The Cambria Community Services District's board meeting on July 9 was expected to be one more hard night in a six-year argument. The skate park's construction bids had come in above the budget, and the board had to choose how to deal with the difference. Then Dick Clark, a director and former president and treasurer of the Cambria Community Council, stood up and said the council's community-benefit fund would cover the gap. The Tribune's Cambrian section reported that tears, a standing ovation and a run of grateful comments followed.
The paper describes the Cambria Community Council as a group that usually works behind the scenes, running volunteer bus service for seniors and giving grants to local causes. Construction fences are now up across from the Veterans Memorial Building, and that same organization is holding the money for whatever goes wrong while the park is built. The skate park is a district project, bid under public contracting rules. A volunteer nonprofit is carrying its construction risk.
The lot has been empty since 2020
The site is the lot across from the Veterans Memorial Building at 1000 Main St., where Cambria's earlier skate park stood until its parts became unsafe. That park was closed and taken down in spring 2020. The Skate Cambria initiative has been raising money for a permanent replacement ever since.
Most of that money came from the community. Skate Cambria members told KSBY the project had raised almost $1 million in private money, toward a total cost of more than $1 million. The largest public grant came from state parks. New Times SLO reported that volunteers combined private donations and tourism grants with a $600,000 California State Parks Land and Water Conservation Fund grant. Skate Cambria's project FAQ says the Cambria Tourism grant is dedicated to the restroom and lists money committed by the services district.
By last spring, all of that still fell short.
How a rough estimate became a $175,095.41 gap
Clark explained at the July meeting that the gap was the difference between early, almost "back-of-the-envelope" contractor estimates from April 2025 and the real bids the district received from two contractors in June. The district's project update page lays out the numbers:
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Low bid, Newton Construction & Management, Inc. | About $1,344,000 |
| 15% construction contingency | $201,600 |
| Total construction authorization | About $1,545,600 |
| Shortfall between available funds and the award amount | $175,095.41 |
| Separate contingency fund held by Cambria Community Council | $201,600 |
The last two rows show how the deal works. The council gave $175,095.41 right away to close the shortfall. Under a Funding and Contingency Agreement with the district, it also keeps a separate $201,600 fund to be used only for project contingencies. In July the council had announced a reserve of about $206,000. The signed agreement set the figure at exactly 15% of the bid.
CSD Director Michael Thomas called those contingencies "unknowns and unknowable" costs. According to Karen Dean, the board's vice president, those costs would otherwise have fallen on the district, not the contractor, whose bid has its own cushion for building-cost overruns.
The district's August 14 letter from General Manager Matthew McElhenie credits both an anonymous donor and the Cambria Community Council with closing the gap. The Tribune's July story described the gift as coming from the council's community-benefit fund. Whatever the mix, district reserves didn't pay for it.
The other options on the table in July
The district's summary of the July 9 meeting lists the paths staff put before the board when the bids came in high:
- Hold off on awarding the construction contract.
- Reject every bid and rebid once enough money was on hand.
- Use the district's General Fund reserves to cover the shortfall and the contingency.
- Find more outside money to close the gap.
The council's offer made the fourth option real. The district wrote that awarding the contract now avoided "the uncertainties associated with rebidding," including the chance of higher construction costs and more delay, and let the project use grant money it had already secured. Six years into the effort, another bid round could have meant even higher bids against the same fixed grant amounts.
On August 13 the board voted unanimously to approve the construction agreement with Newton Construction & Management, Inc. and authorized the general manager to sign it.
What is going up across from the Vets Hall
Newton was scheduled to start mobilizing September 21. Skate Cambria held its "Shovels Down and Wheels Bound" groundbreaking on Monday, September 28. KSBY described cheers and hard hats outside the Cambria Veterans Hall that evening, where Chelsie Foster of Skate Cambria told the station, "We were shovels down, wheels bound, and today we broke ground."
The district's 2024 design solicitation called for a 5,500-square-foot park with ramps, rails, ledges, bowls and flat concrete. Estero Bay News and older Skate Cambria materials give the skate area as 6,000 square feet.
Not all of the work is skate surface. According to the district's bid notice, the project also includes:
- A parking area of about 10,000 square feet with seven spaces, which also serves as the construction staging area.
- A restroom, installed by a separate contractor.
- Drainage and utility work.
- Frontage improvements along Main Street, with minor traffic control expected and no lane closures planned.
If you drive Main Street past the Vets Hall this fall, the bid notice suggests you'll see crews working along the frontage, with no lane closures planned.
The Cambria Community Council's project page currently projects completion in spring 2027. It says further donations will go toward future special events, programs and extra features. An earlier Skate Cambria FAQ aimed for mid-to-late 2026, so spring 2027 is the date to go by for now. No ribbon-cutting has been announced. The district suggests joining its Facilities & Resources Department news list, through the "Join Our Mailing List" icon on any CCSD page, to follow progress.
The same groups fill the fall calendar
The council's role in the skate park fits a town where community groups organize much of the year. Several of them have events starting between now and the end of November:
- Scarecrow Festival, through Saturday, Oct. 31. The 18th annual festival has more than 200 handmade scarecrows across Cambria and San Simeon, and the Tribune reported that 86 are new this year, including group displays along Main Street and Cambria Drive.
- Cambria Historical Society speaker series, Friday, Oct. 30, 4:30 to 6 p.m., listed by the Cambria Chamber.
- "Ghosts of Cambria's Past" Historic Cemetery Walking Tour, Saturday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., hosted by the Cambria Historical Society and listed on Visit Cambria's calendar.
- Cambria Christmas Market at Cambria Pines Lodge, 2905 Burton Dr., Nov. 27 through Dec. 31, 5 to 9 p.m. Gates close at 8:30 p.m., and admission starts at $25 for the market's 15th season.
- Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve planting day, Saturday, Nov. 28, 10 a.m. to noon, per the Chamber's listing.
The Chamber's November calendar was still filling in as of late October, so check times with each organizer before you go.
At Franklin Real Estate & Rentals, we follow projects like the one at 1000 Main St. because they change how a stretch of town gets used, from the seven new parking spaces to the families who'll be on Main Street once the park opens. If you own a home near the Veterans Memorial Building and want to know where it stands today, request a home valuation and we'll walk through it with you.
