Community leaders lobby for University Heights funding

The University Heights Community Center Association (UHCCA) lobbied the Washington state Legislature yesterday to pass two bills that would provide an unprecedented $10 million in financial assistance for several local community centers. If passed, the Community Schools Act of 2008 would mark the first time that there would be state funding provided for the organizations.

“We’ve been working on this for four and a half years,” said Ron Killian, the facilities director for the University Heights Center. UHCCA receives $2.5 million in funding from the City of Seattle and donations from various local businesses and individuals.

The University Heights Community Center, located on

Northeast 50th Street and University Way, has served as the home for a variety of tenants since its founding in 1989, the most notable being the Neighborhood Farmer’s Market Alliance. The center also houses the Broadway Bound Children’s Theater, Defensive Driving School and the Puget Sound Community School and is home to several ASUW Experimental College classes.

The UHCCA also offers numerous activities and community events at the University Heights Center, ranging from Okinawan karate to the meeting place for the King County Young Democrats.

“In our case, our lease ends in November and our many tenants would like to know what’s going to happen,” Killian said.

However, the facilities director believes the UHCCA will able to continue to support the center without the addition of state funding, noting that “it’s probably going to be just fine and business as usual.”

Patty Whisler, the chair of the redevelopment committee for the UHCCA, said that while the bills would help, once the sum is divided among the centers, the $2 million in funding would become a less substantial amount.

“While the act would not provide a significant amount for the center, it would be a great gesture on the part of the state Legislature,” she said.

Whilser also said she is hopeful that an additional $1 million from the parks department can be acquired this year.

With a public hearing on the issue yesterday and one of the bills receiving majority approval in the House, both Killian and Whisler remain optimistic.

“When we were in Olympia on the 4th [of February] testifying for the bills to be passed, it was our impression that they would go through,” Whisler said.

For now however, Killian said the UHCCA will “continue to keep our fingers crossed that they go through.”

Other Seattle community centers affected by the act include the Fauntleroy Community Association, Loyal Heights Community Center, Phinney Neighborhood Association and the Nordic Heritage Museum in Ballard. Each of the five organizations is housed in former Seattle Public School District surplus buildings.

[Reach reporter Julian Martin at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]