Staff photo/June Collins-McKiernan The Carol Edwards Center is the site of many community-oriented Woodinville Parks and Recreation Department events. The City Council, in an effort to cut costs, has voted to shut the center down.
An overflow crowd of concerned citizens packed the Woodinville City Council chambers on Tuesday, most of whom were there in opposition to the council’s earlier decision to eliminate parks and recreation programs as well as community center rentals, effectively shutting down the Carol Edwards Center.
The cost-cutting measures reflected the majority of the council’s desires to close an approximately half-million dollar budget shortfall projected for 2011.
A dozen citizens were permitted to speak during public comment, including several members of Woodinville’s special education community, and both sides of the issue were represented during the 38-minute session before Mayor Chuck Price shut it down.
In the end — four and a half hours later — the council passed a motion to delay closure of the CEC until the end of the center’s fall programs, or December 31 of this year, to honor scheduling commitments already contracted.
Council had previously set a September 30 deadline for closure.
In a new wrinkle, council also passed a motion to place an operations levy on the November election ballot for citizens to vote on keeping the center open permanently through raising property taxes.
Placing the levy on the ballot, according to City Manager Richard Leahy, will cost the city "somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000" and needs to be filed by August 10.
According to councilmember Jeff Glickman, for the levy to pass, citizens would need to approve a 20 percent property tax increase — an obvious unlikelihood in this economic climate.
"You can petition to fund the CEC through a ballot initiative and let the voters decide," he told the crowd.
Deputy Mayor Bernie Talmas then reminded the throng that only 26 percent of the city’s recreation program users are Woodinville residents.
Councilmember Susan Boundy-Sanders said that during her election campaign she knocked on 5,000 doors in the city and taxpayers were "overwhelmingly" more interested in roads and sidewalks than parks and recreation.
"We don’t have the money to continue these programs and they’re not meeting the priorities of our citizens," she said. She added she was happy to send a levy vote to the people. "I hope it passes," she said, "but I don’t think it’s good stewardship to spend so much (money)."
Councilmembers Scott Hageman and Liz Aspen expressed frustration that council and staff had not fully explored other revenue options.
"I think some of my colleagues don’t have a firm grasp on budgeting and finances," Glickman retorted.
Councilmember Paulette Bauman was concerned about retaining critical education programs, and made a motion for staff to identify alternative locations for the city’s special education — specifically the Woodinville Wranglers — and pre-school programs.
The motion passed 6-1, with Aspen opposed.
The motion to delay the closure of the CEC until December 31 passed 4-3, with Talmas, Hageman and Aspen voting "no."
Hageman moved to adjust Woodinville Field rental rates to "reflect competitive market prices," ostensibly suggesting that Glickman’s previous call to raise fees by 348 percent (a $20 fee would become approximately $70) was unreasonable and would send field users to look elsewhere to spend their limited recreation dollars.
"I don’t think we can afford to be competitive," Boundy-Sanders said, and the motion failed by a 4-3 vote, with Glickman, Talmas, Price and Boundy-Sanders opposed.
Boundy-Sanders then moved to impose a $5 parking fee for non-residents visiting the CEC, Wilmot Park, City Hall and Woodinville Fields.
The motion failed in a 5-2 vote.
The continued public hearing on Ordinance No. 489 — the downtown plan — was moved to the August 3 meeting, and as the clock struck 12, a second round of public comments began. But the mayor was selective:
"Is there anyone here that wants to speak on something other than the Carol Edwards Center?"
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Council member Glickman is correct when he says "I think some of my colleagues don’t have a firm grasp on budgeting and finances," The problem is he is appears to be confused as to who those council members are.