City May Help in Improving High School : Cooperation: Talks OKd on joint project including skateboard park and landscaping at football stadium.

The City Council has authorized negotiations with school district officials for about $140,000 worth of improvements at Huntington Beach High School, which would include a skateboard park and landscaping at the football stadium.

Skateboarders have caused extensive damage on the campus in recent years, and Huntington Beach Union High School District officials have been seeking an alternative site for students to practice the sport.

The skateboard park, which would be built as part of a new entryway area to the stadium, would be about half the size of a basketball court, according to Bill Fowler, a superintendent in the city’s recreation and human services division.

The city is in the process of installing a skateboard area at Murdy Community Park, with construction possibly starting later this fall. A site is expected to be selected soon for another skateboard facility at Edison Community Park.

Fowler said city staff members are proposing that the district lease the skateboard park to the city to serve high school students and the community. In exchange for a no-cost lease, the city would participate financially with the district in the development of the entryway to the high school’s stadium.

The cost of the new entryway is estimated at $140,000. About $60,000 of that would be for the skateboard park that the city would build with State Park Bond Act funds.

The rest of the $80,000 for entryway improvements would be divided equally between the district and city.

The joint project would provide a new entryway area to the stadium with landscaping, ticket booths, security lighting and a bicycle parking area.

Officials say they hope work on the project can start next spring and be completed before school starts next September.

In a meeting scheduled with school officials on Oct. 5, municipal employees are expected to seek an agreement to allow the city to use the high school stadium for community events free of charge.