📰BIDDEFORD | Former Councilor and Wife Strongly Advocate for Skate Park
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
"This is about more than concrete and ramps. 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."
February 17, 2026, at tonight's City Council meeting, former Biddeford City Councilor Neva Lance and her wife Samanntha Lance, advocated passionately to the Biddeford City Council in support of spending recreation bond funds on a new skate park for the city.
Their statement, which was read by Samanntha, began, "Thank you so much for the opportunity to read the following statement on behalf of both myself and my wife, Neva Lance, former Ward 5 City Councilor."
Samanntha went on to explain, "before the skate park was completely torn down, a town hall workshop was held. In attendance were my wife, the former mayor, the current mayor, and a large number of parents and young people who used that skate park regularly."
Mrs. Lance continued, "the meeting was not casual conversation. 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."
Concluding their remarks, Samanntha ended by stating, "Respectfully, the skate park should not need to compete for priority. A commitment was already made. The public showed up in numbers we have not seen for any other recreation issue in the past year...The community has already spoken... This is about more than concrete and ramps. 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.
Please allow those who made that commitment to keep their word. The people have already shown us their priority. Now it is up to you to honor it."
Following their remarks, Samanntha and Neva thanked the council for their time and effort - For your convenience we have included a clip of their remarks:
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