Othello selects contractor for skate park construction

OTHELLO — It has been a long time coming for Othello city officials who have been working toward the construction of Othello’s own skate park, and the city came one step closer to that reality Monday.

At its regular meeting Monday, the Othello City Council voted unanimously to award the contract for the construction of the Dan Dever Memorial Skatepark to William Emfinger Construction, of Lafayette, La. The firm was the only bidder, submitting a project bid of about $269,000.

Kurt Holland, a representative of the Spokane-based engineering firm Varela & Associates, told the council Monday that the bid from William Emfinger Construction came in below the engineer’s estimate of $300,000. The project was originally estimated to cost $210,000 and when it went to bid in 2015, the only bid received by the city was in excess of $300,000, Holland said. The council declined the bid and send the project back out to bid again in 2016.

This time around, the bid received was more acceptable, as the City Council unanimously approved awarding the contract to William Emfinger Construction. Holland said the new project price tag was below the city’s 2015 revised budget for the project. After vetting the firm’s background, Holland said it was his recommendation that the city move forward with Emfinger in completing the project.

“He has constructed about half the skate parks in the state of Washington over the last five years,” Holland said. “He goes down to Louisiana and builds in the winter time down there. Also, during the bid process, he was the one that called with the most questions.”

Holland said the hope is to get construction started as soon as possible so the Dan Dever Memorial Skatepark can be completed and ready for Othello’s Fourth of July festivities. According to Spohn Ranch Skateparks, the firm that designed the skate park that will be built in Othello’s Lions Park, the project is scheduled to break ground next month.

The skate park is named in remembrance of the former Othello city councilman who spearheaded and advocated for the project for a number of years until his passing in May 2014.

The 6,000-square-foot skate park designed by Spohn Ranch will include features like a 7.5-foot bowl with a spine, bank ramp, grind rails, and a double stair set.

According to information from the Othello Parks and Recreation department, the concept of Othello building a city skate park has been part of the city’s capital budget plan for more than five years. The city designated funds for the project over the course of time and in 2014, it committed to moving forward with the project.

Spohn Ranch was selected to design the park in late 2014. According to Spohn Ranch, its design process involved geotechnical analysis, public outreach meetings, conceptual design, fundraising support, construction documents and civil engineering.