Dear neighbor,
This is the time of year that you would typically find a letter in the mail reminding you that it is time to renew your membership in the Lakewood Seward Park Neighborhood Association.
This year, we literally cannot afford the postage, so we are holding our membership drive virtually.
Like many non-profits, your neighborhood association has been devastated financially by the Covid-19 pandemic. On any given year, clubhouse rentals account for 80% of our revenue, however, the last paid event at the community club was on March 15th. Since that date, we have had to cancel all events and refund deposits paid. We do not expect to open the clubhouse for rentals again until King County enters Phase 3 of Washington’s Safe Start Plan, which is not anticipated to happen before the end of the year.
As a response to this abrupt lack of operating funds, the Association Board cut all possible expenses to meet our basic needs (insurance, utilities, landscaping, and monthly cleaning). We have been able to use our reserve funds for this purpose, but those reserves are almost exhausted, and we will not be able to fund our basic operating costs past the end of 2020.
Most significantly, we had to make the decision to not pay our property taxes. We recognize that this will result in possible fines, but we had to prioritize our remaining funds to maintain minimal operations.
In order to overcome this severe operating shortfall here are several ways you can help:
1. Renew your membership for 2021 and think about upgrading your Family Membership ($30) to a Lake Washington Membership ($75) or a Mt Rainier Membership ($300). Payment can be made online or by mail. Our address is 4916 S. Angeline St. Seattle, WA 98118.
2. Consider making an additional donation either by PayPal or by check.
3. Help us with the property taxes. We have set up a GoFundMe account (to enable funds to be earmarked specifically for this purpose). Our property taxes are $6,653.57.
The Community Clubhouse is owned by the community and it has been in continuous operation since 1914. It has always been a community effort – supported by the neighborhood through membership dues, clubhouse rentals, and attendance at our fundraising events. We are managed by a volunteer board of directors and a facilities coordinator who is paid via a commission on rentals.
We know that the past 7 months have seriously stressed our community and our neighborhood association, but we know we can count on your support in this time of need.
Yours in community,
Aaron Evanson, President
Bill Muse, Vice President
John Charles, Treasurer
Sheri Richardson, Secretary
Sabranie Coyne, Director
John Charles, Director
Jeannie O’Brian, Director
Marty Oppenheimer, Director
Karen Seagle, Director
Sheila Harvey, Executive Director
