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Brandon Pagarigan says after raising safety concerns, he is proud of the work he and other young skateboarders put in to a community effort to improve the skateboarding area at Ewa Beach Community Park.
The James Campbell High School junior joined about 30 volunteers who helped to build and install two concrete obstacles for skateboarders at the park, located across N Road from Campbell High. The Association of Skateboarders in Hawaii stepped in and recruited volunteers and helped to collect donations to pay for the project, initially estimated to cost $37,000.
The work started in February and was completed last month with the budget coming in at about $20,000, said Chuck Mitsui, the nonprofit association’s founder. Mitsui said the best part of the experience was watching the young skateboarders, along with help from family and friends, learn the mechanics of building and installing obstacles. Pagarigan, 17, agreed, adding that he did not know how much work it took until putting in long hours at the skate park.
“Before it was just me and my friends, but as the project continued, it was more for the future and the kids,” he said. “I think it really changed our image because now people see us as active participants in our community. I’m speechless.”
Last year dozens of skateboarders, including Pagarigan and other Campbell High students, packed the Ewa Neighborhood Board’s meeting to make a plea for improvements to the skate spot. They described cracks in the ramps, loose pebbles and rocks, and the unsteady asphalt surface that made it difficult and unsafe to use the facility, which was built in 1992 and had not been refurbished.
The city Department of Parks and Recreation plans to resurface the asphalt surface with concrete at a cost of $185,000. Because the newly installed obstacles take up more space, less concrete would be needed, and the city said that could lower the final cost. The department had said the city plans to issue a bid for resurfacing by June.
Mitsui said the association also hopes to install two more obstacles after the resurfacing is complete. He said the majority of the volunteers were young skateboarders and that other donations included supplies and concrete.
“The greatest part about it is the kids came through,” Mitsui said. “That was actually honestly the biggest thing for me was seeing the kids getting involved.”
Pupukea park upgrades
On the North Shore, residents are enjoying a rehabilitated basketball and volleyball court at Pupukea Beach Park after the facility was closed more than five years ago.
The court reopened in January after the community raised about $142,000 to replace the asphalt surface, chain-link fence, poles and gate; repair the stone retaining walls; seal and stripe the courts; install basketball backboards; and construct a handicap ramp. Work began in September, and the funds collected were donated to the city via the nonprofit Malama Pupukea-Waimea.
Residents had described the court off Kamehameha Highway as an eyesore, where grass and weeds had grown through the cracked pavement, the fence was rusted, and the basketball hoop was missing.
Resident Michael Newman, who thought of the idea to improve the court through a community effort, said the facility is already bustling with activity. He estimated between five and 25 people at a time use the court. Newman, who lives across the street from the facility, said he hopes to work on putting in a bike path near the park.
Additionally, the city began renovating the comfort station closest to Sharks Cove at the beach park in February and expects to complete the work, which includes demolishing and reconstructing the wooden roof, replacing the structure’s electrical system, adding new security gates and doors, and repainting, by the end of summer. Damage from termites, wood rot and an aging electrical system warranted the renovation, the city said. The project will cost about $391,200.
“I just can’t believe how much it’s being used,” said Newman of the court. “It’s changed the atmosphere of the neighborhood. It just makes for a better and safer place to hang out.”
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