David Murray

dmurray@greatfallstribune.com

Grunge rock bassist Jeff Ament, a founding member of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam, is donating $100,000 and the work of a five-person construction crew to build a new skate park in Malta.

Ament’s donation was announced Thursday in news report on KMMR radio. The report stated Ament agreed to fund the skate park after getting a call from a friend he’d grown up with in Big Sandy. Ament was born in Havre and graduated from Big Sandy High School in 1981.

“It was after Easter that the first step was taken,” KMMR reported. “Lynette Ereaux was asked if there was a way to contact Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam fame. Lynette called her brother, a lifelong friend of Ament’s. On April Fool’s Day, Ashley Stewart, who was given as a local contact … got an email from Ament.”

Ament initially offered to donate $50,000 to build the skate park but later doubled the amount of his original pledge.

Ament is an avid skateboarder and has donated money to build several other skate parks in Montana through his company Evergreen Skateparks. These include skate parks in Big Sandy, Havre, Browning and Stevensville.

“The project was originally to be 2,000 square feet, but with the increased donation it becomes a 4,000-square-foot project,” KMMR said of the Malta skate park.

The skate park will be constructed on the west end of Malta’s Hillcrest Park on the south end of town. Work is scheduled to begin on Monday, April 18, with a five-person crew from Evergreen Skateparks. The skate park could be completed as early as June 1.

“Local residents have asked if they can provide homemade meals to the work crew,” said KMMR. “Others have offered beef if they wish to grill their meals at their campers while here working on the project.”

“Congratulations to everyone involved in this project,” the radio station went on to state. “It is very impressive, in today’s world of rules, regulations and stipulations that this project has come this far, this fast. The bottom line is that skateboarders will have a great park for years to come. The city will have it as an asset, and a low maintenance option for recreation here in Malta.”