Biddeford Skatepark – BIDDEFORD GAZETTE

New partnerships, expanding technology will help the Gazette stay connected to you

I don’t believe this could have been a better week for the Biddeford Gazette.

I am especially excited about several new partnerships that will allow us to give you more news and information about your community.

Earlier this week, I was invited to a meeting at the University of New England, where I enjoyed a really nice lunch with Michael Cripps, a professor and director of UNE’s School of Arts and Humanities and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Cripps and I had a fascinating and free-wheeling conversation about the state of today’s media landscape and some of the challenges he faces in working to provide his students with real life experiences to support their education outside of the traditional classroom.

Bottom line: Dr. Cripps and I began laying the groundwork of a partnership that will allow his students who are pursuing careers in journalism and communications to work as interns with the Biddeford Gazette.

It has the potential to be a dynamic relationship, one that will allow us an opportunity to expand our coverage and learn the valuable perspective of students attending classes in Biddeford.

But wait, that’s not all . . .

If you don’t know Cy Cyr of Biddeford, you’re really missing out. A Biddeford native, Cy recently launched Brick + Tides, a digital magazine that features his photography and some very compelling document-style storytelling about the people shaping southern Maine today.

I am a huge fan of Cy’s work, and I am ecstatic that he and I will be working together to promote and share his work on the Biddeford Gazette’s site.

We’ll be posting our first story from Brick + Tides on Monday in which Cy does an in-depth interview with Heather Paquette, another Biddeford native who is the president of Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine.

But wait, there’s more . . .

As you can see from a story we posted yesterday, the Biddeford Gazette is continuing its ongoing media partnership with The Maine Monitor, a nonpartisan, independent publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting.

The Maine Monitor – another digital only publication — has earned an outstanding reputation across the state, providing readers with in-depth, comprehensive reporting on the issues that affect Maine people on a daily basis.

Our partnership with The Maine Monitor is especially valuable as we approach the upcoming election season in which Maine voters will choose a new governor, a U.S. senator, Congressional representatives, not to mention numerous state legislative and county races.

The party primaries are now less than 90 days away. We look forward to sharing more stories from The Maine Monitor in the days and weeks ahead,

A busy week in our own newsroom.

*Neva and Samanntha Lance speak in favor of funding for the city’s skatepark during Tuesday’s Biddeford City Council meeting (Seaver photo)*

As a reporter, I had a new experience this week.

A local politician voluntarily told me that he was partly to blame for some financial issues that are now plaguing the city of Biddeford.

I don’t recall ever hearing a politician accept responsibility for a problem. Gotta say, it was refreshing to hear City Councilor Marc Lessard talk about his own role in a mess the city is still working through. “You can spread the blame like peanut butter,” Lessard told me. We thought that quote made a perfect headline.

On Thursday, I was the only reporter in attendance during the first meeting of the revised Institutional Zone Review Committee.

Hopefully, other reporters were watching the meeting remotely on-line. It’s convenient for me to be the only reporter in the room, but it’s bad for you, as I explain in this week’s upcoming editorial: Life During Wartime.

We covered several other stories this week. UNE is considering extending a natural gas line from downtown to its Biddeford campus; and several residents spoke in favor of reopening the city’s skatepark during Tuesday’s council meeting.

Video killed the radio star

On a final note, we began experimenting this week with using video and other technology to expand our news and commentary. It’s in a very rudimentary, early stage and well-beyond my experience as a print journalist, but it is fun and somewhat exciting.

The move was inspired by my conversation with Dr. Cripps this week. For younger news consumers, it’s all about video. You can find that video in our new section: Video Commentary & Reporting.

A close friend of mine – a media expert – tried to be as supportive as possible.

“You know,” he said. “You could always do a second take.”

And that, my friends, is the beauty of being a digital publication.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He is a Biddeford native who has been covering Biddeford news and politics for nearly three decades. He may be reached by email: randy@randyseaver.com

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THE BIDDEFORD GAZETTE | A Legacy of Trusted, Independent Journalism

Our editorial standards and policies: Biddeford Gazette | Standards & Policies

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By RANDY SEAVER, Editor

During Tuesday’s city council meeting, several residents used the words “community engagement,” during a public hearing about how the city should prioritize funding of its neglected recreational assets.

