Family urges EPRD board to help create a new skate park in Evergreen

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A family is mobilizing skateboard enthusiasts to create a new skate park in Evergreen.

Matt and Sandy Buzas and their sons Byron, 12, and Walker, 10, told the Evergreen Park & Recreation District board on June 27 that they have created the Evergreen Skatepark Coalition, and they hope to get the rec district on board to create a modern, visible skate park in Evergreen.

Matt Buzas said the skate park could cost up to $750,000 for design and construction, and it would be the size of about two tennis courts. He suggested a public-private partnership to pay for the endeavor.

Peter Eggers, rec district board president, told the family the board would consider a new skate park as it moves through its strategic-planning process.

Evergreen currently has a small skate park behind the Wulf Rec Center. Matt said it was out of the way, making skateboarders feel they are not an integral part of the community.

“We have done a lot of traveling as a family and visited close to 70 skate parks around the country,” Matt said. “We came to the conclusion that what we have in Evergreen

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

The Evergreen Skatepark Coalition is hosting a meeting from 5:30-6:30 p.m. July 19 near the skate park at Wulf Recreation Center to discuss the new skate park idea. Pizza will be provided. For more information, visit skateevergreen.com.

is an outdated and underutilized skate park because of the features in the park, and the location could be moved and be improved upon.”

He said the skate park could be built in such a way that BMX bikes, scooters, inline skaters and more could use it. He has talked to families, service organization leaders and rec district sta , and has gotten a lot of feedback and support, which is why the family formed the coalition.

“It’s been awesome to see the interest from the community,” Matt said. “Our vision is to create something that is inclusive, that is accessible in a central location, and visible from a main road in Evergreen. at will make a statement as a community that we support youth.”

He said putting a skate park near other recreation facilities, youth feel accepted.

“If we put the skate park around other park users, they feel more integrated,” he said. “If we put it somewhere with a fence and out of the way, they feel like outcasts.”

He said it could be constructed in a way that it was aesthetically pleasing and quiet.

Bill Manning of Evergreen supports the Buzas family’s skate park quest, saying that young people, especially since the pandemic, need places to gather and feel accepted. He noted that the community supports basketball, lacrosse, pickleball and other sports, so it should support skateboarding.