Parks volunteers, skate boarders, Brier residents and public officials gathered under sunny skies April 18 for the ceremonial ribbon cutting on behalf of the new Brier Skate Park.
“It’s pretty awesome,” said Steven Horner, 15, of Mountlake Terrace, a skateboarder, as he watched a skateboard demonstration by the chain store BC Surf.
“This is a great example of how jurisdictions can work together to make the whole region great,” Snohomish County Councilman Dave Gossett told a crowd of about 75 people at Brier Park.
The county provided $250,000 in park mitigation money and Brier pitched in another $40,000 to make the skate park a reality.
As volunteers dished up hot dogs, Mayor Bob Colinas introduced the people like Gossett who helped bring the park to fruition.
“We’d like to thank you for building this in Brier and not Mountlake Terrace because we don’t have the space,” Mountlake Terrace Mayor Jerry Smith said.
Ken Overstreet, chair of the Park and Recreation Board, was the impetus behind the skate park.
“He promoted it and promoted it,” said Colinas. “Without Ken, I don’t think this would be here.”
Four years ago, Overstreet said, parks board members heard from Brier teens, who told them there wasn’t any place for them in the city.
“So, we wrote the skate park into our master plan,” he said, thanking the “cracker-jack” team that helped make the park a reality.
Volunteers also pitched in to build the park.
One of them was Ian Palmer, who built benches and park signs as part of his Eagle Scout project.
Ann Nygaard, a member of the Mountlake Terrace Parks and Recreation Commission, was also on hand for the opening. One of Palmer’s benches is dedicated to Nygaard’s late son, Arnie, who died in 2003.
“He would have loved to have been here and skated,” she said.
Another bench in Arnold’s name will be added to the new Mountlake Terrace Dog Park, “so he can be remembered for the two things he loved the most: dogs and skateboarding,” she said.
Ramps and ledges in the new skate park were built in a modular format, so they can be rearranged, Colinas said.
“This is just a great thing for the kids,” said Brier Councilwoman Kerin Steele.
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