The Coupeville Parks and Recreation Commission has recently completed a plan to acquire more land for parks within the town limits, as well as improve the parks we have. Unfortunately, the acquisition of money is always a problem. There are a number of areas where land should be acquired, not only for active parks, but for the health of the community.

The land behind the Coupeville Post Office is an excellent example of such acquired land. The grassy open space provides an area for water to be absorbed into the ground, rather than running off into Penn Cove. As runoff has become a major and costly problem throughout Puget Sound, while groundwater has been depleted, it is essential that we include such areas in our plans.

Thanks to assistance of Coupeville Lions and Coupeville Lion Cindy Van Dyk, Coupeville Parks and Recreation has installed safe play equipment for children in 6th Street Lions Club Park and in Town Park. We have drafted plans for Captain Coupe Park which include making sure that the fragile bluffs along Ninth Street are protected by hedgerows, as well as improving boat launch facilities.

The Recreation Hall has been renovated with donated funds. Some funds have gone to enhance the entrances to Coupeville. The evergreens planted along Highway 20 were planted by Parks and Recreation Commission members. Volunteers have done a tree count within the town limits, to help us decide where new trees will be planted. The town is installing Fido stations so that less pet waste will enter the cove.

There are a number of areas where more parks and open spaces are needed. We have only one wetland left in the town. We have discussed setting up catchment ponds with parks around them, to make sure that Coupeville’s water problems do not become extreme. We need a youth and community center. We need more public beach access. A recent survey of town citizens showed they had more interest in the above proposals than in using funds for more active recreation.

The Parks and Recreation Commission has put together a needs catalog, and concerned citizens can purchase a tree, a few feet of path, a bench or contribute to a fund to purchase park land. We will continue to search for money to purchase more land, and we invite you to come to our meetings at 10 a.m. the first Wednesday (Oct. 2) of the month.