Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Laurelhurst Community Club Letter to City Council Regarding Closure of the Community Center

Here is Laurelhurst Community Club's letter to City Council submitted yesterday. 

They discuss many important points including:

*the pottery studio, one of the best in the City, being shutdown

*regarding turning it into a Senior Center - LCC says: "We love our seniors here in Laurelhurst and our center offers some programming to accommodate their needs, but we need a community center that serves the needs of ALL residents—kids, families and seniors."

*regarding closing the Laurelhurst Community Center: .. "(it)... violates the Parks Department’s own guidelines for distribution of community centers. Those guidelines state that 'A community center shall be located within one mile of every Seattle household….' This is considered “desirable."

*history of the Center: "In 1927, the Laurelhurst community council formed an LID (local improvement district) and purchased the four tracks of land where the Laurelhurst Community Center and playfield are located. The community then gave that property to the Park Department 'for park and playfield purposes.' With the Great Depression, times were hard, but the original one-room community center was finally completed in 1935.

*the Center has the largest basketball program in the City with 32 teams
 

If you'd like to submit comments go here and your comments will automatically go to all City Council members.
 _________________________

Dear Councilmembers,

Here is a letter from the Laurelhurst Community regarding the Mayor’s proposed cuts to the Laurelhurst Community Center. Please restore these cuts and do not allow our much beloved center to be closed to our neighbors. In our letter, we have identified a number of issues. As you put together your issue identification, we hope you will consider the issues we have raised.

 Jeannie Hale and Emily Dexter
Laurelhurst Community Club
________________________________________________________

October 12, 2010

Councilmember Jean Godden, Chair
City Council Budget Committee and Members of the Council
600 Fourth Avenue, 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 94749
Seattle, Washington 98124-4749

RE: Funding for the Laurelhurst Community Center

Dear Councilmember Godden and Members of the Council:

Under the Mayor’s proposed budget, the Laurelhurst Community Center would cease to operate as the neighborhood community center and would be transformed into a satellite program site for senior programs, special populations and office space. The Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) Board of Trustees understands that the City is facing a $67 million budget shortfall, but we urge you to study some other method to equitably distribute community center hours throughout the city. LCC urges you not to close the Laurelhurst Community Center to our families.

The $378,000 cut to funding for the Laurelhurst Community Center and the creation of an experimental “senior focused program model” would close our center to the public as stated in Parks Department documents, other than for private rental. Our expanded center, funded through the 2000 Pro Parks Levy, meant supplementing the one-room facility to add over 4,000 square feet to meet the needs of our community. The upgraded facility opened in Spring 2007. Now, barely four years later, the Mayor proposes closing our beloved center.

With only two small offices in the new facility, under the Mayor’s plan, the lower level of the center would be reconfigured to add offices for the Lifelong Recreation program. This would eliminate the lower level activity room and could possibly affect the pottery studio and workspace—the best pottery program in the city. The Laurelhurst Community Center would never recover from the closure of the center. We will have lost our valuable staff and programming would be transferred to Ravenna-Eckstein and Magnuson Park.

Why it is the Mayor’s proposal a bad idea? Basically, it’s a matter of fairness and common sense.

1. Cuts in community center hours should be distributed equitably throughout the City. Drop-in hours for the five targeted community centers would be reduced from 53 hours/week (46 during the summer) to 15 hours/week. In the case of Laurelhurst and the proposed “senior focused program model,” the limited programs would principally be for senior drop-in activities, card playing and social gatherings in the afternoons and evenings. We love our seniors here in Laurelhurst and our center offers some programming to accommodate their needs, but we need a community center that serves the needs of ALL residents—kids, families and seniors.

Why not consider cutting the hours for the City’s 25 centers (Rainier Beach will be closed for reconstruction) by six or seven hours per week? In briefing the Budget Committee, the Acting Superintendent said this approach would not save enough in staff dollars. But, no alternatives to the drastic cuts to community centers were presented. And, questions about the community center cuts from councilmembers were not answered or incomplete information was provided.

Councilmember Rasmussen asked if the Parks and Recreation Department had looked at other fee options and structures that would allow the five community centers to stay open and there was no response—other than to say people could go to other centers. What does that do for climate change and the City’s commitment to reducing everyone’s carbon footprint?

