SPAC to Seattle City Council: Please Fund Delridge

This letter was sent to the City Council from the SPAC today:

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Dear Esteemed Council Members,

Upon review of the City Council website, it seems that the Seattle Parks and Recreation funding request for construction of the Delridge skatepark may be cut from the budget.  This cut would be a huge setback to the West Seattle community who has already mobilized and provided overwhelming support for the skatepark at the first public design meeting, and initiated planning and community outreach events with the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center to actively program the skatepark.  Of all the various public meetings we have attended for the skatepark planning and siting process, the support shown by the local community is by far the greatest we have witnessed.  Please help keep this momentum and give the West Seattle youth access to this healthy community resource.

We understand that the City of Seattle has a significant budget shortfall and we are empathetic to the difficult job ahead of you.  We understand that budget cuts are necessary and that these cuts will lead to disappointment for some.  However, we do not understand how it makes sense to cut funds for a free, healthy activity for people of all ages, races and genders during a time when folks don’t have a lot of money to spend on other forms of entertainment.  Further, it does not make sense to cut projects that have already been initiated and have a funded design (the Seattle Parks of Recreation Skate Park Advisory Committee [SPAC] used limited available funds from the “skate dot” to fund the design process) and a designer under contract.  If construction funding is cut, the design money, money provided by the City Council solely for the purpose of creating skateable terrain, will be wasted.

The SPAC is very thankful that the Seattle Parks for All Levy passed and included approximately $1.5 million dollars for skateparks over the next six years.  Unfortunately, the Delridge skatepark is not included in the Levy and $1.5 million dollars only funds a small percentage of the potential skateparks identified in the Levy – this is far from a complaint, but is a reality (Lower Woodland Skatepark cost just under $1 million to design and construct).   The Delridge skatepark is the cheapest option for putting another skatepark on the map given the community networking and support is complete (as you know this does not come easy), the design is funded, and the Seattle Parks Department is motivated and onboard to make this project happen.   Alternatively, each of the skatepark projects identified in the Levy will have to undergo the same public and community outreach process we have already completed at Delridge and we have no guarantee that opponents will not hinder these future projects.  The extremely drawn out process and waste of public funds for the Lower Woodland and Seattle Center skateparks should serve as a prime reminder of the power of this opposition.

We know that the budget deficit is due to factors that lie far outside City of Seattle’s control.  But we urge you to remember the progress that has been made to date on this skatepark project and to attempt to find some way to include funding for this project in the 2009 budget.  People from all walks of life in the Delridge community are engaged in the skatepark development process and the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department has responded by showing unprecedented support for this project.  Please give us a chance to finish the good things we have started.  The kids in South and West Seattle deserve better.

Thank you for your consideration of this important issue.

Ryan Barth
Chairperson, Seattle Parks and Recreation Skate Park Advisory Committee (SPAC)

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