HomeMy WebLinkAbout022825 email - Refurbishing the Rec CenterALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Dear Board of County Commissioners: ,
We live in a walkable city where there is so much potential for recreational opportunities, and yet the youth are so often overlooked. We feel cheated that we do not have access to the
same recreational opportunities our parents had when they were teenagers. As residents of the fifth oldest county in the US(moneytalksnews), we teens do not feel welcome in most public
spaces.
Students of all grade levels make up only about 10% of the population of this town and so naturally our needs are underrepresented. We cannot afford to eat out, we do not feel comfortable
meeting in groups due to the attitude of the elderly towards youth, and we cannot go to the store without being suspected of stealing. An example of this, any adult can walk into aldriche=s
with a backpack on, but teenagers must leave them by the door. We have very little in terms of spaces to congregate with our own age group, although we would really like to.In fact,
we have no spaces that haven’t been invaded by the overwhelmingly large population of elders who could go anywhere else: you can find senior citizens sitting in the youth room at the
PT Public Library and hanging out at The Nest..
Our community of students, families, and young adults needs a Rec Center: more specifically, one that isn’t falling apart. The Rec Center seems to have been forgotten a long time ago,
but I have fond memories of spending time there when I was in middle school.
ItThe center is currently home to two2 ping pong tables, a broken piano, and an old game console, as well as shuffleboards, billiards and foosball tables ins disrepair. The Rrec Ccenter
has a public kitchen, although most of theor the equipment doesn’t work. There is a playground, a climbing wall that goes unused, and a basketball court which players such as high school
varsity athlete John Mercado have deemed, “too slippery and dangerous to play on.”.
It is very unfortunate that the building and equipment haves not been maintained as this space could become a thriving community center and even be more fully funded by the community.
I implore you to consider revisiting the Rrec-Ccenter in person, and you’ll see what I mean. With poor maintenance and cleanliness, limited hours, and waning interest, the center has
fallen into disrepair. Please help us restore our once thriving community rec center, and help us gain the support of those who can make a change.
The rec center is not even on the list for Trip Advisor’s “Things to do in Port Townsend.” The Rrec Ccenter is called the “Port Townsend Senior Center” on Yelp. We need to make some
changes. Jr hoops, Zumba, and other events are held on the basketball court. We believe that the court floors should be refinished and resurfaced. Right now the floors are bumpy and
very awkward to move on. Fixing them would help support those events and add appeal to other events.
Another priority could be the ping pong and foosball tables, which are all in poor condition. For ping pong, the paddles are peeling and there are not many ping pong balls. For foosball,
the tables are sticky and some of the handles are missing. These fun games, if well maintained, could bring more students back to the Rrec Ccenter. The other priority would be the kitchen.
If people could rent out the kitchen, the Rrec cwould bring inmake a little revenuerevvnue, allowing them to purchaseallowing to purchase better equipment and maintaining the building.
People would then pay to host events like birthday parties at bring food to the Rrec for events, kids’ birthday parties, and other benefits that would come with a greater kitchen.
We would love to have a youth community space with working equipment, longer hours, and support from our town. Unfortunately, the rec center will likely not be up to standards for youth
by the time our class graduates, but we hope that teenagers in the future can have this safe space to congregate without judgement from the elderly population. The rec center could
be the missing piece in our community and it’s a shame that Port Townsend seems to have forgotten about it. Thank you for your time and consideration, on behalf of all students here
at Port Townsend High School.
Sincerely,
Kai Ryan and Blake Hageman