The Laurelhurst Community Club learned that "buried in the 2022 Mayor's budget is the closure of one of the City's 26 community centers. Ours."
Here is information LCC sent to the community in a recent newsletter:
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Here is Laurelhurst Community Club's (LCC) letter to the City Council:
October 14th, 2021
Seattle City Council
600 4th Ave
Seattle, WA 98104
Dear Seattle City Councilmembers and Budget Chair Mosqueda:
Laurelhurst Community Club applauds the intense efforts to form the Council's priorities in the 2022 City Budget. As the City grows in population density, the challenges have also increased.
We offer the following comments for your attention to consider for the City Council's 2022 budget actions:
1. We strongly support the "hands on" programs that elevate the living situations of homeless individuals. YouthCare is a very effective organization that transforms the lives of the youth with self sustaining skills to become the wonderful people that that are as they grow into adulthood. The LEAD program, which was pioneered in the University District was also very effective with the one-on-one approach to direct services to those living unsheltered. LCC strongly supports funding for these, and similar type programs in the 2022 City budget.
2. Buried in the 2022 Mayor's budget, however, is the closure of one of the 26 City's community centers, and changing its purpose from a facility serving the community to a revenue generating one as a "premium rental facility". It is located at 4554 NE 41st Street. In the past, this center has been rented during the non-programming times by Parks & Recreation, and that surplus rental use should continue. The community center has concurrently been staffed for public programming with a variety of classes, a piano, meeting spaces and annual community -building events to serve Seattle's residents.
Each of Seattle's community centers offer programming funded in our City Budget to provide wellness and lifelong learning classes for seniors, classes and open gyms for families with young children, after school activities and public meeting spaces that work to build community. Our city's community centers, some large or small, are a place of "welcome" and reflect the values of inclusiveness and open opportunities for all ages and backgrounds to enjoy. Canceling the small staffing budget of $192,000 and closing only ONE community center and using its funding for unspecified "pop up" programming is not the right approach to serving all parts of Seattle. Funding for extra pilot programs, not connected to community centers can be achieved through the extra rental fees from all community centers that have surplus time available. Another example of a better way to improve equitable access to recreation is what recently done by the users of this Playfield and the community center this summer. They privately contributed $11,000 to build two new pickleball/badminton courts at Lakeridge Park in the Rainier Beach neighborhood, in addition to the $11,000 they raised to build one court at this local playfield. This was a win-win approach to better parks for all, not just canceling one for another.
On an historical note, the original land and community center building was donated to the City by its surrounding neighbors in 1927 as a "recreational" facility for the entire public. Parks & Recreation has operated it consecutively for 94 years with programming. Closing a public facilities such as this one is counter to the City's mission which states , "Seattle Parks and Recreation promotes healthy people, a healthy environment and strong communities".
3. The community center slated for closure at 4554 NE 41st Street also offers public programming to families in the neighborhood elementary school adjacent to it. Students attending this neighborhood school are 46% of color, and 31% are from low income families. In addition, this community center is open to families with siblings receiving care at Seattle Children's Hospital bordering it, as well as for the diverse University of Washington student families four blocks away on limited incomes. It is important that affordable public programming remain open.
4. City Council's Green New Deal supports walkable neighborhoods to combat Climate Change by getting people out of their cars. Seattle's population increased by 23.8% in the past 10 years, and near this community center, 1303 new residential units will soon be occupied at nearby Union Bay Place NE and NE Blakeley St. by the end of 2021. This proposed closure would then require 3800++ community center users to have to DRIVE to another facility miles away to access the City's recreational programs. Eliminating any walkable local community center or library opposes the principles of the New Green Deal, and puts an undue burden on seniors and families with young children to own, and drive a car. This closure especially makes no sense with so many parents now working at home, and wanting to use local community centers more than ever.
5. Exacerbating the proposed elimination of the 4554 NE 41st community center is also the full closure of the next closest center, the Magnuson Park Community Center, from the fall of 2021 through early fall of 2022. The complete lack of programming along this NE sector of the City for a year, is poor foresight of the Parks & Recreation's decision makers. If anything, the budgets should be increased at nearby centers to provide more needed classes and programming.
