FERNDALE, Wash. — City of Ferndale staff took to Facebook today to ask for a show of support for their $500,000 grant application to build “Metalworks Skate Park.”
City staff are making a second application for a Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) Youth Athletic Facility grant for a skate park that would be located at the site of the former fieldhouse in Pioneer Park. The first application, made in 2018, was not approved.
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At the time of the first application, when asked what percentage of Ferndale families a skate park would be expected to serve, city staff said, “We don’t have hard numbers on potential usage of the park but we do regularly receive requests from the public for a skate park facility, especially since the two grinding bars were removed from Hastings Park next to the river. We have received over 74 unique comments in support of a potential facility since we began this process in February.”
At the May 4th regular meeting of the Ferndale City Council, it was unanimously approved via the consent agenda to submit another application for a grant of “up to $500,000.” Approval of the application would commit the city to match the grant award by 5%, far less than the typical 50% requirement of many grant sources.
These RCO grants are funded by the sale of general obligation bonds which are then paid back using state general tax revenue.