Because of budget cuts, Seattle Parks and Recreation will have to cut back the number of wading pools that are open this summer. So Parks is looking for “partners” to help fund some wading pools.
Seattle Parks currently has 25 wading pools, but 10 will close because of budget problems. (However, three of those are being converted to water spray parks, which don’t require staffing.) That leaves five wading pools that will be open seven days a week, and another 10 open three days a week.
Parks hopes to expand the schedule to increase family recreational opportunities in a way that is economically and geographically equitable. Some communities may be more organized or have different access to funding sources, so Parks would pair wading pools as a way to ensure balanced and equal recreational opportunities across our city. Under this partnership, Parks would keep the wading pool open one additional day each week in the neighborhood from which the funds came, and Parks would select a second site that the contribution would fund as well.
Opportunities include:
· Sponsoring two wading pools one day per week through the summer at a cost of $8,800
· Sponsoring two wading pools for three days per week during the last two weeks of summer at a cost of $6,600
· Sponsoring a one day wading pool operation for a special event at a cost of $650
· Receiving recognition on the Seattle Parks and Recreation website
· Sponsoring an unfunded wading pool three days per week through the summer
For more information, or for organizations interested in a partnership with Parks and Recreation to provide more access to wading pools this summer, please contact Bill Dougherty, 206-684-7185, [email protected], or Kathy Whitman, 206-684-7099, [email protected], no later than May 1, 2011.