Parks District news...

Special meeting to be held

The Point Roberts Park and Recreation District has tentatively planned a special meeting for mid-September to discuss the results of a survey that ran from May to July to gauge public opinion on future park district facilities.

Chair Mitch Friedman emphasized the importance of discussing the results in a public setting, “We put out a survey to the residents, and I think they have a stake hold in what the data looks like and how the board uses this data.” The date and time of the special meeting will be announced on social media.  

AT&T to join tower

The parks board and SBA Communications have agreed to add AT&T cellular equipment to the tower located near Baker Field. The addition would generate a one-time payment of $10,000 to the Point Roberts Park and Recreation District.  

Kennedy event violated RCW

During the public comment section of the park district meeting on August 14, Bennett Blaustein informed the board members that they had violated Washington state law by letting a live-streamed campaign event happen on July 24 at the community center without charging organizers to use the center.

“We’ve never had a campaign event at the community center for free, actually we’ve never had a campaign use the community center that I know of before. The only time we’ve had anyone campaign is when there’s been a candidate’s night, and all the candidates have been invited at the same time,” said Blaustein.  

Parks board chair Mitch Friedman insisted that he had not violated any RCWs and said that it wasn’t even a campaign event.

“There was nothing in regard to campaign talks that was going on. They were talking about something completely different,” Friedman said.  

The live-streamed event was hosted by presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and was entitled “Let’s Heal the Divide.”

According to the website, Kennedy24.com, the purpose of the event was for Kennedy to “take questions from supporters from around the nation, with the overall focus being on healing the divide in our nation, emphasizing the ideas that unite us instead of divide us.” 

RCW 42.78.555 states “No elective official … may use or authorize the use of any of the facilities of a public office or agency, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of assisting a campaign for election of any person to any office or for the promotion of or opposition to any ballot proposition.”