The future of the Point Roberts skate park remains uncertain after debate between skateboarders and the Point Roberts Park and Recreation District over whether the facility should remain a dedicated skate space or be converted into a shared-use recreation area.
The controversy began at the park district’s April meeting when, during a discussion lasting only a few minutes, commissioners voted to clear the skate park slab and repurpose it for broader community use.
Commissioners cited the park’s condition, maintenance, liability and what they described as low usage. No discussion occurred about retaining skateboarding elements within a shared-use design, an idea that would emerge later after public backlash that spilled into the community during two subsequent meetings in June.
Park Administrator Dee Gough said the district had wrestled with the skate park issue for years.
“Two years ago or three years ago now, before I was an employee, I came to the board and said, ‘Hey, can we get rid of the skate park, since it’s broken and falling apart?’” Gough said. “And then a bunch of the young’uns got all nostalgic and went up there and spent two days cleaning the place and pressure washing it, and we’re right back to where we are, and they haven’t touched it since.”
“They yelled at us, they screamed at us,” Commissioner Allison Calder said of opposition to the previous proposal to close the park. “The board at the time decided, ‘OK, we’ll give you a chance. You go clean it up, maintain it and we’ll revisit later.’ Now it’s two years later, and nothing.”
Skateboarders disputed that characterization at a subsequent Park and Recreation meeting in June, saying they were never given clear responsibility for maintaining the site.
“Me and my friends have spent many of our own hours, even though we have full-time jobs, just to maintain a skate park using our own man hours but also our own money, not asking for a dime from the parks board,” skater Hayden Kelly said.
The dispute also raised questions about who was ultimately responsible for the facility.
Historical records show the skate park was built through a partnership between local skaters and the park district. In 2005, the Point Roberts Skate Park Committee raised more than $5,500 and paid permitting costs, while Point Roberts Parks and Recreation provided the land and $25,000 toward construction of the concrete slab.
A former park district official said the district historically maintained the site through regular cleanup, trash removal, and repairs..
“When I was on the park board, we had the skate park on a schedule to be blown out every two weeks,” former Commissioner Bennett Blaustine said. “The people who use the skate park do need to help out there, but it is the park district’s responsibility to help maintain that.”
Several speakers said they first learned of the proposal through an article in the All Point Bulletin and felt blindsided by changes being proposed before a broader community planning process had taken place.
“If we go right ahead and do something, we kind of miss out on that input,” Commissioner Bronwyn Glor said, urging the board to draw out a plan for the multi-use court before moving forward with any decisions.
A major point of disagreement is whether a shared-use facility can accommodate skateboarding alongside other activities.
“The idea is to remove the obstacles in the center of the concrete slab, so that there can be multiple uses on the concrete slab. Take those ramps, put them to the edge … creating a multipurpose, usable space for everyone in the community,” Calder said.
Skateboarders argued that such a configuration would effectively destroy the park.
“You saying that you’re going to remove obstacles makes no sense, because that’s literally what the park is, and it’s already very small,” Olivia Hughes said.
At the Point Roberts Taxpayers meeting a week later, pickleball supporters rejected suggestions that the proposal was driven by pickleball players.
“On behalf of the Pickleball Committee or community, this is in no way about pickleball trying to take over the skate park,” Robin Nault said. “We play in a parking lot. This is a shared space. We’re grateful for it.”
Skateboarder Spencer Millar responded that skateboarders had created their facility through fundraising and volunteer effort.
“What skateboarders and the families of young kids did was they raised money, and they got a grant, and they did the work to build a skate park for skateboarding,” he said. “I think pickleball people could easily do that.”
Park commissioners defended the proposal as an attempt to maximize recreational opportunities with limited resources.
“We have such limited resources right now,” Calder said. “Trying to figure out what we can do to make the most of the spaces we have over the next few years so that you have usable spaces for all different age groups.”
Taxpayers Association Chair Mark Robbins disagreed.
“The park district has a lot more resources now,” Robbins said. “It’s a matter of priorities and making choices. ... The utilization of the skate park is kind of generational, and it has its ups and downs, but right now it seems to have ups.”
Robbins made a motion at the Taxpayers Association meeting that urged the park district to reconsider its decision.
“I'd like to make a motion that we request the parks board to reconsider the earlier decisions to commingle multiple usage of the existing skate park, which apparently does have usage and support by the community right now, and focus on raising funds over the long term for additional facilities, but in the short term maintain the current skate park as it is.”
The motion passed unanimously.
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