Years in the planning, Wausau skate park renovation plan edges forward

For years, Wausau and Marathon County Parks officials have been working to renovate the city’s skateboard park, with plans unveiled last summer that showed a clear vision for the project.

Now, a contractor has been identified and the Wausau Finance Committee will review a proposal this week.

In 2022, Wausau designated $225,000 in American Plan Rescue Act funds to help pay for the upgrade. The current park has fallen into disrepair and has long been a source of frustration for skateboard enthusiasts in the area. The new park will be nearly twice the size as Wausau’s current skate facility, which is about 4,000 square feet. Wausau in 2022 chose Spohn Ranch, a California-based designer, to take the reins on the project.

In June 2023 Wausau Parks Director Jamie Polley presented the plans for the updated park, which will be located at Oak Island at the same site of the current structure. At that time, Polley said that at least one grant was already secured, with additional applications pending and an active campaign underway to solicit individual donations. Polley said her immediate goal was to secure enough funding to begin phase one.

On Tuesday, Polley will present a $394,600 proposal from Spohn Ranch to the Finance Committee. Under the terms of the proposal, Spohn will provide much of the installation work, though Wausau will need to arrange for paving outside of the skate park footprint and some additional elements that are not covered in the scope of the company’s work plan. See details at this link.

The Finance Committee will review Spohn’s request before the proposal, subject to full City Council approval, moves forward. The plan outlines a roughly $311,000 base plan plus an additional two options for extra features.

The company has decades of experience spanning more than 40 states and 15 countries.

Finance Committee members meet at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27 at City Hall, 407 Grant St., Wausau.