Free swim may be sunk

Free summer swimming for kids could end and financial support for senior centers and community centers would be trimmed under a 2005 budget proposal from the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department.

The plan, recently unveiled by department staff, also calls for closing wading pools, and the outdoor and indoor swimming pools at Shadle Park.

On top of that, park users would face higher fees and ticket charges. Some youth programs would be cut.

The proposal is part of a $1 million reallocation of costs sought in the $13 million budget for the parks and recreation department for next year.

“It’s going to be painful,” said Marion Severud, community relations supervisor for the department.

The finance committee of the Park Board is expected to take public comment on the proposal during a meeting on Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. at Finch Arboretum’s Woodland Center.

The Park Board will consider the budget at its regular Nov. 11 meeting, and will take preliminary comment during its public forum session at the end of its October monthly meeting on Thursday. Both Park Board meetings begin at 1:30 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall.

“There is nothing cast in concrete,” Severud said.

The cuts are part of a wider crisis at City Hall where escalating costs for labor and health care are outstripping annual increases in tax revenue. The park department could face another $1 million cut in 2007, officials said.

Word of the impending cuts has filtered through the community, and representatives of some of the groups that would lose money have been showing up at recent meetings of the City Council and Park Board finance committee to argue for continued funding.

The city’s five senior centers plus the Project Joy musical performance organization would lose a combined total of $89,000 under the proposal.

“They are completely disregarding the seniors and youth,” said Celina Pearce, a member of the Hillyard Senior Center, which is housed in the Northeast Community Center, 4001 N. Cook.

The Hillyard Senior Center gets nearly 5,000 senior visits a month and provides low-priced lunches, recreation programs and medical screenings, among its services.

“Why don’t they start cutting administrative positions?” Pearce asked. “We don’t want to start a negative campaign, but it doesn’t look like we are getting anywhere by being nice.”

The Southside Senior Activity and Community Center at 27th and Ray would lose $27,000 out of its $124,000 allocation from the park department. Pauli Chapman, president of the Southside center board, said in a letter to Mayor Jim West that the loss could threaten the ability of the center to stay open.

The Northeast Youth Center, which provides before- and after-school care at the Northeast Community Center, would absorb a cut of $145,000.

Kimbre Vega, director of the youth center, said she is reducing staff, narrowing the center’s service area and freezing some salaries to save the money. Plus, parents will face an increased charge of $6 a week for the program, which she likens to an indoor camp. The youth center will continue to offer its popular “Beyond Pink” annual Barbie doll party, she said.

“I feel pretty optimistic,” said Vega. She explained she has succeeded so far in keeping the center open to serve low-income families in the Hillyard area.

The Kids of Summer drop-in youth program would be cut, saving $95,000. Three of the city’s community centers would see reduced funding from the park department at a combined total of $114,000.

City Councilman Brad Stark, who serves on the Park Board, said the proposal by the department is just the first step in coming up with budget adjustments for 2005. “All functions of the park department are on the table …” Stark said.

Under City Charter, the Park Board has autonomy over its budget, which includes an 8 percent allocation from the general fund based on expenditures from the previous budget year.

The two swimming pools at Shadle Park would close in part because of their age but also because of school district plans to rebuild Shadle Park High School. The district has wanted the pool property for its school project. The indoor pool would close after Labor Day. The outdoor pool would not reopen next summer. Also, wading pools would be closed. Nearly $60,000 would be saved by pool closures.

Possible fees for children’s swimming next summer has been referred to a committee of the Park Board, but the proposed budget calls for raising $75,000 in additional swimming fees, including children’s admissions and increased swimming lesson charges.

One administrative accounting position is being eliminated, saving $58,000. A division director’s job, vacated when Hal McGlathery retired this year, is still being kept in the budget, although a replacement has not been sought.

In addition to cuts, the park department proposes increasing the cost of sponsorships, parking and tickets at Riverfront Park by a total of $150,000. Another $55,000 would come from park use fees and $70,000 from higher fees for sports and recreation classes.