The awards will be presented at the seventh annual recognition ceremony, which will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 29 2011 at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, 719 S King St.

The Denny Awards acknowledge and honor the crucial role volunteers play in neighborhood parks, community centers, and recreation programs throughout the city. In 2010, more than 43,000 volunteers donated over 360,000 hours of service to Seattle Parks and Recreation.

They do everything from pulling invasive ivy and planting native trees in our parks to coaching kids’ sports to working as docents at selected parks to serving on various advisory councils and boards.

“Volunteers are one of our most important resources,” said Acting Superintendent Christopher Williams. “Without the help of the community, we could not run the first rate park and recreation system that Seattle-ites depend on.”

The name of the awards reflects the early commitment by the Denny family to the preservation of parkland and open space for public use and enjoyment. David Denny donated land that became the first Seattle park, Denny Park, in 1864.

Denny Awards nominees should meet the following minimum qualifications. The nominee must have:

• ·         Demonstrated exceptional stewardship to parks and/or recreation;
• ·         Provided stellar leadership related to enhancing and preserving parks and/or recreation programs;
• ·         Demonstrated a significant personal commitment of time and effort to assist Seattle Parks and Recreation, and
• ·         Gained respect of community peers for efforts to help Seattle Parks and Recreation.

The nomination form for the award, specific criteria and related information (included with this news release) are available by contacting Adrienne Caver-Hall, Seattle Parks and Recreation, 206-684-7710, or Adrienne.caver-hall@seattle.gov. To download an electronic version of the nomination form, visit: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/denny_awards.

The combination of increased public demand for programs and services and reduced funding requires a long-term, sustainable solution that will enable Seattle Parks and Recreation to pay for facilities in order to continue to contribute to the strength and vibrancy of our community.  Parks absorbed a $10 million budget reduction in 2011, and new revenue sources are severely limited due to legal caps.

The Seattle City Council tasked (“SLI”) the City Council and Seattle Parks and Recreation with engaging in a city-wide, in-depth dialogue about its community centers, and how to continue to deliver the programs and services citizens expect and cherish in the face of staggering budget cuts.

This SLI is aimed at reducing Parks’ dependence on the General Fund while supporting new funding strategies for the future.  The current recommendation will result in an immediate impact to the community in the form of a reduction and elimination of Parks services, as well the loss of Parks jobs.

Specifically, it was announced that Parks will:

• Create five geographical service areas, each with five community centers in it. Based on the condition of the building and the cost of maintaining it, past use of the building for drop-in use, paid use, and rentals, and the number of patrons served by scholarships, each will be assigned a service level: 1, 2a, or 2b.  This includes the heavily used downtown areas around Pike Place Market.
• Raise the number of hours for Service Level 1 centers and adjust them upward or downward for Service Level 2a and 2b centers.
• Eliminate approximately 13 full-time equivalent (“FTE”) jobs to save ~$1.25 million and will affect 75 employees with cuts in their working hours.
• Hold public meetings later this year to determine what programming the communities within each service area would like to see at their centers.

While budget cuts are inevitable in this economy, the impact to Parks and Recreation is especially critical because so many families who are already struggling rely on the Parks for a variety of social services at little to no cost.  These services range from childcare and youth programs (e.g. before and after school programs) to senior assistance programs.

Many of these programs will be cut, or operational hours will be reduced, creating additional burdens on the City’s social services (police, human services, etc.). Now that students are back to school and the winter months are approaching, the demand for these services will only grow.  The linked Parks fact sheet provides an overview of the Parks’ footprint in our city and its impact on Seattle’s jobs, income and quality of life.

Lower Woodland Park

Seattle Parks and Recreation, the Green Lake community and sportsfield users are celebrating the renovated Lower Woodland Park fields #2 & #7 on Saturday, December 5, 2009 from 9 – 11 a.m. The event will include a special soccer clinic and games hosted by current Major League Soccer players and professional trainers, and a ribbon cutting ceremony. The fields’ inauguration is co-sponsored by Seattle Youth Soccer Association and Woodland Soccer Club.

The fields now have new green synthetic turf with markings for lacrosse, Ultimate Frisbee and soccer. As one of Mayor Nickels Seattle Jobs Forward projects, these two fields were planned, designed and constructed in less than one year.

“The local sports communities, and especially our youth soccer association, have been working hard for many years to get these fields renovated and into great playing condition,” said Ed D’Alessandro, Executive Director of Seattle Youth Soccer Association. “We are happy with the quick construction time and excited to have them back in play.”
The Seattle voters approved the Parks and Green Spaces Levy in November 2008 and this Levy provided the funding for the renovation. The original Olmsted design included playfields that have been a vital part of Woodland Park throughout its history.

For more information, please contact Parks Project Manager Ted Holden at (206) 684-7201; e-mail ted.holden@seattle.gov.

68th & Greenwood is a possible location for a new park.

There’s a good chance that the Phinney-Greenwood corridor will get a new park in the next few years. The biggest question isn’t whether the neighborhod should get a park, it’s where the park should go. If neighborhood residents have their way, it will be on the northeast corner of 68th and Greenwood. The site was formerly a service station, and will soon become the temporary home of the Greenwood Fire Station. After that, though, it could become a centrally-located park with a great view.

Nearly 70 neighbors got together at the Greenwood Library with representatives from Seattle Parks and Recreation to voice their opinions about which parcel of land the City should buy for the park. The parks levy gave the City about $24 million to spend on new parkland, split between 20 different neighborhoods that were identified as lacking adequate park space, including Phinney Ridge-Greenwood.

The 11,000 square-foot spot at 68th was not the only option on the table. Four other sites were discussed, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

• Another 11,000 square-foot parcel at 83rd and Greenwood, which is currently a dry cleaner.
• .38 acres on 85th St, across from Fred Meyer. Formerly a Pizza Hut, now a chained-off vacant lot.
• 81st and Greenwood, across the street from the library. Currently home to three businesses.
• 87th and Greenwood, where there’s currently a wall, mid-block, that connects to a large parking lot in the rear of several businesses.

Of these other four sites, only the 81st and Greenwood location received significant support. As the Parks & Rec representatives pointed out, though, the City would prefer to purchase land from a willing buyer, and relocating three different businesses would be difficult.

68th and Greenwood seemed to be the overwhelming favorite because, aside from the fact that it’s not in use right now, it’s halfway between Greenwood and Sandel parks to the north and Woodland Park to the south. It also wouldn’t displace a current business, only a lot that several people described as “blighted.”

There was some concern about cleanup costs, because the site was formerly a gas station, but a neighbor who had looked into the matter told the audience that the underground storage tanks were removed more than a decade ago, and recent environmental assessments said the area isn’t contaminated. The assessed value of the land is just under $1 million, which probably falls within the city’s budget for Phinney-Greenwood parkland.

Parks and Rec stressed that they wanted to have a backup plan, but support for a park on 68th St. was nearly unanimous. There’s no official timeline yet, but the next step involves the City making an offer for the land.

More information about the parks levy is available from City of Seattle Parks, which should be updated as the project moves forward.