The Yakima City Council directed City staff to bring back a proposal to City Council to manage and program the Washington Fruit Community Center based on the City's Harman Center model, primarily using City staff for management, allowing for third party partners and community input on all future programming to include budgetary impacts of the proposed change.
Yakima Parks and Recreation has a long history of providing recreation programs and facilities for the City. Yakima Parks & Recreation had previously provided senior citizen programming for the Northeast section of Yakima starting in the early 1970’s at the now Washington Fruit Community Center. The senior citizen programming ended in 2004 when the Harman Center was opened. YPAL and other organizations offered programming at the center since 2004.
Staff is extremely excited at the possibility of providing quality, low-cost programs and activities to the Miller Park neighborhood serving youths, adults and seniors. As indicated in the proposal, there would not be any additional costs associated with housing Parks & Rec staffing within the Washington Fruit Community Center as those positions are already budgeted for 2021. |