 |
 |
|
|
|
May/June, 2005
Skowhegan Whitewater Park Project Update
Subjective News
By Nick Callanan
SKOWHEGAN - A year and a half after it gave itself a name, the Run of River Project is still working steadily toward putting a whitewater feature in Skowhegan.
A group of paddlers and Skowhegan town and civic leaders met monthly through the winter, and made good progress.
The group formed itself into a non-profit corporation (Run of River, Inc.) in order to more easily facilitate reception of funds and organizational purposes.
The next important phase will involve working with Kleinshmidt Engineering to send out bids to national engineering firms to find someone qualified to design and build the water park.
In the meantime, the group is working for funding, says Greg Dore, Skowhegan's Roads Commissioner and Run of River, Inc. director.
He said the project is currently in the process of applying for a grant from the USDA; and is also waiting for a response from an economic development agency to which it had applied for grant money from.
In all, the project is expected to cost in the neighborhood of $1.5 million dollars, this according to estimates in a feasibility study by Kleinshmidt Engineering last summer.
There is still a lot of work to do, but the project is well within sights, says Dore.
"I think we're doing very good," said Dore. "Even if we don't get [federal government] earmarked funds, there are funds out there. This is such a positive thing in so many areas, we won't have a problem getting money from somewhere."
Whitewater paddlers are psyched because of the possibility of a playspot in town Skowhegan; but boaters know everything depends on whether the final feature is playable or not.
And that's why Run of River is submitting bids to find the most qualified firms in the country.
Run of River will then request proposals from the final pool of potential engineers, before selecting the final direction of the project at the same time it selects a project engineer.
Run of River Meetings are generally held the second Thursday of every month at the Skowhegan Community Center at 6 p.m. The next meeting is May 12.
Those with interest are welcome to drop by the Skowhegan town office to pick up a flyer about the project.
Email nick [at] noumbrella [dot] com with your questions, comments and concerns.
Design and Content © 2002 to 2006 No Umbrella
