until dirt starts moving…. Other amenities we’d like to see happen in the 2024 season are one or more pavillions, and one or more multi-use sport courts.
Later in the same above Community Park Plan PDF on page 15 is “Figure 19 - Phase I…” – obviously we didn’t quite get to everything we had hoped for in Phase I during the 2023 season! We really had to wait for the Skate Park to get built, as it was already likely to be the single largest element of the overall park.
None of the pieces outlined in that PDF have been forgotten, it just takes time! And obviously, we’re in Montana. Montana has Winter (yes with a capital W) most years.