People who think it would cause drug use, be noisy, or whatever they think would be surprised how actually unintrusive it is. They will forget all about their selfishness and go back to doing whatever they do. Even when the roundabout was being built on Highway 68 and there were many people up in arms and didn’t think that it would work. Change is scary. But change is a part of life. Pacific Grove cannot go on in its current state with the lack of facilities for the youth. It is ageist and completely embarrassing to only provide schools for anyone between the ages of four and 70. We cannot continue to ignore the children, the teenagers, the young adults, and the adults. Please don’t it get distracted by the noise and the venom that is being ignorantly spit out by the skate park opponents. We do not all have to like the same things but to try to prevent others from doing something that we don’t like to do is cancel-culture and that goes against what this country is founded on. If anything feel sorry for these silly, sad creatures that they would be willing to spend so much time and hate fighting the happiness and physical health of others in their community. Remember that we just need to pick a location we are not going back on our word to the kids. I look forward to watching the construction and attending the opening day of the Pacific Grove skate park and I know that all of you city council members will be proud of being a part of making it happen. Let’s get back on the right track towards success!! Colette Queen
Sent from my iPad
Fwd: Skate Park info
Colette Queen <[email protected]>
Tue 4/4/2023 1:56 PM
To: City Council Members <[email protected]> [NOTICE: This message originated outside of the City of Pacific Grove email system -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe.] Here is some follow up info from City of Marina. Note that they are already in the process of building a second park for bmx!! Lets catch up to the times!!!
Colette Queen
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: Steve Russo <[email protected]>
Date: April 4, 2023 at 1:28:40 PM PDT
To: Colette Queen <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Skate Park info
Hi Colette, I would recommend contacting our city hall office and asking for specific information regarding the year the park was built and or any documents to assist you.
We have a municipal code that is posted online regarding rules at the skate park which are also posted at the park if you would like to review. Our skate park is unique since the teen center is on the same site and is staffed during the week. If you would like to know how many calls for service at the skate park please contact our Records Supervisor, Maria Esparza and request public records for this location. Her email address is [email protected] or she can be reached at (831) 884-1216. The police department supports recreational activities for our youth. We are currently in the process of building a bike pump track at Gloria Jean Tate park and in the planning stages of a recreational center near Target for the adult and youth.
Thank you,
Steven Russo
Acting Police Chief
[email protected]
(831) 884-1210
Marina Police Department
211 Hillcrest Avenue
Marina Ca, 93933
-----Original Message-----
From: Colette Queen <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, March 31, 2023 12:57 PM
To: Carolina Rivera <[email protected]>; Steve Russo <[email protected]>; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Skate Park info
[EXTERNAL EMAIL] DO NOT CLICK links or attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Hello. I am a resident of Pacific Grove where we are currently struggling to help certain residents and the city Council see the value of building a skate park .From the time that my son was two years old, we went to the Monterey skate park every morning until about lunchtime, where he skated his heart out. He competed in many of the contests put on by On the Beach Surf Shop. He also loved to skate at the Marina skate park and participated in several of the skate camps. He also traveled down to the junior Olympics with the City of Maria skate team put together by Terry Seirgrist in 2010. It breaks my heart to see how resistant the citizens of Pacific Grove and the city Council are being to the idea of a skatepark! The City Council has already spent over $150,000 in researching this matter and now they still aren't sure if it is “needed”. They don’t see how far behind the times they already are by not having a skate park. In fact it took until 1995 for a basketball court to be installed due to worries of “out of town visitors” or “troublemakers”. These uninformed citizens are embarassing themselves by worrying more about the lives of trees than the lives of children, all while being age-ist and racist at the same time!! Most of these complainers won’t live many more years, why should the community suffer due to their baseless, ridiculous outcries? The only thing for youth to do in PG is go to Caledonia Park (usually only until the age of 4) or play baseball which not everyone is into. There is a Tennis court, where the elderly locals are so malignantly malicious that they fought against the use of the courts for Pickle Ball which is less injury causing and easier to start playing than tennis! None of these “concerned residents” have done any research or traveled to any areas where there are skate parks to see if their concerns are valid. They worry about the skate park being close to houses. In Marina, the skate park is at a school near houses and churches with no issues.Think of how many cities in California have multiple skateparks in city limits; it is actually embarrassing to not have a city skate park in 2023!! They worry that the skate park will cause drug use. There already is rampant drug abuse, but a well located and monitored park would prevent drug use for the window of time at which the individual was skating!! With the problems facing children’s and teens in this county, such as childhood obesity, ever increasing inside time on screens, and earlier onset of drug abuse, there is absolutely no reason not to fund an outdoor space that may help some of these kids find an outlet. At the end of the day, what is wrong with some people enjoying them selves by rolling around on some cement in a legally sanctioned area?!? Rollerskating dates back to the 1800s and Skateboarding made its advent in the late 60s. Skateboarding is now an olympic sport! In addition to kids, many adults enjoy the seratonin boost provided by challenging the balance and the brain by rolling on varied surfaces and enjoy teaching their kids how to skate. Do you have any information that may help me write an open letter to the city Council here in Pacific Grove? In Information such as the year that it was built, any issues that have occurred due to being built, security measures that are in place, any positive signs that it has helped teens, city reports, opinions from Police Staff or any information or data related to the skate park would would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you ,
Colette Queen
Sent from my iPhone
Skatepark.
