Columbia Falls Skate Park Near Completion

Despite a burglary at the business in late October that resulted in the theft of tools and equipment, progress continues at the 12,000-square-foot Columbia Falls skate park.

At this stage, predicting a timeline for completion is dependent on the weather, but if the weather holds the expectation is that the park could be finished or close to completion in early December. Simon Smith, also of the Badrock Skatepark Association, said if the park was around 95% complete by early December, additional work might be needed in the spring to beautify the area.

Groundbreaking at the Fenholt Park project site took place in late August.

Badrock Skatepark Association board member Rebecca Powell said contractor Dreamland Skateparks has hired additional team members and progress is continuing at a good pace. In Powell’s understanding, the break-in on October 20 slowed things down but did not completely halt progress; The crew immediately moved on to concrete work and began to manage using trowels.

It is estimated that tens of thousands of dollars worth of tools were stolen from the container in which they were stored, including welders, rebar guns, drills and chop saws. Anyone with information is asked to call the Columbia Falls Police Department.

Badrock Skate Park Association and Dreamland Skateparks are offering $500 each for a total reward of $1,000 for information leading to the return of the tools.

Although the process of going through various administrative and logistical steps has been a lengthy process, Powell noted that rapid progress has been made since construction began.

“Once they started moving soil there, the process moved so quickly that every time I went there I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is really happening.'”

Meanwhile, Powell said excitement is still growing among younger skaters, such as her 10-year-old son.

“It’s really cool to see this come to fruition.”

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