Well, it’s likely my mouth – and maybe a few editorials – persuaded Mayor Simpson of North Bend to ask me to, “Put up or shut up.” OK, she didn’t really say it that way, but she did ask if I would be on a blue-ribbon (I’m not sure why it’s called that) commission of community members trying to look at ways the city can maintain Si View as the important community element it now is. Or in simpler terms: how can we keep the darn thing open?

The group is an interesting mix of people – all highly capable people – representing various interests of our community. The question for the commission is, how can the city take over and pay for the Si View park and pool? It’s a tough question and a little background is probably in order.

The building was constructed in 1938-1939 by the Works Progress Administration, or WPA. The WPA constructed many projects around the country, primarily in an effort to create jobs for a Depression-riddled America. In fact, one story in the Valley Record from that time highlights the city pointing out to the WPA that it needed to use more local carpenters.

So the building has a historical background and has even been designated a historical landmark. It is wood from top to bottom, except for the pool, and is likely to stand the test of several future earthquakes. The pool is old, but modern systems have been added to it over the years.

The ballfields are dated but still used by several different leagues, and the whole darn complex sits in the heart of North Bend. It’s a great facility that could potentially close because King County can’t afford to keep it open.

So the commission has been tasked with keeping it alive. The big question is how. It costs somewhere between $350,000 and $650,000 to keep it open each year. It brings in less than half of its costs in revenue each year, using the lowest of expense numbers.

It’s painfully obvious in our analysis that programs can be improved and increased. It’s probable that rental fees would have to be increased as well. But there are other uses that a few improvements could accommodate, such as wedding receptions. Programming is key to increasing revenues substantially.

It’s also obvious that parking would have to improved to make the place safer, and the ballfields could use some improvements, like new backstops.

So assuming revenue can be increased by 50 percent – which is a real unknown at this point – how would we make up the difference?

One of the ideas being tossed around is the creation of a parks taxing district that would encompass most of the 98045 zip code or the King County Fire Protection District 38 boundaries. Would people be willing to pay more taxes to keep the facility open? Or, maybe we could find a nonprofit group that wants to take over ownership and increase the programming revenues. Maybe people don’t feel a pool is necessary and thus, eliminate or mothball the pool, reducing the costs for the park by more than half.

So let’s hear from you. Please send us your suggestions, for print here, with the hope of gathering as much input as possible. After all, our goal is to save a great community center as inexpensively as possible.