When Michael Poirier was a student at B.M.C. Durfee High School in the mid-2010s, he’d bring his skateboard to class and stash it in the office of the vice principal: Paul Coogan.

“I left my skateboard in Coogan’s office in high school so frequently, because they’d be like, ‘Don’t bring it in the hallway, you’re skating in the hallway,’” he said. “Now, I just went to the mayor’s office and talked about a skate park.”

Poirier is one of a group of friends and local skaters who helped Coogan’s administration overhaul the dilapidated Lafayette skate park. He, Courtney Ross, Devon Molina and others have spent years helping with a major redesign and reconstruction — one that’s not only more fun for them but a local attraction for the growing skating community, something they can hand down to new generations of skaters. It’s ready to open, with a ribbon-cutting set for Sunday, May 24.

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