West Seattle residents packed a Seattle City Council budget hearing on November 5, pushing councilmembers to approve a measure that would restore public recreation programming at the long-dormant Alki Community Center while also funding safety upgrades along Alki Avenue. The proposal calls for $125,000 in one-time General Fund money in both 2027 and 2028 for the community center, plus $210,000 in 2027 for public-realm improvements on Alki Avenue, including its restaurant row.
A Petition and a Plea to Council
The hearing was described as the last major opportunity for residents to argue for or against changes to the mayor's budget plan, according to West Seattle Blog. An Alki delegation urged the council to approve the amendment restoring recreation programming at the center, and Alki Community Council leaders and residents presented a petition with more than 200 signatures, as reported by Westside Seattle. Chad Kersner told the council it's time to make Alki Community Center a community center once again, while Liesa Rose said recreational activities bind a community and that her neighborhood once had a village looking out for one another that no longer exists.
Councilmember Rob Saka proposed the amendment, which would add $125,000 to the Seattle Parks budget for each of 2027 and 2028, specifically to restore Alki Community Center recreation programming. Westside Seattle's report of the balancing package noted Councilmembers Joy Hollingsworth and Robert Kettle also sponsored the measure. The funding would support restoration of public open hours and high-demand recreation programming at the community center and/or the Alki Bathhouse, with priority activities including roller skating, yoga, tai chi, drop-in basketball, and programs for youth and older adults.
From Preschool-Only Back to Public Use
The money could support recreation coordination, building-monitor coverage, instructors, and select evening or weekend activities, and Seattle Parks and Recreation is anticipated to hire temporary labor to carry it out. The center has operated as a child-care-only facility for years. Per the same account, Seattle Parks and Recreation reclassified the Alki Community Center as a limited-use site back in 2011, following citywide budget reductions, shifting its primary operations to preschool and licensed after-school programs.
That history runs deeper than the 2011 reclassification. The center was closed during construction of neighboring Alki Elementary, and the city had planned to use it only as a child-care center once it reopened, the article notes. Potential programming includes classes such as yoga and tai chi.
Street Safety Dollars and a Lost Traffic Camera
Saka's amendment also includes additional Seattle Department of Transportation funding for Alki street safety, directing $210,000 in 2027 toward public-realm improvements along Alki Avenue. That money would fund the People Streets and Public Spaces capital project MC-TR-C147, covering improvements including pedestrian lighting, wayfinding, seating, bike parking, and beach-access enhancements, per Westside Seattle's coverage of the hearing. The proposed SDOT improvements could also include seasonal crowd-management infrastructure and planters, with projects expected to pursue crime prevention through environmental design strategies.
Not everything made it into the latest draft. Dan Strauss cut $50,000 that had been intended to fund a traffic camera on Alki, leaving the beach without one — the nearest camera sits uphill in the Admiral Junction. Charlotte Starck advocated for restoring that camera funding, and the Alki Community Council has said Saka plans to resubmit a self-balanced amendment that would keep a camera within the existing $210,000 directed to SDOT rather than seeking new money. Advocates argue the broader safety investments would benefit not just Alki residents but visitors from other parts of Seattle and the region.
What Happens Next
Inclusion in the council's balancing package does not guarantee the Alki measures will survive into the final budget — and proposals left out of the package can still be added before a final vote, according to a West Seattle Blog followup report. As of that report, committee voting on the balancing package was scheduled to begin Friday, November 13, at 9:30 a.m. The Alki amendment is labeled SPR-005-D and appears on page 194 of the city budget document; the full council is expected to hold its final budget vote on November 20. Community advocates are asking supporters to email the council in favor of the amendment before then.
Elsewhere on Alki Avenue, overhead pedestrian lights have already gone up along restaurant row, lighting the stretch from 63rd to 57th avenues, according to FOX 13 Seattle. For neighbors who have spent months rallying around the community center's future, that kind of visible change is exactly the momentum they're hoping the budget fight can build on.
