Significant cuts are coming to the Seattle Parks Department budget this year and the outlook for pools is not pretty. Users of all Parks facilities will need to speak loudly and clearly throughout the long budget process to minimize cuts.
[Updated 5/5/2010] The April/May budget hearings are over now, so here are the best ways to provide feedback:
- Contact the City Budget Committee.
- Contact the City Council Members directly.
- Contact the Acting Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams.
- Send a letter: Mayor’s Office, Seattle City Hall 7th floor, 600 Fourth Avenue, P.O. Box 94749, Seattle, WA 98124-4749
- Call the Mayor’s office: (206) 684-4000
- Fill out the Mayor’s online form.
What are the stakes?
This afternoon, Superintendent Tim Gallagher told us:
You should be aware that the entire aquatics program is in danger of being eliminated.
At the very least, it looks like hours and programs are in danger of being cut across the Parks system, this year or next year. Given the cost of running older facilities, pools are going to need strong advocacy to tread water. Also worrisome is the vulnerability of funding set aside for the reconstruction of the Rainier Beach pool. That piggy bank could get broken.
The West Seattle Blog and the Capital Hill Blog started warning about cuts to aquatics 1-2 months ago. From the Superintendent’s comments, news clearly hasn’t gotten better as the departmental budget process has progressed.
Any more bad news?
The recent resignation of Superintendent Gallagher is a wake-up call for all of us Parks advocates and a sad loss for Seattle. Superintendent Gallagher was a determined advocate for fixing exactly the issues most challenging to our pools. He pushed the city to identifying long-term funding solutions for repairing and operating aging Parks facilities.
Seattle’s pools were largely built 30 years ago, making them particularly vulnerable to the scantiness of long-term maintenance funding. Older facilities are more expensive to maintain and operate, particularly when upgrade funding has not been available. [As you know, pool fixes weren’t included in the recent Parks levy, despite your concerted efforts.]
Superintendent Gallagher addressed the systemic funding issues for Parks in the Seattle Times today:
Four voter-approved levies over the past 15 years have added millions to the capital budget. That money, Gallagher said, has helped create more than 40 new parks, fund extensive renovations and build new community-center space.
At the same time, he said, existing operations and maintenance dollars "can’t support it."
The way he sees it, the department is faced with two options: Get out of certain operations, such as running pools or community centers. (Gallagher said he doesn’t support that.) Or create a municipal-parks district that brings in its own tax revenue. Running a parks department through the city just isn’t sustainable, he says.
Any good news?
Evergreen pool in White Center is reopening on May 1, thanks to grass-roots efforts. Swimmers returned to the pool for a "soft" reopening on April 19th.
[Update]
Additional information is appearing swiftly on a new Facebook group — Save the Seattle Public Swimming Pools. Kathy Whitman (Director of Aquatics for Seattle Parks) just shared the following there:
Tim Gallagher was interviewed on King5 TV tonight and indicated that he expected to see 3 pools close, most of the wading pools, some beaches, 2 community centers, etc… He indicated that the first cut would be as early as June for $2.5M for Parks and Recreation.
The budget projection also indicates that there will be… a much bigger cut coming in January. His quote in the newspaper was "the media should be focusing on the upcoming collapse of a truly great Park system"…
