Presented by the

Flippin High School

EAST Lab

Year One:Getting Ready

The Beginning

• In 2001, EAST student Colley Bailey began this project after coming to the realization that there was no safe place for the local skateboarders, rollerbladers, and bicycle riders to do their sports.

• The project began as an effort to convince the city of the need and provide and assist the city with ways to get a skatepark built in the city park.

Making a Model

• After learning the basics of Microstation_J 3D in the first semester of the school year, Colley designed a three dimensional skatepark layout he thought would serve the needs of the community.

Research

• After compiling research and statistics of the skatepark process from the internet, the decision was made to conduct a survey of local middle and high schools to gain insight into the feasibility of building a skatepark in this area. The following slides show some of the results of this survey.

16%

52%

32%Skateboarders

Inline Skaters

BMX Bikers

Local InvolvementAt the Flippin Schools, 373 students in grades

6-12 were surveyed.

251 students were involved in skateboarding, inline skating, or BMX biking. This is 67% of all students surveyed.

The Need for a Skatepark

83% of the surveyed students said that there is a need for a skatepark.

37%

44%

13% 6%

Use DailyUse WeeklyUse MonthlyUse Yearly

Personal Expenditures

All together, the students have spent between 47,000 and 153,500 dollars on these sports. This includes equipment, parts, helmets, pads, etc.

66%

27%

7%0-500

500-1000

over 1000

Practice Makes Perfect

Out of all the surveyed athletes, 34% of them have gotten in trouble for skating or riding in unauthorized areas.

29%

38%

21%

12%

dailyweeklymonthlyyearly

Year twoPressing On

Fyi

• The information gathered from the survey showed a definite need for a skatepark. The whole idea seemed very promising.

• We talked to the mayor, Mary Jane Erwin, about the feasibility of a skatepark in Flippin. She wanted us to find a location, a builder, and a dollar amount for the project.

Location

• The mayor told us that the best location in Flippin would be somewhere within the city park, Hickey Park.

• We searched the park for a location that was flat, had good drainage, and was at least 10,000 square feet in area.

• The perfect location was found on top of a hill at the far corner of the park. The following pages contain pictures of the location as we measured it and marked off the area we wanted the skatepark to be placed.

Finding a builder

• We searched the internet to find a builder for the skatepark.

• In each skatepark construction company, we considered factors such as quality, craftsmanship, construction methods, and price of their parks as well as their location in relation to ours.

• We finally decided on American Ramp Company in Joplin, Missouri because of their high construction standards and close location.

Finding a price

• American Ramp Company’s website had several sample skateparks with specified prices.

• We decided to submit one of the pre-designed and pre-priced parks to the city instead of using our design to make the process easier.

• This sample park cost $160,000.

Handing it over

• The final step for this year was to give our location, builder, and price information to the city.

• The city used this information in their application for a state grant focused on parks and recreation.

• The skatepark was actually added into the application the city already had in place for park improvements.

Year Three

The Outcome

The grant process

• At the middle of the first semester, the city informed us that their grant was in stiff competition with many other grants from around the state.

• Even if their grant did win, they wouldn’t get enough money to afford a skatepark because it wasn’t the main priority of the grant.

• The city said there was nothing they could do to help us get our park.