4.17. SR 12-21-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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“Spohn Ranch first came to work with the Mahaska Community Recreation Foundation (MCRF) on our community BMX-Skate park in the summer of 2010. Our Urban Park project was complete and operational two years later, hosting its grand opening May of 2012. As the Executive Director of MCRF I have nothing but good things to say about Spohn Ranch’s design and execution of our skatepark project. At first our foundation was working with two companies on designs and were undecided as to which company or design would best fit our community. When MCRF approached the two companies voicing the youth’s desire to include a staircase in the park, we received Spohn Ranch’s answer as follows “In the eyes of a skater, a good stair set gives you plenty of flat ground to approach and gain speed. When stairs are placed at the end of a ramp, skaters are forced to re-position their feet several times as they ride up the ramp. This leaves them feeling unbalanced as they attempt their trick down the stairs.” Receiving a knowledgeable and thought-out answer to a desire for our park, that had not gained attention from an alternative company, was the first step to a lasting relationship between MCRF and Spohn Ranch. Spohn Ranch first sent a representative from their California home base to our Iowa site to gain a better perspective of our needs and space. Vince Onel visited the site and then met with our board and youth committee members for further discussion. His commitment to gaining a full understanding of our needs and bringing this back to his team to translate our community’s vision into a creative yet viable concrete skate park earned him and his team the respect of our board members, our youth riders and our community. By the end of the project, the unique design and specific features has given our beginner riders the soft space needed to learn the skill as well as our more advanced riders the challenging features to make our park one of the most unique in Iowa. Features praised by both local and visiting riders are those such as an exceptionally smooth concrete surface, layered levels, incorporating streetscape in the park, a built-in staircase and plenty of approach space. Spohn Ranch’s extensive knowledge in the recreation field of bike and skate parks allowed them to go beyond expectations and update designs to be more inline with the “Urban Park” feel that our board was seeking as well as with the unique features that our riders requested. Communication with Spohn Ranch was timely throughout the project and MCRF was always made to feel that they had our best interest in mind. Throughout the process Spohn Ranch gave our project a personal touch. I was overwhelmed when Vince, again our Spohn Ranch representative, made the trip back for our grand opening and shared the day with 600 community members. I expect Spohn Ranch would apply these same skills and attributes to any project in which they partner. It is without hesitation that I recommend the Spohn Ranch company for skate and BMX bike park designer for your project.” - Sherry Vavra, Executive Director – Mahaska Community Recreation Foundation OSKALOOSA URBAN PARK – Oskaloosa, Iowa