For several local community centers, January signaled the start of a new year and a new way of operating.
Because of cuts to the 2011 citywide budget, the Alki, Green Lake, Ballard, Laurelhurst and Queen Anne community centers faced significant changes this month, ranging from cancelled events to displaced staff members.
Besides the already-implemented changes, users may find even greater differences in store. The City Council has asked Seattle Parks and Recreation to propose a new model for the centers that can continue to provide community involvement while creating fewer expenses.
Budgetary changes
Facilities limited by the new budget were determined by their proximity to other centers and the number of child-care programs offered at each.
The changes can be seen in reduced operating hours, program changes and cancelled community events.
While some specialty activities, such as Tae Kwon Do or Hawaiian hula dance, were dropped due to the budgetary changes, others were transferred to neighboring facilities.
Although the Rainier Beach Community Center was affected by the new budget as well, the facility was already closed under a previously set plan to demolish, rebuild and reopen the center by 2013.
“We were actually pretty darn proud, given that we had to make over $10 million of reductions, we didn’t close anything completely,” said Carol Emerson, Seattle Parks and Recreation’s finance and administration director.
‘Everything’s on the table’
To create the City Council report, due June 1, the parks department plans to review how centers are operated throughout the city beyond the already-affected facilities.
“The idea is we would formulate a range of options,” Emerson said. “Some might end up being small changes, while others could be very radical. They’re not limited to the five [centers] — everything’s on the table.”
The department will also examine how other cities have faced similar budget shortfalls.
“There are a number of parks and recreation departments nationwide who’ve just shut down all community-center facilities,” Everson said. “We want to bring the knowledge that that is happening elsewhere in respectable cities but with maybe more severe budget problems than we’ve got. We’re trying to pull the best and worst ideas from other cities and learn from their mistakes.”
The report could potentially include numerous changes, such as alternative activity prices, staffing cuts and new partnerships with community organizations.
Before delivering the finished report, the ideas will be presented to community members in April at three public meetings. Suggested changes selected by the City Council could be implemented as early as the 2012 budget.
A public process
The response from community members has so far been quiet, said Seattle Parks and Recreation public information officer Dewey Potter.
However, the department will look for further input from center users during the next six months.
Seattle Parks and Recreation plans to host several public meetings on the issue, the first of which will take place Feb. 2 at the Miller Community Center, 330 19th Ave. E. According to Everson, attendees can expect a “world café”-style discussion on questions ranging from what users currently value about the centers to what would define a good partnership.
Additionally, the department will gather recommendations from a Community Center Advisory Team comprised of City Council and City Budget Office staff, Parks employees, community members and the Associated Recreation Council (ARC), a nonprofit organization that manages center programs and activities.
The team’s recommendations will reflect opinions and intentions representative of the community, according to Bill Keller, ARC’s executive director and advisory-team member.
“One of the things we really want the City Council to know is how many lives we touch and how important [the centers] are,” he said. “Community centers offer respite and some very low-to-no-cost opportunities to get up and be active in the community. I see them as an integral part of the daily life of the neighborhoods.”
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