After nearly 20 years of advocacy and fundraising, the Laytonville Skate Park is finally becoming a reality!

Skate Park Project Moving Forward, Thanks to YOU.

As of October 31st 2018, we have officially broken ground for construction of Phase 1! Woohoo!!! When we first started fundraising and advocating for the project back in 1999 – 2000, we had nowhere to build it, no money and no idea what we were doing – in a town with no city government to help us along… no parks & recreation department, no one who gets paid to navigate the paperwork, permits, insurance, logistics, etc. But that’s part of the beauty of this town and this project… people working hard to overcome limitations and achieve their dreams. After a few years, people slowly started understanding that we were not kidding around and they began to support our efforts. People came to fundraisers, donated money, put stickers on their cars and purchased shirts to show their support. People got involved, donated their time, energy, goods and services – people who share our vision and believe in this project… people who believe in us and trust us to make it happen. People like YOU.

**3D concept of the design, looking south**

**3D concept image, with Phase 1 highlighted in yellow.**

Recently, with grants from the Tony Hawk Foundation, the Kelly-White Family Foundation, the Community Foundation of Mendocino County, private contributions from Flying High Farms and countless donations from people like YOU, we reached our goal of raising $100,000 for Phase 1 of the Laytonville Skate Park! $100,000 might seem like a lot of money to some folks, but in terms of skate park construction costs, it’s a mere drop in the bucket. On average, skate parks cost roughly $40 per square foot, on the low end. To give you an idea, Willits Skate Park, located south of Laytonville, is 18,500 square feet… you do the math on that one. So we’re trying to stretch our shoestring budget as far as we can by reaching out for donations of materials and equipment for construction of Phase 1. Lucky for us, we have friends who build skate parks for a living and want to help us out as much as they can!

This whole thing started out as a selfish endeavor by a group of teenage skateboarders who were tired of getting kicked out of every parking lot in Laytonville… but after years of hard work, determination and community support, the Laytonville Skate Park Project has blossomed into something that goes way beyond the selfish dream of some skate-punk kids… It is now something we can all get behind, to benefit this small, amazing town. Thank you so much for your continued support and for always believing in us!

-Roland Spence, Project Coordinator

Have questions or want to get involved? Call (707) 984-8089 (Laytonville Healthy Start)

The Laytonville Skate Park Project: A Community Collaborative Effort

Laytonville has no city government; no city hall, no mayor, no parks & recreation department. That means it is up to us – the community, to bring this dream to life. It is only through collaboration with other community organizations that the Skate Park Project has reached it’s current stage of development. The Project is a grassroots effort, driven by a small band of volunteers known as Long Valley Skaters’ Association (LVSA). LVSA owes its nonprofit status and fiscal oversight of the Project to The Harwood Memorial Park, Inc., (HMP) a tax-exempt 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and pillar of the Laytonville community. The land on which the Project is to be built is owned by Long Valley Health Center, which they have leased to HMP for an amazing $1 per year, for the specific purpose of providing a location for the Skate Park… generosity and community spirit at it’s finest!

Making it happen!

The Laytonville Skate Park Project also owes much of its current status to other community organizations and businesses who have helped out a lot along the way: Laytonville Healthy Start… Laytonville County Water District… Long Valley Garden Club… The Mendocino County Observer… Weathertop Nursery… Ken “Bozo” Smith… KPFN 105.1 FM… J.H. & Sons… The Crawfish Boil… Jean-Marie Lagourgue… The Big Chief & Draft Punk… Arro… Albert Repovsch… D.V. Diesel Mechanic… Jim Pinches – Laytonville Disposal… and many, many more!