Ramping up: Despite setbacks, Waterbury group preps to rebuild skatepark and dreams of another
March 17, 2024 | By Jacob Miller-Arsenault | Community News Service Some local skateboarding enthusiasts take a final ride before demolition begins on the Hope Davey skatepark in October 2023. Photo by Gordon Miller
The past few years have not been kind to Waterbury skateboarders. They endured the steady decay of the skatepark at Hope Davey Park in Waterbury Center before the dilapidated wooden structure was torn down in October. Around the same time came Bolton Valley Resort’s decision to shut down its indoor skateboarding center, citing yearly losses in revenue.
But the outlook could soon get a whole lot brighter for skateboard enthusiasts around Central Vermont searching for their next home park.
The Waterbury Skatepark Coalition, a generation-spanning volunteer group that formed over four years ago, has been laboring hard to get a new skatepark at Hope Davey. Chief among their plans to revitalize the area is swapping the skatepark’s location with that of the basketball court (which would move to an area that is currently grass), doubling the skatepark’s size from 2,000 square feet to 4,000 and laying down a concrete surface.
The citizen group’s plans need town approval first. But backers are hoping local leaders see the project as an asset for Waterbury, said coalition member Tami Bass. The park would be free of charge to skaters, except when used for potential camps, clinics or town-sponsored lessons.
“(We decided) from the start we would not ask the town for any money,” Bass said.
Town recreation director Katarina Lisaius added that the group “took it upon themselves to say (the park is) in disrepair.”
Demolition Day | Oct. 15, 2023
Instead, the group has raised about $100,000 through an amalgam of fundraisers and an anonymous donor. Along with fundraising leader Belle McDougall, pro snowboarder and Waterbury native Jake Blauvelt has been instrumental in the group’s campaign. The group recently held an event at Stowe Cider to premiere Blauvelt’s new snowboarding film, “Liminal.”
Blauvelt also hosts an annual snowboard banked slalom race at Bolton Valley, known as Blauvelt’s Banks, which has directed all of its proceeds to the skatepark cause. Unfortunately, this winter’s event that was planned for this weekend, March 16-17, was called off. Blauvelt announced the decision in an Instagram post on March 11 saying, “Unfortunately, due to an extremely poor winter and a less than fortunate forecast ahead, we’ve decided to cancel Blauvelt’s Banks 2024 at Bolton Valley.”
Saying it was a tough call, Blauvelt apologized and promised the event would return in 2025. Those registered would be refunded, he said. Still, the cancellation is “a big hit” to fundraising for the skatepark and Blauvelt suggests that supporters consider making a donation nonetheless. Donors have the options of simply making a tax-deductible donation or purchasing an engraved brick to be used in the Hope Davey skatepark project. The coalition’s website has details on the new fundraiser that aims to sell 200 bricks for $100 each. See waterburyskateparkvt.org for details.
To meet the final park construction estimate of around $170,000, the group recently applied for a $70,000 grant through the state-supported Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative. That avenue also turned out to be a disappointment when they received word on Feb. 29 that the project would not receive a grant.
These two recent setbacks are “a big bummer,” Bass said in an interview this weekend, but hardly deal-breakers. The coalition hopes to move ahead with funds in hand to choose a firm for design and construction and members hope the community will step up to get their fundraising to the finish line.
This is an example of the type of skatepark structure envisioned to be built at the Hope Davey Park location. Click to enlarge. Source: Waterbury Skatepark Coalition submission to the Waterbury Development Review Board
A key piece will be completing the review and approval from the Waterbury Development Review Board. The coalition in February presented its plans to the board. The board did not make a decision yet and asked the skatepark group to return with some additional details to complete the review. Town Zoning Administrator Mike Bishop explained that the board would like to see “an updated site plan and some other measurements.”
Bass said that although the group is paying for the project, it would ultimately be a town asset as part of Hope Davey Park, so they are looking to coordinate their design and construction in collaboration with the town Recreation Committee and town staff. “We want this to be a joint effort,” she said.
As for timelines, construction in 2024 is still a possibility, especially if fundraising momentum continues, Bass said. The return visit to the Development Review Board has not yet been scheduled.
Another park planned
Coalition member Jake Ferreira defended Hope Davey Park and the group’s proposal to rebuild the skatepark from some of the scrutiny that has burdened the area in the past, arguing that people tend to point fingers at skateparks due to the relative diversity of the crowds they attract. However, in the past some residents have complained of vandalism, drug use and underage drinking at the Hope Davey location — which received pushback at the time. The skatepark’s proximity to the fire station also has resulted in firefighters’ parking being taken up on occasion.
To remedy this, coalition members say they plan to put up more signs warding people away from the fire department’s parking spots. “We all feel the (fire department) should have their parking preserved,” Ferreira said.
The proposed site plan includes a new gravel lot for parking overflow that would be available to anyone using the skatepark or nearby soccer fields and playground.
Meanwhile, the coalition has dreams for another even bigger skatepark in Waterbury someday. For the past several years, the group has been eyeing the land in downtown Waterbury near the Ice Center as a potential site for a separate, state-of-the-art skateboarding facility. Bass acknowledged that the group will probably have to take a breath once the Hope Davey skatepark project is completed but she said the group is excited about the Ice Center location for a larger community skatepark.
Ferreira agrees. “The Ice Center-Perry Hill Zone is an awesome space,” he said. “I would love to see the town put a renewed interest in revitalizing the pump track and making a place for more extreme sports.” He added that the Ice Center project would be far more extensive than the Hope Davey one and that the town making it a priority would go a long way.
Along those lines, a skatepark is envisioned in the long-term planning for the Ice Center park property. Voters in March 2022 approved spending $50,000 for a study and master plan of both the Hope Davey and Ice Center recreational areas. The town hired the SE Group based in Burlington for the project that was completed in 2023. It contains a multitude of recommendations for future uses, improvements for the areas, and steps to address environmental protection given their popularity and heavy use by the public.
The master plan is posted online on the town website’s Planning and Zoning page.
A site to locate a new skatepark (highlighted in yellow) is pictured on maps depicting several concepts for development at the Ice Center park area in downtown Waterbury. Click to enlarge. Source: Waterbury Hope Davey and Ice Center Parks Master Plan
In considering the new, larger downtown skatepark, the coalition would pursue outdoor recreation grants such as the one it sought for the Hope Davey skatepark. “They try to find locations for the group to have a continued effort, (be) allied in thinking, and apply for a grant together,” Ferreira said. “That’s where having some town support would go a long way.”
Ferriera grew up in Kennebunk, Maine, and holds a lot of fond memories of growing up skating there. He recalled how teens and families alike can use them to hang out and have fun and continually work on improving their skating skills throughout their lives. “Skateparks are a really amazing place for all age groups,” he said.
Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.