The Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District played a role in the reopening of the city’s warming center.

“The first year experience was very positive,” Skyler Archibald, executive director of the park district said.

The warming center was a partnership between Clatsop Community Action, the city, the park district, and the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation Foundation.

While Archibald hoped the center would get a bit more usage, numbers increased as the winter session moved on.

According to Clatsop Community Action, there were 43 unduplicated guests and 190 shelter stays overall from Dec. 20 to March 15. The average number of guests per night was 4.75.

Jan. 24-31 was the busiest week, with a weekly total of 42 shelter stays. The busiest night of the season was Jan. 27, when 15 people stayed at the shelter, filling the building to capacity. Between Feb. 21-27, 34 people stayed at the shelter.

The park district also worked with the shelter to provide vouchers for shower access, enabling free showers at the Sunset Pool 13 hours a week.

The Sunset Recreation Foundation spent more than $1,500, for meals, serving 380 overall, at a cost of $4 per meal.

Archibald hopes to participate in the warming center project next year.

“I don’t know if the center will be offered again,” he said. “That will be addressed primarily by the other partners in the project. If it does operate, I hope that we can participate in some capacity and support those efforts.”

Viviana Matthews, executive director of Clatsop Community Action, called the partnership with the city, park district and Helping Hands, “outstanding.”

Matthews hopes to see the warming center return next winter. “Absolutely, if Seaside will have us,” she said.

This could be the first of other such partnerships in Seaside, she said. “We are always looking ways on partnering to bring programs to our community in need.”