Renovations at Burnsville Skate Park on a Roll

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On Monday night, the Burnsville City Council gave contractors the green light to begin work on the first wave of improvements at Burnsville's Skate Park, but the fate of the so-called Phase II still remains to be seen.

The council approved a bid of $92,389 with Custom Builders Inc. a company from Kimball, MN, the contractor that will take the lead on Phase I renovations. Phase I would address repairs to the skating surface and replacement of some of the equipment. The city has $86,000 budgeted for the project in the Parks Capital Improvement Fund. The Burnsville Skate Park Committee has pledged to put in $6,500 over the next year to make up the shortfall for Phase I.

The goal for Phase I is simply to maintain current amenities. Phase II would be more ambitious, expanding and modifying the skating features at the park. The city has not promised any money to Phase IIas yet, which means that the Burnsville Skate Park Committee must come up with the cash. 

Phase II is intended to create a more regional draw to the skate park, which is tucked into between 130th and 134th streets. According to past reports in the Star Tribune, the park opened over 10 years ago as a Tier II park, which typically attracts more experienced skaters. Faced with red ink, the city downgraded it to a beginner or Tier I park. The shift paid off: City officials said the park is now quite popular, especially among beginners and those under 13.

As such, the Park Department took special pains to get user input for upcoming improvements at the park. The kids, the teens and adults who frequent the facility told officials that they'd like a concrete skating surface (not asphalt), a six-foot bowl for aerial stunts, a drinking fountain, and leisure areas with shades and grills for picnicking.

The group polled also reached a consensus: Size doesn't matter. Under the current plan, it is likely that the park would shrink in size, dropping from about 18,000 square feet to about 11,000 square feet. Parks Official Dean Mulso told the STRIB that the overall size matters less to users than "skateability and flow," a sentiment echoed by those at public meetings. 

"I think that it's more important to have something unique that will actually draw skaters in than to have this multitude of stuff," said Olaf Gilbertson, a skater who frequents the park.

The city intends to fund Phase II with grants, donations or corporate sponsorships, which leaves the skaters themselves on the hook to rustle up fundraising. Some private donors have already stepped up to the plate, among them 3rd Lair skate park in Golden Valley and Burnsville's Noon Rotary. Anyone interested in joining the effort should Mulso at 952-895-4563.