But not all our recreation centers are thriving, as a Sept. 14 report of the City Council's Life Enrichment committee explained. (This committee includes City Council members Jane Brunner, Henry Chang, Jean Quan and Danny Wan.)

Only one of the Oakland's rec centers received an overall rating that topped 90 on a 1-100 scale: Redwood Heights, which ranked number one citywide.

Rec center scores were based on safety, accessibility, cleanliness, outreach, registration levels, program quality, collaboration, parent involvement, advisory councils and fee-based programs. Gibson and Associates, an Oakland-based evaluation and consulting firm, was paid $97,000 to conduct a study that the city used as part of the overall evaluation.

The Montclair rec center had a rating of 68 and a ranking of seven. The Dimond center scored 78 points, putting it in fifth place citywide along with Sheffield Village in the East Oakland hills.

Fee-based programs that many hills residents participate in at the Montclair and Dimond rec centers received a score of 10 on a 1-10 scale. But the quality and activity of advisory councils at these two centers was weak. Redwood Heights, on the other hand, scored a 10 for the activity and involvement of its advisory councils.

Directors and other staff at the rec centers work hard -- and on minimal budgets. These civil servants need and deserve support. The aim of a rec center's advisory council and teen/youth advisory council is just that -- to recommend and support recreational programs, according to the Office of Parks and Recreation.

But not all centers have active advisory councils in place. In fact, only five do -- Redwood Heights, Poplar, Mosswood, Lincoln Square (downtown) and de Fremery (on Park Boulevard).

Fortunately, the Life Enrichment Committee has asked that this situation be reversed. It decided that all rec centers must establish active advisory councils by January, roughly three months from now.

"By having community members and neighborhoods actively advising staff on the most needed programs and services, the Office of Parks and Recreation can move more quickly towards recapturing its rich legacy through people, parks and programs," the report stated.

We ask that rec centers with strong advisory councils serve as models for other rec centers. Details on how residents support these high-performing centers should be shared with all rec centers and with residents -- as soon and as widely as possible.

In addition, we ask that Office of Parks and Recreation make copies of the full Gibson and Associates' evaluation -- as well as the corresponding information, such as participant surveys -- available at each recreation center. The information would encourage residents to better understand the rec centers they live near and how they can contribute toward the centers' improvement.

Access to this information could also make residents -- and this newspaper -- more comfortable with the large amount of money spent on such research. And we encourage residents to contact and get involved with their rec centers as the advisory councils take on a more important role.

Sadly, enrollment has dropped at six recreation centers as after-school programs have expanded in the schools and demographic changes have occurred in some areas. Hopefully, with more input from the community via the councils and a better flow of information between residents and the rec centers, enrollment and involvement at all centers citywide can be strengthened -- and all Oakland neighborhoods can be proud to support our rec centers.