Youth Center and Skate Park Projects Moving Forward
Rendering courtesy of California Skateparks
The community is buzzing with excitement as plans for a new youth center and skate park, both located on Fifth Street, move forward. The projects, spearheaded by Maui County and in the works for several years, recently received an additional $4 million in funding from the Maui County budget, bringing the total budget to more than $10 million.
The youth center is being built by F&H Construction, a construction company that was responsible for the Lanai Gym Building improvement project last year. The youth center will be built to the highest safety standards and double up as a hurricane shelter. The center will also include a computer lab, kitchen and dining area, fitness room, music room, and lounge.
The skate park is designed by California Skateparks, a well-known skate park design and construction firm which has designed and built high profile skateparks and competition venues for major sporting events such as the X Games and Dew Tour. The park will include a variety of features such as half pipes, rails, and ramps.
“I think just being remote and being on the outer islands, it’s important to have a safe space for the kids,” said Sam Marvel, chief of planning and development at the Maui County Department of Parks and Recreation.
Jacob Janikowski, an 18-year-old recent graduate of Lanai High & Elementary School, was instrumental in pushing for the skate park's inclusion in the county budget. He has been an active participant in the planning and approval process, emailing local councilmembers and advocating for a space that would meet the needs of local skaters.
“I got responses rather quickly and found out that they had already started [the project] but it was in the early stages, and it wasn’t really a priority,” said Janikowski. “So, I just kept emailing and rallying other people and that’s how it started.”
Alice Lee, Chair of the Maui County Council, also gave a special shoutout to Jacob during a council meeting. Lee praised Jacob's dedication to the skate park project and his tireless efforts to advocate for the needs of Lanai’s young people. She said that Janikowski had sent her over 500 emails over the course of the approval process, demonstrating his commitment and passion for the project.
“That was one of the only meetings that I didn’t attend, so I found out about it after the fact, but it was actually pretty cool,” said Janikowski.
Both the youth center and skate park are still in the early stages of development, but progress is being made on both projects. The youth center's construction will start soon and the skate park's construction is expected to begin early next year.