By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The home for the city Community Recreation program will be familiar turf to fans of the old Community Schools program – it’s the old Community Schools office.
Andrew Friske, one of the organizers of the community recreation initiative, walked through the old office area at Blatchley Middle School Wednesday, accompanied by School District Superintendent Frank Hauser, Blatchley Principal Ben White and Michael Colliver, the city supervisor of buildings, grounds and parks.
While picking a place for the office may seem minor, Friske said, “It’s a critical piece of the puzzle in my mind, because Blatchley is going to be used as it currently is, for parks and recreation.”
The Assembly agreed to include Community Recreation in the fiscal year 2023 budget. Assembly members and advocates cited the need to replace some of the services formerly provided by Community Schools, which closed as a program in 2019.
Matthew Turner cleaned out the Community Schools office in Blatchley Middle School in June 2019. (Sentinel File Photo)
The 2023 budget of $210,000 is intended to cover the cost of a coordinator and specialist. The general fund budget won’t be official until passed by the Assembly, so the positions have not been advertised yet, city staff said. The budget will on the agenda for final approval at next Tuesday’s Assembly meeting.
The old Community Schools office space has been used for a number of purposes since the program closed three years ago, including for COVID testing, but White gave his OK for it to be used once again as an office for a recreation program, this time run by the city.
Friske said it is an ideal location, given it’s next to the basketball court and across the atrium from the Americorps and the Blatchley pool offices.
“From the space you’ll know the logistics, and the infrastructure,” said Friske, explaining the importance of the location.
The new program is intended to be a partnership of the city, school district and community, but many details about what it will be like are yet to be worked out, Friske said.
“The key will be finding the right person for this (coordinator) position and to have a good steering committee,” he said. “We want to have a good plan in place and not ‘start huge and see how it goes.’ We really want to work on programming, processes and procedures, and start small.”
Friske said he sees possibilities for starting out with scheduling and coordinating such programs as youth wrestling, youth soccer and youth basketball, as well as adult volleyball and basketball, and schedules for the ballfields. Other priority items will be working with the school district on outside programs using the facility, and building from there.
Friske said the community will play an active role in how the program takes shape, since residents can weigh in on a needs assessment over the next year.
“We need to find out the needs of the community,” he said. “It’s been super exciting, this grass roots effort that started in September. In less than a year we’ll get back into programming that will affect youth and adults of Sitka in a positive way. We’re excited for the support from the school district and the Assembly and the community. It’s been a community effort.”
Hauser was happy to see that the school district has a good space available for the new program, and was pleased the school district will play a role in its success.
“We’re excited for the partnership we have with the city and the community school group, and excited to see it continue to develop. Seeing what the community’s needs are and expanding (the program) out to meet some of the needs. ... There’s so much potential.”
