A plan to address social equity by boosting Seattle’s community centers with “free or low-cost community-centric programs” will be part of Mayor Ed Murray’s 2017 budget proposal. If the money is approved, the Central District’s Garfield Community Center will have more free use and community programs while Capitol Hill’s Miller Community Center could be tabbed as an LGBTQ community hub.

“Seattle’s community centers are a vital piece of our parks and recreation system and we must ensure these spaces meet the needs of all residents across the city,” said Mayor Murray. “In my proposed 2017 budget, I will call for the expansion of community center hours, staffing and programming, and eliminate drop-in fees and make scholarships easier to attain. We must ensure that as we grow, we do so equitably, and our recreational spaces must be safe and accessible places for everyone.”

Part of the strategic plan announced this week calls for the creation of a “hub-centric” pilot program:

Seattle’s diverse community requires a differentiated approach with some services tailored for specific populations. Rather than providing one-sized fit all programming across the system, or spreading tailored programming thinly across the entire system, we will explore the idea of creating “hubs” for particular communities at select community centers. These hubs could take many different forms, such as an adult enrichment model, an international community center, or a teen- or senior-focused center.

While locations have not yet been selected, Miller Community Center is being considered as home for an LGBTQ component to the pilot. The centers selected to serve as hubs would continue to serve all community members, Seattle Parks says, “while offering enhanced programming for the target audience.” The cost of the proposed program would be $213,983 if included in the final 2017 budget.

Miller is also being tapped for an increase in public hours after an analysis showed the center was serving more users during non-public hours for special programming. The increased hours will make staffing the center more efficient, according to the plan.

Meanwhile, Garfield Community Center will be part of a group of five facilities to take part in a $21,000 social equity pilot:

Program fees of $60 to $80 or more keep people from using recreation services at community centers, with 20-26% of survey respondents citing program cost as a primary or major reason they don’t currently or infrequently use recreation programs (see exhibit 5). To expand access, we will make 8-9 recreational programs per quarter (not including childcare) free to everyone at five centers: Bitter Lake, Garfield, Rainier Beach, South Park, and Van Asselt. To help ensure high participation, staff will engage community and local non-profit organizations in program partnerships and marketing. The five centers selected for this pilot are located in neighborhoods with less access to recreation, based on the following criteria: • High number of scholarship applications. • High area poverty rates. • High levels of program cancellations due to low registration, likely caused by financial hardships. • Relatively small advisory council fund balance. Centers with less private funding don’t have money to support additional programming.

You can learn more about the proposals at seattle.gov.