Reidunn Raudstein <[email protected]>
Tue 4/4/2023 4:10 PM
To: City Council Members <[email protected]> [NOTICE: This message originated outside of the City of Pacific Grove email system -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe.] I am writing to you to let you know that I believe the sidewalks and roads in Pacific Grove needs to be made safe for young and old! So please spend money there and not on a skatepark. Frankly Montereys skatepark is a short distance away and from what I hear, not crowded at all. R. Raudstein.
Sent from my iPad
Petitions Regarding SkatePark Project
Save Salamander Field <[email protected]>
Tue 4/4/2023 11:21 AM
To: City Council Members <[email protected]>;Luke Coletti <[email protected]>;Debby Beck <[email protected]>;Nick Smith <[email protected]>;Bill Peake <[email protected]>;Chaps Poduri <[email protected]>;Joe Amelio <[email protected]>;Lori McDonnell <[email protected]>
1 attachments (9 MB)
Petition.Signatures.ALL.3.4.23.pdf;
[NOTICE: This message originated outside of the City of Pacific Grove email system -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe.] Enclosed please find 97 signatures of Pacific Grove residents who are requesting that Salamander Field, the field adjacent to Community High, be removed from consideration as a skatepark now and at any time in the future. 45 of these signatures were collected at a community meeting held in Salamander Field on March 26, 2023. I can turn in the originals if needed.
Please note that there is one Pebble Beach resident signing, which seems to be appropriate in light of the proximity of that property to Pebble Beach. Two signatures are duplicates and were not counted twice.
Thanks again for your time and attention to this matter.
Janet Gray, for SSF
Dorothy Vriend, resident, Del Monte Park, Pacific Grove CA Re: City Council Agenda-April 5, 2023
Mayor Bill Peake, City Councilmembers Joe Amelio, Debby Beck, Luke Coletti, Lori McDonnell, Chaps Poduri & Nick Smith
To City Council and Staff,
I am asking you to take the Community High Field at David Avenue off the list of considerations for a skatepark. If we are to have a skatepark for kids the city needs to repurpose an under-used parking lot rather than cover over a precious neighborhood open space with 10,000 square feet of concrete.
Skateparks were originally designed to mimic urban areas so skateboarders could practice navigating in that environment, over concrete stairs, over curbs and through parking lots. It was a brilliant use of the urban landscape to accommodate kids’ needs. But it was conceived of in spaces that lacked the rich natural landscape that Pacific Grove has. Let’s not squander the very thing that makes our town unique.
Community High Field extends seamlessly into the natural environment surrounding it. It offers a gateway to nature for students and community members and a buffer to urban living for the birds and animals that frequent the site. These include blue herons, red-tailed hawks, owls, turkeys and families of deer. Don’t take that away from us and our kids.
I’ve lived in Pacific Grove for more than twelve years, but I spent much of my life outside the Monterey Peninsula. I see the bounty of this natural area as having a tenuous hold, and I believe that every decision should consider protecting the natural environment instead of chipping away at it.
From what I have heard, the city’s plan is to choose a skatepark location first and have the feasibility studies done later. But they cost money. Once the money is spent, no-one will want to stop the train from rolling on down the track. So let’s recognize that conservation is at the heart of our town, and protect our open space. Please take the Community Field at David Avenue off the list of potential sites now.
Sincerely,
Dorothy Vriend
Skatepark in Pacific Grove
Iris Wachs <[email protected]>
Tue 4/4/2023 6:34 AM
To: City Council Members <[email protected]>;Bill Peake <[email protected]>;Pierik, Brian A. <[email protected]>;Rubens, Gregory J. <[email protected]>
[NOTICE: This message originated outside of the City of Pacific Grove email system -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe.] Dear City Council and Mayor Peake,
I'm writing to ask you if you would allow a skatepark in Pacific Grove. I'm nine years old and my name is Iris and my friend Ella has recently introduced me to skateboarding and it's super fun, but we don't have a good area to skateboard and I think that having a skatepark in PG would make a better place for us to skateboard instead of the middle school track with a bumpy floor that’s really easy to get hurt on.
I do a lot of activities, but I want one of my activities to be skateboarding or roller skating or bike riding, but it's hard to make that happen because there is no good safe place that I could achieve that goal.
Another reason why you should add a skatepark is that if you think about it 3,000 kids are from Pacific Grove, but maybe when they grow up they might not want to come back with their family's because they might think that it's not the best environment for them and their kids because they don’t think that there’s any activities to do.
Please vote for building a new skatepark not for me but for Pacific Grove.
Sincerely,
Iris Phoebe Wachs