6. Further, the process of the proposed closure was not transparent. For example, as the plans for the new Magnuson Community Center were formed, there were two public meetings and open houses on April 1st, 2019 and August 16, 2019, to gain public feedback about the future of their community center. For the closure of the community center on NE 41st Street, the Parks & Recreation Department had ZERO outreach, and there were no public meetings. This is not the fair and open process for our city. This community center closure was not even disclosed to the City Councilmember from District 4 by anyone in the Parks & Recreation Department, nor Ben Noble, representing the Mayor's Office. It is just buried on page 103 in the City's Budget book.
7. Closing ANY of the City's community centers, and converting them to an exclusive private rental facility sets the wrong precedent that Parks & Recreation can make unilateral decisions about the use and future of the City's public facilities. This year's budget was supposed to be a "no cuts" year after the severe closures and budget cuts that had to be done during the Covid-19 crisis, and residents are awaiting the openings of closed community centers. The continued rental fees generated from private events and use from this community center, and the other 25 should continue to improve in 2022. These funds can then be directed to "pop up activities" directed to any area of the City as needed.
All of the City community centers need to reopen in 2022, as did other public facilities and schools in 2021.
We request that the City Council correct the Mayor's budget proposal, and restore the 4554 NE 41st Street community center back to a public facility with programming funded in the 2022 budget. Additionally, we request that all of the City's community centers remain as a public facilities, not exclusive private rentals, as City of Seattle assets under the Department of Parks & Recreation.
Thank you for your attention and action on our requests for the 2022 City Budget.
A four decade Laurelhurst resident sent this email to Councilmember Pedersen:
What is the situation with the very clever and secretive planned closing of the Laurelhurst Community Center? And why? Buried in the mayor’s plans on page 130, I was told, hoping no one would find it.
Does the city council have a problem with community centers which serve neighborhoods? Has this come to the point of total destruction of community? Obviously so. I would like an explanation and justification, please, and no political rhetoric. I voted for you. Let’s get some answers.
Malik, a legislative aide responded on behalf of Alex:
Councilmember Pedersen shares your concerns about the community center.
Please know that Mayor Durkan's decision to change the Laurelhurst Community Center was a complete surprise to our office and he let the Mayor’s Office and the Parks Superintendent (Jesus Aguirre) know of his and the Laurelhurst community’s disappointment. Based on his review of the Mayor’s $7 billion budget proposal, it was totally unnecessary for the Mayor’s budget team and Parks Department to cut that community service.
This short-sighted decision is on top of the Parks Department’s unacceptably slow renovation process for the Magnuson Park community center which has also been closed. Councilmember Pedersen has been pushing the Parks Department to renovate the Magnuson Park Community Center ASAP.
Because the Laurelhurst Community Center would also be closed, our office has been looking into ways to rectify it, though we cannot make any promises because it would require the support of 4 other Councilmembers to reverse the Mayor's unfortunate budget decision .
Here are some immediate steps for attempting to reverse this course of action.
EMAIL: Send an email all City Councilmembers directly with a subject line similar to: “Restore the Community Center for Northeast Seattle at Laurelhurst”]. Get others to send emails, too.
To reach all 9 Councilmembers, email your message to Council@seattle.gov
CALL INTO PUBLIC COMMENT: Another option is to call into the early public comment periods during the upcoming Budget Sessions on Oct 26, 27 and 28. Those three days are dedicated to proposed budget amendments. I drafted an amendment to restore Laurelhurst, but was not able to obtain any co-sponsors from my City Council colleagues. The best day to call is Wednesday, Oct 27 when we are discussing the Parks Department.
These are Public Comment periods at each Committee meeting are different than Council’s remaining Public Hearings. Calling into the Committees would be ideal because they occur earlier in the process than the next Public Hearings on Nov 1 and Nov 18, CM Pedersen feels the momentum for reversal of this action will have passed.
For the public comment instructions to register for the public comment periods for the Budget Sessions on Oct 26, 27 and 28, click on the following link:
https://www.seattle.gov/council/committees/public- comment
It is best to register around 7:30 am because the speaking slots fill up quickly for the 9:30 a.m. meetings. I hope the above provide some immediate steps you and others in District 4 may take to help us Restore funding to keep Laurelhurst Community Center open!
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