2. Why transform the Laurelhurst Community Center into a satellite program for senior and special populations when transit service is poor, there is little parking and the center is not centrally located? As stated by Acting Superintendent Williams, Laurelhurst has one bus—number 25. What he didn’t say is that the bus does not run after 7 p.m. on weekdays or at all on weekends. The bus only runs weekdays every hour other than during rush hour. The route is the “Laurelhurst Loop” and the closest stop to the community center is almost two blocks away and requires walking up a steep hill and across an overpass. Parking is limited at the center because most neighbors walk or ride their bikes to the center. Mr. Williams admitted that the Laurelhurst Community Center is not centrally located. He said there are senior adult programs that transport seniors from one part of town to another. Is this wise? What is the cost of this type of transportation? With these factors in mind, it is perplexing to understand how Laurelhurst was considered for closure.

It is projected that the Montlake/NE 45th and Sand Point Way corridor will have an increase in traffic due to projected growth. There will be a significant disruption of traffic because of several large construction projects. We are facing construction of 520, light rail, Husky Stadium, expansion of University Village, and QFC redevelopment and the addition of 1.2 million square footage at Seattle Children’s. Shuttling seniors through this corridor to Laurelhurst Community Center, a non-central and inconvenient location, makes no sense.

3. Why not consider Magnuson Park for office space for Lifelong Recreation? LCC has been told that there is plenty of office space at Magnuson and we know that transit service is excellent. This alternate location would mean the current configuration of the Laurelhurst Community Center would not have to be altered to accommodate office space—saving dollars and the promise of the Pro Parks Levy that Laurelhurst would finally have a center to meet its needs.

At his presentation to the Budget Committee, Mr. Williams stated that Lifelong Recreation has always wanted its own community center. Interestingly, the Parks Department did not seek input from the Lifelong Recreation Advisory Council regarding siting these services in Laurelhurst.

4. Closing the Laurelhurst Community Center violates the Parks Department’s own guidelines for distribution of community centers. Those guidelines state that “A community center shall be located within one mile of every Seattle household…” This is considered “desirable.” Parks guidelines further state that it is “acceptable” to provide a community center within 1 ½ miles of every household. The Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center is approximately 2.2 miles away and Magnuson Park is 1.9 miles.

5. It is hazardous for Laurelhurst neighbors to use other northeast Seattle centers. Crossing Sand Point Way to reach the Ravenna-Eckstein Center is a dangerous endeavor. One Laurelhurst neighbor was hit by a car while crossing in a crosswalk and likely has permanent brain injuries after months of hospitalization. In another location at 40th Avenue NE and Sand Point Way, a neighbor was killed in a car accident.

Many families in Laurelhurst only have one car and walking and biking are the only options. It’s dangerous to cross Sand Point Way and it isn’t really feasible to pack up baby strollers and toddlers to take the bus to Magnuson Park.

Why is the Laurelhurst Community Center important to Laurelhurst neighbors?

We are sure that you have heard from a number of our neighbors about the many activities, programs and events offered at the center that they appreciate. The center is a way to build community and get to know neighbors. It provides healthy activities for families, kids and seniors with fitness classes, pre-school enrichment programming and art classes—just to name a few popular programs. The Center has the largest basketball program in the City with 32 teams and its nerf soccer program can’t be beat.

The reason many neighbors treasure the Laurelhurst Community Center is because it took so very long to get a center in the first place. In 1927, the Laurelhurst community council formed an LID (local improvement district) and purchased the four tracks of land where the Laurelhurst Community Center and playfield are located. The community then gave that property to the Park Department "for park and playfield purposes." With the Great Depression, times were hard, but the original one-room community center was finally completed in 1935.

It also took a long time to get the funding to expand the center. Expansion of the Laurelhurst Community Center was a priority in the 1993 Parks ComPlan. LCC worked for over a decade to get the funding to expand the center to meet the needs of the neighborhood. Finally, in the 2000 voter-approved Pro Parks Levy, Laurelhurst received $2.9M to expand the center. The expansion added 4,150 square feet to the existing community center and retained the architectural character of the original building. New spaces include a multipurpose room, a commercial kitchen, an activity room, break-out space, an elevator, kiln room, a new lobby and a fireplace room. The center is well-used, offers programming comparable to other centers, generates revenue for the City and is the pride of our neighborhood.

According to 2010 tax records, the property and improvements are now valued at $29,416,100. The community gave this property to the Parks Department for a community center and playfield—not to serve as a satellite site for senior and special population programming to the exclusion of our families. The Center currently provides programming for our seniors and special needs population. We do not want the Mayor’s proposed budget to displace the much-needed vital programming, activities and services to our neighbors. That is not what we bargained for in giving the property to the Parks Department.

Please we implore you to restore the funds for the Laurelhurst Community Center. Thank you for considering our views and the views of our neighbors.

Sincerely,
Jeannie Hale, President Emily Dexter, Parks Committee Chair
jeannieh@serv.net edexter4@comcast.net

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