Government, Parks & Greenspace

Seattle Parks & Recreation Budget Crisis

Seattle Parks and Recreation Dept is facing a budget crisis. There is a $2.5 million shortfall this year, and this may force a closure of one or both of Ballard’s Neighborhood Community Centers (Loyal Heights Community Center at 2101 NW 77th, or Ballard Community Center at 6020 28th Ave NW).

In part this may be due to the opportunities for new and improved parks afforded by the two Parks Levy funds approved by voters. Establishing new parks adds to the base of parks the department must maintain, but adds no funds to maintain them once built.  The current city budget situation aggravates the situation by cutting the budget to service and maintain all parks city-wide.

The City is holding budget hearings to solicit public input on the whole city budget:

2011 Budget Public Hearings
Wednesday, April 28, 2010  AND  Tuesday May 4, 2010:

Wednesday, April 28 at New Holly Gathering Hall
7504 32 Ave South, Seattle, 98108
5  PM Sign-in
5:30 PM Public Hearing

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 North Seattle Community College Cafeteria
9600 College Way North, Seattle, 98103
5 PM Sign-in
5:30 PM Public Hearing

In Tim Gallagher’s resignation letter as the Director of Parks and Recreation,  he states:

Voter approval of several recent levys shows  the tremendous public support for parks and recreation, unfortunately operation and maintenance resources have not been provided to the department to match the public’s request.  The result is a park and recreation system that is now unsustainable and in jeopardy of collapse.

NPR’s Gary Davis interviewed Tim Gallagher this morning (April 28) and you can hear or read a transcript of  the interview here.

More information on the community centers is available in the MyBallard article, and the King 5 article The Seattle Times article covers Gallagher’s resignation and the budget crisis.

Continue reading Seattle Parks & Recreation Budget Crisis →

Crown Hill Center, Parks & Greenspace

Our New Crown Hill Park Needs a Name….

We received the following press release from Seattle Parks and Recreation about naming 3 new parks in Seattle. One of the parks is our new Crown Hill Park.  They are actively seeking submissions of names from the community now until June 2nd, 2010. Please submit suggestions for park names in writing by June 2, 2010, and include an explanation of how your suggestion matches the naming criteria. Send suggestions to Seattle Parks and Recreation, Park Naming Committee, 100 Dexter Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98109, or by e-mail to paula.hoff@seattle.gov.

Guidelines for park names:

  • Park names can be based on geographic locations, historic or cultural significance, and natural or geological features.
  • A park may be named after a person deceased for a minimum of three years who made a significant contribution to parks and/or recreation.

SEATTLE PARKS SEEKS NAMES FOR THREE PARKS

Seattle Parks and Recreation invites the public to submit potential names for parks in the Ballard and West Seattle neighborhoods. Suggestions for names are due to the Park Naming Committee by Wednesday, June 2.

Continue reading Our New Crown Hill Park Needs a Name…. →

Crown Hill Center, Land Use/Zoning, Parks & Greenspace

Poll: Crown Hill Community Center Playground

The Crown Hill Community Center recently received a Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Small and Simple grant for $17000 to work on upgrading the play ground at the Crown Hill Center.

We received an appeal from Johnny Otto, Director of Small Faces Child Development Center for community input in the form of an online survey. Please take a few minutes  to complete the survey (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DV2HHF9). Your input is important to ensure the needs of the community are met. The play ground area is marked in red, and the park area is marked in green on the map below.


View Crown Hill Center Playground in a larger map

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Crime/Emergency

Stranger Danger in Our Midst

We received a forwarded e-mail today (Wednesday, April 21st) from a North Beach parent and an e-mail forwarded from Small Faces as well. This is published here to let everyone know and so we can be alert for this particular individual. A good opportunity to speak with your children about the danger of speaking with strangers. Please call 911 immediately if you spot the individual.


View Stranger Sighted April 2010 in a larger map

The North Beach e-mail:

IMPORTANT:  We have had two incidents of stranger danger the past few weeks so we need you to be informed and talk to your children about stranger danger protocols.

Last week, one of our student’s grandmothers was walking up on 24th and saw a man urinating in the bushes at the bottom of the north stairs by the portables.  Today we had a man coming up the stairs as a child was returning from the bathroom.  As soon as he saw her, he ran.  One of the 5th grade teachers and I searched the area, and our district security officer followed up by casing the area in both instances.  We could not find anyone by the description given to us.

Staff has been alerted to the stranger, I have requested that Safety and Security look at installing a gate, and we will talk with students regarding stranger danger.   We are requiring all children from the portables go to bathroom in pairs.  We are on high alert and will take all precautions necessary.

The Small Faces e-mail:

Continue reading Stranger Danger in Our Midst →