Youth turn out en masse to support skate park

In the largest turnout for a parks district meeting in ages, local youths presented a petition to commissioners in support of the Benson Road skatepark at their regular board meeting on February 12 at the community center.

Lake Hughes presented a petition with over 200 names asking the parks board to reconstitute the skate board committee that had previously been responsible for maintaining the skatepark in the past. Hughes recounted the history of the skatepark and said it had provided a needed outlet for some generations of young people, adding it was one of the few, if not last, outlets whose purpose was to serve the youth of Point Roberts.

A number of speakers asked the board not to turn it into a multi-use court but to keep it solely purposed for skating. “We need all of that cement in order to get full use of the features,” one said. The parks district has dismantled some of the features that had fallen into disrepair and have discussed using it for multiple purposes.

Another young man recited demographic information from the national pickleball association showing most players were over 65 with an average income of over $100,000. “Why can’t they fundraise for their own court,” he asked.

Former parks chair Mitch Friedman said when he was on the board, he was in favor of creating a permanent skatepark even though he now only played pickleball.