Welcome to 2024!
While we’ve been very quiet on social media and the web site here, the Park Working Group has been busy over winter! Today it is lazily snowing outside as I write this. The Park Working Group has been keeping regular monthly meetings with Missoula County PTOL all winter, and we’re all excited for Spring and Summer!
Starting a recreation program from scratch isn’t easy. While this year we only have the Skatepark itself we want to get the wheels rolling, both figuratively and literally.
The Clinton Elementary School, Missoula County PTOL, and us - the Clinton Community Park Working Group - have all worked together to bring a couple weeks, divided into two sessions, of after school skate camp programming to the Park.
After School Skate Camp
Together with Clinton Elementary, Missoula County PTOL, and Missoula City Parks and Recreation, we’ve got a plan for a couple of weeks of after school learn to skate camp. There will be two one week sessions alongside the Clinton School’s ASP (After School Program) session 4 which runs from March 25th through May 15th.
The camp sessions are planned for May 6-8th and May 13-15th, and scheduled to happen during the same time Clinton Elementary’s ASP is in session on those days.
This program is being made possible in no small part by a generous donation from First Security Bank of Missoula which is covering more than half of the costs. A big thanks also goes out to the Missoula City Parks and Recreation who will be managing the registration and other details. The camp sessions will have to be limited in size, and are planned to be held during the last two weeks of the school’s ASP session 4, with one group on May 6-8th and another group May 13-15th.
Be on the lookout for more details on this site, and for sign up/interest sheet being sent with the Clinton Elementary ASP Session 4 sign ups, which should be going home with the kiddos on March 4th.
There’s still work happening on other details for this program!
Summer Skate Camp(s?)
Details are still being worked out to provide or host a summer skate camp program. All specific details are to be determined right now, but there is a strong commitment to bring some summer skate programming to the Park!
Why so fuzzy on the details?
A lot of the cost of running the spring after school camp goes towards variable registration costs to Missoula City Parks and Recreation which covers the insurance, gear, and program administration. These costs are per student, per week. Fixed costs are the instructors and their time. Together that makes up the cost of running the program.
In order to get onto City Park’s and Rec schedule we must commit to paying the fixed operational costs, which covers the instructors and their time. For the after school skate we’re able to cover both sides of these costs for the kids that will be able to participate. For the summer program we don’t have funding at the ready to commit to covering the operational expenses, and because of this and other reasons we’re exploring options.
Summer ‘24 Construction Season
There aren’t any firm updates for the 2024 construction season, fund raising and grant writing are ongoing. Our goals are the same, complete the skate park area with toilets, garbage recepticles, and shade structure. It’s been identified that the initial parking area is likely too small, and options are being explored to expand the existing parking area. The size of the parking area potentially being too small was known last year, and it was far better to build something, with plans to expand it, than to do nothing.
Hopefully there will be a lot more to share in the next couple months, there is a lot of activity behind the scenes!