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Si View not in danger of being cut

Published 1:54 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

Si View not in danger of being cut

NORTH BEND – Valley residents can rest assured, knowing that they will still have a pool to go to next year.

King County officials are trying to get out the word that the Si View Pool and Community Center in North Bend will remain open despite growing fears it would be cut out of the county budget for 2002 because of an expected shortfall.

“I can assure you that it made it into the budget, and it always has,” said Elaine Kraft, spokeswoman for King County Executive Ron Sims.

The announcement of the pool’s future came at a time when the Metropolitan King County Council and Sims’ office are trying to finalize a $2.9 billion budget that includes about $41 million in cuts.

Suspicion about the future of the center’s funding first arose when this year’s budget was being approved last year. When Sims introduced the 2001 budget, it didn’t include funding for Si View and three other community centers. A massive e-mailing campaign followed, and District 12 Councilman David Irons introduced an amendment to the budget that called for the county to keep Si View and the Preston Community Center open. The amendment was passed unanimously by the 13-member council.

Unlike last year, King County Parks Deputy Director Karleen Sakumoto said the Si View Pool and Community Center was in the budget that Sims submitted to the council. But it comes with a price.

“We have put a high value on cuts so that there would be no direct service attacks,” Sakumoto said. “Next year’s funding is solid, but we have taken a whole bunch of other cuts though, mostly in administrative positions.”

Although the budget still has to be approved by the County Council, Irons said he is optimistic the center will stay open.

“We are not all the way through the budgeting, but I have not found anything about the center being cut,” he said.

The County Council plans to have the budget for 2002 approved by Thanksgiving.

You can reach Ben Cape at (425) 888-2311, or e-mail him at ben.cape@valleyrecord.com.

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