BULLHEAD CITY — The City of Bullhead City held a ribbon cutting for the newly refurbished skate park at Rotary Park, located at 2315 Balboa Dr, on Saturday, September 28. The celebratory event included musical performances from local musicians, Food trucks including Guerro’s Food Truck, and Infuzed Inergy, and free Vans Swag donated by Steve Van Doren.
“We know the skate community cares deeply about this park and is eager to get back on it,” said Bullhead City Recreation Superintendent David Heath. “We’re grateful for their patience the last few weeks while it was closed for repairs, and we’re excited to see them enjoy the new surface.”
Budget Challenges and Project Adjustments
The Bullhead City Council approved a budget of $500,000.00 for construction to improve the skate park during the 2024 fiscal year. City Staff had engaged with the skate community, getting feedback on desired improvements and changes for the park. The City then sought bids for a project to significantly improve the park this year. Unfortunately, all bids came in much higher than expected.
“The bids came in well over our $500,000 budget for the improvements we wanted to make,” said Public Works Director Angie Johnson. “One Sourcewell contractor told us we wouldn’t even get 60% of what we wanted with our current budget. So we had to adjust our plans and expectations.”
Realizing that the current budget wouldn’t allow for the dreamed improvements and that the potential value gained of a $500,000 rehab project wouldn’t match the expense, the City shifted focus to addressing the biggest concerns with the existing park. Chief among them was feedback from the public urging the City to fix recurring cracks that posed a hazard to skaters.
Improvements Made
“We’re getting the biggest value for our dollar right now,” said Johnson. “We’re making repairs to the concrete that will last longer than the annual maintenance we’ve been performing, and we’re making the existing park look as nice as we can while conserving resources that will be better spent on future improvements for the skate community.”
The City closed the skate park the second week of September to repair the cracked concrete. Crews repaired the surface in known problem areas of the park, installed curb and gutter along the roadway adjacent to the park, and replaced grass abutting the concrete with artificial turf.
“A lot of the cracking is caused by water meant for the grass setting on the concrete,” said Johnson. “By removing grass in problem areas and replacing it with artificial turf, we can stop irrigation water from damaging the concrete in the future.”
Some areas around the park still have ornamental grass that will be replaced in the future.
“We’re balancing budget constraints across all our parks and slowly replacing ornamental grass everywhere that irrigation can degrade the lifespan of nearby amenities,” Johnson said.
City crews are also putting a fresh coat of paint on the entire surface of the skatepark.
“They’re out there working right now,” said Johnson. “The entire park will look very nice when it’s done.”
Budget and Future Plans
The City spent less than $150,000 on the current improvements, staying far under the $500,000 budget.
“We’re not done yet,” said Heath. “We’re still going to bring big improvements for our skating community.”
The exact future of the skatepark is still an open discussion.
“We are committed to providing something for the community they will love,” said Johnson. “We won’t settle for a project where the expense doesn’t match the value added.”
City staff continues to engage with the public about their dreams and needs for skateboarding, rollerblading, and biking amenities.
“We’ve heard from people who don’t want to change anything about the skatepark,” said Heath. “And we’ve heard from some people who want to replace it with something completely new.”
At the same time, staff continue to talk with contractors and engineers to find efficient solutions to improve the City’s skate amenities.
“We’re keeping our options open as we explore every possible outcome,” Johnson said. “This is a collaborative process between staff, our community, contractors, and the Council.”
“In the future, we’ll bring a new budget to Council for improvements that match everyone’s expectations in terms of price, value, aesthetics, community health, and more,” added Heath.
“Our forward-thinking council is building a great park system for our community,” said City Manager Toby Cotter. “Bullhead City just keeps getting better, and this is another small step towards our beautiful future.”
—Mackenzie Covert
