Council previews parks levy

Members will decide whether to submit a package to voters this fall

By ANGELA GALLOWAY
P-I REPORTER

With less than a month to decide whether to ask voters for a parks-dedicated tax increase, Seattle City Council members got their first look Friday morning at a proposed $140 million, six- year levy.

The plan would cost the owner of a median-priced home $80 to $100 a year, a council staff member said. It would pay for playground renovations, park upgrades, facility repairs and the purchase of parkland and open space.

The council expects to decide by July 21 whether to submit such a package to voters this fall.

Some council members hope to ask November voters to approve such a measure to replace Seattle's $200 million, eight-year Pro Parks levy, which expires at the end of this year. With the expiration, Seattleites will pay less in property taxes. That also means money for new parks will drop off dramatically.

"It's really painful to see" the funding dry up, Councilwoman Sally Clark said at Friday's meeting. "And it's really painful to have four-and-a-half dollar gas and very painful to have food prices go up and housing prices where they are."

Mayor Greg Nickels has opposed seeking another parks levy, saying the city should limit itself to another request: the $75 million levy he has proposed for renovations at Pike Place Market.

Although some council members say Nickels' support would be critical to persuading voters to authorize any levy, they have not yet given up on the idea. In April, they asked a 28-member advisory committee to explore the idea and draft the recommendations presented Friday.

It includes:

$29.1 million for park and playground work, such as renovations to eight existing parks, reservoir projects in Maple Leaf and West Seattle and safety upgrades to 23 play areas.

$24 million for new parkland in denser areas that fail to meet the city's open space goals, including parts of Ballard, Belltown, Capitol Hill, Chinatown, the Denny Triangle, First Hill, Fremont, Greenwood, Ravenna, the University District and West Seattle.

$11 million for heating, air conditioning and seismic repairs at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. This would be the largest single project in the levy proposal, and is shaping up to be its most controversial element. Some community activists have said that the levy should focus on parklands, and that museum repairs should not come at the expense of neighborhood park projects.

$10.5 million for renovations, new lighting and artificial turf at Lower Woodland, Delridge and Genesee playfields.

Almost $8 million for development of several existing parks and $8 million for pedestrian and bike trail expansions.

The assortment of projects was approved by a 23-1 vote of the advisory committee, with four members abstaining. The recommendation to move forward this fall was approved 18-0, with 10 members sitting out (not all abstentions).

Some abstaining members feared there is not enough time to sell the package to voters, officials said. Some worried it is imprudent to proceed without Nickels' support. And some said the package was too expensive.

The City Council plans to discuss the idea over the next several weeks, starting with a meeting scheduled for July 7 at 2:30 p.m. at City Hall.

The council parks committee plans to take public testimony on the package during hearings at 5:30 p.m. on July 10 and July 16.

P-I reporter Angela Galloway can be reached at 206-448-8333 or angelagalloway@seattlepi.com. Follow politics on the P-I's blog at blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics.

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