“The mayor had the vision of developing a little kid’s bike skill area where we have some space right behind the restrooms, which is a great thing if you think about parents getting up there … to go on the steeper paths. Their kids could stick around and do something that’s closer to home (and less rigorous),” said John Bradley, Santaquin’s community services director.

The suggested contractor for the job, American Ramp Company, is already being considered for the designing of a new skate park in the area as well. If chosen for the project, the company would give a discounted bid of $5,899 for the bike skills park project, which the municipal grant would cover fully.

“I have a few concerns, but I want to be clear, I don’t have anything against skateboarding or skateboarders. My oldest child is a skateboarder and he loves it. As soon as he got on those four wheels, man he took off. And because I love him, I have a great respect for the sport of skateboarding,” said Betsy Montoya, city council member.

Montoya expressed several concerns, including the lack of a good location for the skate park, decisions currently being made about city employee wages and an upcoming update to the city’s master plan.

“It’s kind of putting the cart before the horse, but that’s just my opinion,” Montoya said. Others disagreed, saying that approving the design could be done before a location was chosen.

“I don’t see an issue with $11,000 for a plan for a project that we can have within the next five years. Getting the plan available makes it possible sooner than later. I don’t see a problem with getting the design for right now, even if we don’t have an exact location,” Council member Jeff Siddoway said.

A motion was passed 4-1 approving the skatepark design contract with the American Ramp Company on the condition that the total cost of construction would not exceed $11,500. Only Montoya voted against the measure.

The design for the new bike park and the approval of an application for the proposed $5,899 grant, though, passed unanimously. Finalizing how the grant will be spent will be decided at a future meeting.