Community group leads effort to save Si View facility

Published 1:01 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

NORTH BEND – As King County puts the final touches on its mothballing of the Si View Community Center, a group of residents prepare for its push to inform voters of the important decision facing them in February.

Despite the darkness that will define the center in the upcoming months, members of the community group Friends of Si View say the future of the facility could be brighter than ever if voters decide to keep it up and running.

“We’re in a short-term crisis here, but in the long run there are many possibilities,” said group co-chair Gardiner Vinnedge.

Those possibilities are dependent on a Feb. 4 special election that would create the Si View Metropolitan Park District. At the same time voters will be asked to chose five people to serve on its board of commissioners.

If approved, the measure would allow the board the authority to establish levy rates – expected to be between 28 and 35 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation – without voter approval. That money would be used to fund the facility, which King County officials estimate will cost about $322,000 in 2003.

The election is the result of a King County decision to transfer 10 swimming pools to cities as the county’s parks department attempted to trim $10 million from its 2003 budget in response to the county’s $52 million budget shortfall. The city of North Bend has said it can not afford to operate the facility due to its own budget shortfalls.

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