The budget for a skatepark is often very tight, so use volunteer labor whenever possible.  By following leads and doing a lot of networking we were able to get the logging, excavation and surveying for the St. Helens skatepark donated and, in return, provided companies with tax receipts.  During the excavation phase a local alternative high school donated the labor from its work crew for about a week.  During the final phase of construction we had volunteer crews comprised of skateboarders and middle school math classes tying most of the rebar for the entire park.  This saved us several days of paid labor.  We, in turn, lectured on the ways in which math was required to design and build skateparks, how it was used specifically in different areas of the park and how focusing on math skills could increase ones job marketability in the future.  When you are well-organized and have ten or fifteen motivated individuals you can tie all of the rebar for a moderate sized skatepark in just a few days. 

This and other avenues for free labor should be explored by anyone building a skatepark on a tight budget.  It is necessary to discuss and decide the extent that volunteer labor can be used during meetings with the contractor before construction begins.  You will also have to arrange with the city council (or other group) for insurance coverage of volunteers while they are working on the park.  Volunteer labor requires more immediate and active supervision, but will be rewarding for everyone as contractors and skilled laborers learn to value their mentorship role and the youth gain a feeling of ownership of the park.  Again, know what you need from someone, be prepared, and then go and ask for it.

The Ten-Minute Rule

Once you get started building the park, you will be amazed at how many people come by to check things out.  During the St. Helens project, we found this to be a bit of a problem.  In the first place, if someone is not working there is a tendency for kidding around, which is not safe in a construction area.  More importantly there is the likelihood that the highly paid workers will start talking to onlookers and slow down, which does not help build a skatepark and can add up to serious money quickly.  Faced with the decision of what to do, we considered cordoning off the area and not letting anyone in that did not have a key.  We hesitated to do that because it would run contrary to our community-based process.  Rather, we adopted a “ten minute rule.”  Simply put, if you were here to work as a volunteer you could stay and help as long as you wanted, if you were just looking around you could stay for a maximum of ten minutes then you would be asked to leave.  This rule worked very well as the youth and their parents did not feel alienated from what was going on and in many instances they helped with tasks in order to stay longer.

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