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Frieland Elementary students ask Monroe council for second skate park
Summary
Three Frieland Elementary students urged the Monroe City Council on April 22 to approve a second skate park on the city's east side so neighborhood kids can walk there instead of driving. Council members praised the students and encouraged civic engagement; no formal action was taken.
Three students from Robin Carlson’s fourth- and fifth-grade class at Frieland Elementary asked the Monroe City Council on April 22 to support building a second skate park on the east side of Monroe so neighborhood children could walk there instead of being driven to the existing Lake Ty facility.
The students — Eva, Brooklyn and Finley — laid out simple reasons for the proposal: closer access for more kids, more choices for activities and a place where “kids can hang out.” Eva told the council, “I would like to make a skate park near Lowe's so that we can have 2 skate parks, and kids won't have to drive all the way here just to skate.” Finley said, “Skateparks create a community where kids can hang out.”
The remarks followed a classroom project in which students prepared proposals and cost estimates for the site. Mayor and council members praised the students’ preparation and public-speaking efforts and encouraged continued participation. Councilmember Beaumont highlighted the walkability argument, saying the students “thought through constructing the skate park” and that walking to a neighborhood facility “promotes health.” Councilmember Walker and others commended the students’ courage in speaking during a council meeting.
Council members noted that the city’s forthcoming Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan — updated every six years — and ongoing downtown festival-lot planning are venues where citizens can comment on parks projects and priorities. The students and their teacher had provided the council with written project proposals and estimates; during remarks the mayor referenced cost figures mentioned in class materials that ranged roughly from about $25,000 to as much as $75,000–$100,000, but the transcript did not specify which estimate applied to which design.
No formal action or vote followed the public comments. Council members encouraged the students and their families to participate in future planning meetings and in the parks plan update process.
