While $750,000 has been secured for the Delridge Skatepark, designers are now working to determine how much that will fund and what the community wants to see in its first skatepark.

At the latest community meeting on June 22, Micah Shapiro of Grindline Concrete Skatepark Design and Construction presented a preliminary design to the community and asked the group of skateboarders and community members what they would like to change.

The park design includes 15,000 square feet of skateable concrete surface, which Shapiro claims could accommodate about 30 skateboarders at once.

The design includes transitional elements like a stair set, hubbas, ledges, a birdbath and a death box. It includes one large bowl that drops between five and seven feet.

Some aesthetic features include brickwork and integrated trees.

"We really strive to make every one of our parks unique to the place it's going," said Shapiro.

When asked what they would like to change about the park design, many skateboarders requested that the one large bowl be divided into two so that more skateboarders can use them at once.

Shapiro said that change would almost definitely happen.

Community members appreciated that a street skate area might offer new skaters a place to learn, but also suggested that if there were two bowls one might better suit new skateboarders. There are also benches and areas for spectators to enjoy the park included in the design.

Some community members asked why lighting was not included in the design, but city officials explained that the Delridge Playfield is not intended to be used after dusk and that new lighting would encourage after hours use.

One aspect that has not been included in the design yet is the inclusion of skateable art, which will be funded by community fundraising.

The community comments collected at the June 22 meeting will be used to modify the design and draw up construction documents over the next month, which will later go to bid to select a contractor.

Seattle Parks and Recreation has encouraged the quick progression of the design so that they might take advantage of the low costs of construction right now and purchase the most skatepark for the available funds. The design Shapiro showed is an "optomistic" idea of what the current budget could provide.

Despite state law that requires the park's contractor be selected through a low bid process, contractor requirements have been put in place so that an adequate builder, who has built a similar park before, can be selected.

The construction process is expected to begin towards the end of 2009 and last between four and six months.