Skaters score grant for skate park

Skating enthusiasts in Sisters are well on their way to creating a skate park in town.

The Sisters Skate Park Committee, in partnership with Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD), has received a $10,000 Tony Hawk Grant. With this grant comes a promised match from the Bob and Yvette Chandler family. Added to the $2,500 grant funds already given by the City of Sisters to cover permits and fees, and some private donations, the committee is on track toward breaking ground on Phase I in the spring.

The Skate Park Committee was formed last year by a high school class of skating enthusiasts, their advisor, and local volunteers and parents.   Their intention was to raise the funds to build a skate bowl in partnership with Sisters Park & Recreation District.  With the encouragement of the SPRD board of directors, their plan quickly grew to a complete skate park design to be built in three phases. 

The teens have done the majority of the work, including designing the park and a committee brochure, presenting their proposal to local councils and boards, completing necessary applications for permits, and meeting with possible donors and supporters of the park.   

High school senior Davidson Small wrote the Tony Hawk Grant last summer with the assistance of staff from the City of Sisters, the chamber, and SPRD.  The committee has received an outpouring of support and encouragement from the local businesses and the community as a whole.  

The next step for the committee is to gain more support of local donors and sponsors, and then put plans in motion to break ground sometime in late March, 2012. 

For more information contact Anne Heath at Sisters Park & Recreation District, 541-549-2091; [email protected]