My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog

This would be devastating to the Green Lake School community. We are the only elementary school that provides a swim program to our kids throughout the elementary years, thanks in large part to the help and cooperation of the Evans Pool. The swimming program is an essential component to our children's development and offers important safety and survival skills. I hope they make the right choice and allow this facility to continue to provide for our greater community.

It would be a bad move to shut down Green Lake as it's a major hub for everyone north of downtown. Think of how many people use that pool and the adjacent facilities. Young, old — and everyone in-between. I just can't imagine doing something so stupid as to shut it down. I'm guessing it provides Parks and Rec with a huge revenue.

That said, if this was an issue, why would Green Lake continue to accept money for summer programs? I just signed my son up to the Summer Swim League that runs through August! Seems terribly unlikely.

Thanks for your comment, Green Laker Grrl. I totally agree – shutting down the Green Lake Community Center and/or Evans Pool would be devastating not just for our neighborhood, but for all of North Seattle.

From what I heard at the Community Center Advisory Council meeting, **nobody** at Parks and Rec knows which facilities will be shut down. Until the Mayor makes his announcement on June 1, it's really anybody's guess. :(

All park facilities are still accepting program registrations for the summer. I did notice this note on the cover of the North Central Summer 2010 catalog:

“Important Notice: The information listed in this brochure was developed based on levels of service approved in the 2010 budget. At the time of printing, the Mayor and City Council had not finished deliberations on mid-year budget reductions, so there may be changes. Please contact your local community center for updates.” [I assuming that means: "please contact your local community center after June 1 for updates"...]

What a horrible situation, especially for families that are trying to plan their summers. :(

Thanks again, Green Laker Grrl, and let's keep our fingers crossed that GLCC and Evans Pool will dodge the bullet on June 1.

-amy
my green lake

I'll be sure to share that information. I do know that, according to Katie Gray, Seattle Parks and Recreation’s North Recreation Manager, it would be impossible to simply trim the budget at all of the facilities, because of safety reasons (i.e. a certain level of service/maintenance needs to be maintained in order to keep the facilities safe).

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I don't pretend to know the first thing about operating a city pool, but I have to believe that a pool that reduces its hours by, say, 50%, would see a reduction in operating costs because of the need for fewer staff, less maintenance, lower utility fees, etc, etc. And, of course, if volunteers can be used rather than paid staff in some areas, at least where liability issues aren't raised, there's an additional reduction. The city hasn't experienced this issue before, as far as I know, so it may be that there's little precedence for taking a closer look at what's possible.

It would be a bad move to shut down Green Lake as it's a major hub for everyone north of downtown. Think of how many people use that pool and the adjacent facilities. Young, old — and everyone in-between. I just can't imagine doing something so stupid as to shut it down. I'm guessing it provides Parks and Rec with a huge revenue.

That said, if this was an issue, why would Green Lake continue to accept money for summer programs? I just signed my son up to the Summer Swim League that runs through August! Seems terribly unlikely.

Thanks for your comment, Green Laker Grrl. I totally agree – shutting down the Green Lake Community Center and/or Evans Pool would be devastating not just for our neighborhood, but for all of North Seattle.

From what I heard at the Community Center Advisory Council meeting, **nobody** at Parks and Rec knows which facilities will be shut down. Until the Mayor makes his announcement on June 1, it's really anybody's guess. :(

All park facilities are still accepting program registrations for the summer. I did notice this note on the cover of the North Central Summer 2010 catalog:

“Important Notice: The information listed in this brochure was developed based on levels of service approved in the 2010 budget. At the time of printing, the Mayor and City Council had not finished deliberations on mid-year budget reductions, so there may be changes. Please contact your local community center for updates.” [I assuming that means: "please contact your local community center after June 1 for updates"...]

What a horrible situation, especially for families that are trying to plan their summers. :(

Thanks again, Green Laker Grrl, and let's keep our fingers crossed that GLCC and Evans Pool will dodge the bullet on June 1.

-amy
my green lake

I'll be sure to share that information. I do know that, according to Katie Gray, Seattle Parks and Recreation’s North Recreation Manager, it would be impossible to simply trim the budget at all of the facilities, because of safety reasons (i.e. a certain level of service/maintenance needs to be maintained in order to keep the facilities safe).

—

I don't pretend to know the first thing about operating a city pool, but I have to believe that a pool that reduces its hours by, say, 50%, would see a reduction in operating costs because of the need for fewer staff, less maintenance, lower utility fees, etc, etc. And, of course, if volunteers can be used rather than paid staff in some areas, at least where liability issues aren't raised, there's an additional reduction. The city hasn't experienced this issue before, as far as I know, so it may be that there's little precedence for taking a closer look at what's possible.