Press Release:
Seattle Parks and Recreation, which has had to make substantial cutbacks in the operations of its 25 wading pools because of budget reductions, is seeking partners interested in helping increase access to the pools during the eight-week 2011 summer season.

Cutbacks include the reduction from operating 25 wading pools six or seven days a week to operating five pools seven days a week, 10 three days a week, and closing 10. (Three are being converted to water spray features, which do not require staffing as wading pools do under state law.)

Parks hopes to expand the schedule to increase family recreational opportunities in a way that is economically and geographically equitable. Some communities may be more organized or have different access to funding sources, so Parks would pair wading pools as a way to ensure balanced and equal recreational opportunities across our city. Under this partnership, Parks would keep the wading pool open one additional day each week in the neighborhood from which the funds came, and Parks would select a second site that the contribution would fund as well.

Opportunities include:
· Sponsoring two wading pools one day per week through the summer at a cost of $8,800
· Sponsoring two wading pools for three days per week during the last two weeks of summer at a cost of $6,600
· Sponsoring a one day wading pool operation for a special event at a cost of $650
· Receiving recognition on the Seattle Parks and Recreation website
· Sponsoring an unfunded wading pool three days per week through the summer

For more information, or for organizations interested in a partnership with Parks and Recreation to provide more access to wading pools this summer, please contact Bill Dougherty, 206-684-7185, bill.dougherty@seattle.gov or Kathy Whitman, 206-684-7099, kathy.whitman@seattle.gov, no later than May 1, 2011.