Denver City Council members expressed concern Wednesday over Mayor John Hickenlooper’s plan to transfer management of four city recreation centers to nonprofits and his proposal to slash library hours.
During a briefing for the council, Hickenlooper defended the budget proposals as necessary to help close a $160 million deficit in the general fund. He said that while they aren’t measures anyone welcomes, they were the options that would have the least impact on the public, given the city’s budget pressures.
In particular, he pushed back against suggestions that his move to close the Byers branch library in the La Alma neighborhood was unfair.
“Almost 99 percent of the residential area is within 1 mile of the Ross-Broadway library or the Central Library,” the mayor said. “Nobody is not at least within 1 mile of another library.”
He pointedly defended City Librarian Shirley Amore and her staff, who recommended selling Byers, in part because it draws fewer patrons than other city libraries.
Councilwoman Judy Montero said she will fight the closure of Byers, which she said had become a “sacrificial lamb.” She added that she also has concerns about the mayor’s plans to transfer the La Alma Recreation Center in the same neighborhood to a nonprofit. Those living in the neighborhood are gearing up for a fight, she said.
“It could very easily be the Milagro beanfield war in the heart of the La Alma neighborhood,” she said, referring to a novel that portrays a farmer fighting against corporate interests.
The mayor and administration officials say transferring the little-used recreation centers in La Alma, Johnson, Globeville and College View to nonprofits will allow services to continue while saving the city money. They add that people living in those neighborhoods have other recreation centers nearby.
Joining Montero in raising questions about the proposed transfer of the recreation centers were council members Doug Linkhart, Michael Hancock and Marcia Johnson.