Several of those who testified before the council pointed to the principles and importance of community engagement, arguing that the council should prioritize projects that have received the most public feedback — most notably support for repairing or replacing the city’s former skate park that was located on outer Main Street as part of Rotary Park.

Tuesday’s public hearing was only the city’s latest effort to again seek public input and feedback about the city’s recreational facilities, and which projects should be a priority.

In November, voters approved a $6 million bond that is designated for upgrades and repairs to more than a dozen of the city’s recreational assets, including parks, playgrounds and infrastructure.

Anne Thompson of Biddeford tells the city council that the skatepark was a vital community resource, especially for at-risk youth who may not participate in more structured recreational activities (Seaver Photo)

The city recently released an online survey that asked residents to rank the projects that are the most important to them.

Over the next few weeks, city councilors from each of the city’s seven voting wards will be hosting individual ward meetings to solicit resident feedback about the recreation bond and other community issues.

Several people packed the council chambers Tuesday but most left quickly after the recreation public hearing.

Despite several pleas and noting the importance of public engagement, there was absolutely no community engagement or public comment during a second public hearing regarding the use of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.

Kids got a ‘raw deal’ from the city

The former skate park received broad public support from a diverse and vocal group of city residents.

Several residents said the city “took away” the skate park, a popular social gathering spot for younger residents.

City officials, however, maintain that the park was closed because of “safety and liability” concerns created by cracked and crumbling concrete skating pads.

*Steven Gudschinsky of Biddeford told the council that the city should have been maintaining the skatepark as opposed to letting it fall into disrepair (Seaver photo)*

Several residents balked at the city’s rationale for closing the park, arguing the city has a responsibility to repair and maintain all of its public infrastructure, including the skatepark.

“We now have an opportunity to heal an old wound,” said resident Holly Culloton during her remarks in support of the skatepark.

Other residents were equally as passionate, saying the city should embrace “atonement” for its decision to close the park nearly two years ago.

Anne Thompson, an older resident, told the council that the skatepark was a vital community asset and a resource for “at-risk kids” who may not participate in more structured school sports programs.

Steven Gudschinsky of Biddeford didn’t mince his words.

“The kids and the voters got a raw deal,” he said. “That park should have been maintained all along”

Why was previous public input ignored?

Biddeford resident Samanntha Lance and her wife, former city councilor Neva Lance, drew rousing applause from the audience when they offered their comments to the council from the podium.

Former city councilor Neva Lance watches as Samanntha Lance tells the council that they are duty-bound to honor a commitment the city made more than two years ago about the former skatepark. This is a matter of trust, she said. (Seaver photo)

Samanntha Lance reminded the newer members of the council that her wife attended a previous public meeting about the skate park that was also attended by former mayor Marty Grohman and current mayor Liam LaFountain – before the skate park was closed for public use.

Lance told the council that a “large number of parents and young people” also attended that event.

“That meeting was not casual conversation,” Lance told the council. “It was a serious discussion. Families and kids showed up. They spoke about what the skate park meant to them. They shared concerns, ideas, and hopes for its future. Their input was documented. And the three sitting city officials present — including my wife — gave their word that their concerns would not be ignored and that the skate park was not gone forever.”

Lance said those words seemed to fall on deaf ears, despite continued robust community input during subsequent city meetings.

“The city later told those same families that funding was not available,” Lance told the council. “Residents were encouraged to pursue fundraising efforts — GoFundMe campaigns and other community-driven solutions — if they wanted to see the project rebuilt.”

Lance said the skate park should not have to compete among the city’s other recreational assets because the public already spoke out overwhelmingly in support of the skate park.

“The public showed up in numbers we have not seen for any other recreation issue in the past year. The community has already spoken,” Lance said.

“In a time when trust in government is fragile, keeping your word matters. When public officials give their word to families and children, that promise should stand — especially when the funding now exists.”

“This is about more than concrete and ramps,” Lance added. “It is about trust. It is about accountability. And it is about showing this community — especially its young people — that when they show up and speak, their government listens.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the story incorrectly listed Samanntha Vance as Samantha Vance. It has been corrected. We apologize for the error.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He has been covering Biddeford news and politics for nearly three decades. He may be reached by email: randy@randyseaver.com

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THE BIDDEFORD GAZETTE | A Legacy of Trusted, Independent Journalism

Our editorial standards and policies: Biddeford Gazette | Standards & Policies

Never miss an update! Subscribe for free today!