The year was 2020. Good ideas were again brewing around a scarred table at Billy and Barbie Mills’ General Store. Billy and Barbie and fellow business owner and local artist Suzanne Arkless, along with retired defense-industry electrical engineer Don Chalupka, decided to approach Central Kitsap School District officials about   repurposing the remaining Seabeck Elementary School gymnasium structure into a community center. 

    Enter Doug Newell, CKSD’s Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Support, and a retired Navy Captain. Once Newell became involved, the ball started rolling rapidly, Arkless said.  Ruth Bernstein, a local non-profit expert, also assisted, helping Arkless and Chalupka navigate the complexity of non-profit organizational set-up. 

    Arkless took the lead on the myriad of business filings and banking set-up tasks, along with putting together the temporary board needed to meet legal 501(c) (3) non-profit status. Chalupka agreed to be named as President, cybersecurity company owner Frank Heidt as Vice President, Arkless as Secretary and Kurt Schnuit, retired medical professional, as Treasurer. 

    The original four officers began meeting and gathering donations from the community, with Chalupka crafting bylaws and working with Newell in securing an Operating Agreement with the school district. Presentations included a succinct slide-show to the school board by Pam Hurst Chalupka, a retired civilian defense industry engineer. Community volunteers began staffing start-up committees. 

    The future vision for events — from youth activities, community education courses and happy gatherings such as a community market — is becoming a reality. 

    Today’s SCC’s Board continues Jon and Loanna Day’s original dream that Seabeck residents — young and old — will enjoy a gathering place, a sense of community and that cozy feeling of human connection.  … All thanks to a few drinking dripped brew around an old wooden table.

Many Recall Past Work of Residents to Launch a Community Center

    Over a decade ago retired teachers Jon and Loanna Day worked tirelessly in 2007 and 2008 towards starting a community center at the newly abandoned elementary site, organizing a dedicated group of Seabeck residents who approached the school district.

    This group orchestrated a meeting at the old Seabeck Elementary School Gym which was attended enthusiastically by over 200 people, stated Loanna Day.  Interested parties also included representatives from different community groups, the Seabeck Conference Center, the General Store, the Seabeck Community Club, Scenic Beach State Park, the Port of Bremerton, County Commisioner Josh Brown, CKSD Superintendent David McVicker and County Parks Planner Joseph Coppo, Day reported. “A great deal of talent existed in Seabeck,” as evidenced by this core group, she added.

    Both the Kitsap Sun and the Central Kitsap Reporter documented these efforts.  

    Barbara Banks, current Seabeck Community Center Treasurer remembers meetings also held at Klahowya Secondary School and the Conference Center.  She lamented that the timing was just not right for the district, and the group eventually disbanded.

HISTORY OF SCC TEAMWORK

The Recent Revitalization of the Old Elementary  Campus to the Seabeck Community Center (SCC)

By Don Chalupka, Founding Board Member

February 5, 2020   The date the idea of converting the current Seabeck Elementary School Campus into a Community Center was reborn.  Billy and Barbie Mills hosted the first meeting with Suzanne Arkless and Don Chalupka in the Seabeck General Store. Everyone agreed that maybe the timing was right for conversion of the Campus because the school had been removed and the only building remaining was the Gym.

February 13, 2020   A meeting with Doug Newell, Central Kitsap School District (CKSD) was held.  Suzanne and Don were encouraged that CKSD would support the conversion of the Gym to a community center. CKSD needed a proposal from the community.

February 16, 2020   A draft proposal was prepared and circulated among friends at the Seabeck General Store and Turie’s Seabeck Expresso. We received excellent comments and suggestions from people with a passion to form a community center.  Many thanks to our great friends and neighbors in Seabeck.

February 18, 2020   Suzanne and Don visited the Brinnon Community Center.  Brinnon’s Center is highly successful and provided us with a myriad of information on operations and programs. Suzanne and Don also met with Ruth Bernstein, an expert in the formulation of non-profits. She provided a roadmap on how to succeed and avoid pitfalls in establishing a non-profit. Websites were researched. Community centers and non-profits were contacted for ideas that would streamline the process.

March 5, 2020   Suzanne and Don presented the Seabeck Community Center (SCC) Proposal to DougNewell.  A very favorable response provided confidence to proceed with establishing an SCC non-profit. Doug provided advice and forwarded several documents to aid in the effort. As a result of this meeting, the effort to establish SCC got underway with officers Don Chalupka. President, Frank Heidt, Vice President, Suzanne Arkless, Secretary, and Kurt Schnuit Treasurer.

March 11, 2020   An updated proposal was sent to Doug Newell with a tentative plan to present the Seabeck Community Center to the School Board in April and have a board vote in May.  A mailing address was needed for business correspondence in addition to the SCC site address. Suzanne came to the rescue finding a box at 15398 Seabeck Hwy NW. Banking accounts were established at Kitsap Credit Union. Liability insurance was obtained from Carlson & Camp Associates.  Application was made for Washington State Articles of Incorporation. This step provided an official title, Seabeck Community Center, along with Washington State Nonprofit Corporation status.  

April 2020   Application was made to the IRS for tax-exempt status. The virus delayed IRS processing until late April when SCC was granted 501 (c)(3) status. SCC Bylaws were drafted up by Don and reviewed several times by the officers, along with a critical review by Ruth Bernstein.

May 2020   SCC received a draft of an Operating Agreement from CKSD which defines, in detail, the SCC and CKSD relationship. A review indicated this would be a good agreement for both parties. Discussions took place, details were clarified and issues negotiated.     

June 24, 2020   Pam Hurst Chalupka made a Power Point presentation to the CKSD Board via Zoom, hosted by Suzanne.  The Board noted the Seabeck residents attending on Zoom which illustrated our great community support. 

July 2020   The School Board voted unanimously for the Community Center in Seabeck.  SCC officers met on July 16th to discuss a range of topics. The most urgent topic was getting information out to the community and getting the community involved. 

About a dozen people were making all the decisions with little community input. People were giving their time, talent and treasure to SCC with a great deal of trust that a dozen people were doing the right things. The officers tried several times to have an outdoor public meeting in accordance with COVID-19 rules.  Each proposed meeting had to be canceled. Thus, the officers decided to develop a website. Kathy Cole donated her time and talent to develop a professional site. Suzanne obtained SCC a USPS account and the officers approved funding postcards to the community. Billy Mills put information about SCC on the Seabeck General Store sign board. Monthly status reports by Don were distributed to about fifty people who were asked to tell family and friends about SCC. 

The Central Kitsap School District Seabeck Center encompasses thirteen acres that includes the Multi-Purpose Building (Gym), sports fields and wooded areas. The project to convert the Campus to a Community Center required clean up, repairs and improvements. CKSD eagerly took on the project with their employees and contractors under difficult conditions, including a worldwide pandemic and mold in the building. The building was sanitized, a new roof was installed and shiny sports flooring was placed in the gym.  The interior was beautifully painted while mechanical, electrical, plumbing and septic systems were updated.  Outside, crews cleaned up brush and weeds and cut the grass. This represented a herculean team effort where everyone involved knew that the project was for the benefit of the Seabeck Community. The crews paid attention to detail; where something was marginal, it got improved; the little things got fixed. The community can be proud of their new center.

May 1, 2021   The first public meeting in the Center was an overwhelming success. Great people who truly care about our community reside in Seabeck. The heart of a non-profit community center is its volunteers and with over eighty staying afterwards to sign up to volunteer; today, they are actively making it happen.

Seabeck Community Center