PORT ANGELES — Funding cuts given the nod by the City Council on Wednesday slice resources for organizations already pinched by a tight economy, said representatives of those groups on Thursday.
“This will put us in a tight position,” said Jake Seniuk, executive director of the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, which was recommended to be cut by $27,500.
The City Council reached a consensus on staff-recommended cuts for the 2009 budget during a preliminary work session devoted to dealing with a projected shortfall of about $1.6 million.
Among those cuts was the William Shore Memorial Pool on Fifth Street.
Supporters of the city’s public pool came out in force to the meeting, with about 100 people, some carrying signs reading “Save Our Pool,” present to hear the council reach a compromise about the pool, saying the city would close it on Dec. 31 unless some other group or agency steps up to take over the financial burden.
The council said that, if a firm plan for pool funding was in place by December, the city would postpone the pool closure until March 31.
The day after the news, pool supporters announced plans for a meeting next Friday, Oct. 3, at 5:30 p.m. at the Vern Burton Memorial Center, 308 E. Fourth St., to discuss how to keep the pool open.
About $400,000 per year is required to keep the pool open, they say.
Others that may be cut — final decisions will be made by Dec. 2, when the council is expected to approve the 2009 budget, after public hearings on Nov. 4 and Nov. 18 — were still reeling on Thursday.
