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Renton Rowing Center urges council to reserve funds for aging boathouse dock
Summary
Students, volunteers and the Renton Rowing Center executive director praised the program’s youth development work and asked the council to reserve funding to replace a 30+-year-old timber dock that is deteriorating.
Kent McCleary, chair of the Renton Rowing Center Board, told the Renton City Council on Dec. 8 that the nonprofit’s programs reach dozens of youth and adults and asked the city to reserve money for a planned dock replacement. McCleary said the center serves 52 middle- and high-school rowers and 69 adult participants, has hosted camps and rentals to hundreds of residents and relies on scholarships to include lower-income youth.
Two current athletes, Aiden Collette and Lucy Smith, described rowing as a “home away from home” and credited the program with improving physical and mental health, teamwork and college opportunities. Sabrina Paulsen, executive director of the Renton Rowing Center, and longtime volunteer Carol Eastberg said the organization is a 501(c)(3) that now seeks grants and local support to complete a float and dock replacement; Eastberg noted the float replacement had appeared in the city’s six-year capital plan in the prior year but she was not certain it remained in the newest budget.
The speakers asked council to consider reserving city funds to help cover the cost of replacing the aging wooden dock and to continue partnership with the city on programming. No formal motion or council direction on funding for the boathouse was recorded during the meeting.
The council acknowledged the speakers and thanked the rowing club for its work with youth; the matter of capital funding remains at the staff and budgeting level.
