Persuade Council to Add Funding for Site Road
—Update, Monday, Aug. 3: The County Council meets on this matter on Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 9:15 a.m. at 350 Court St #1, in Friday Harbor, directly west of the County courthouse. Thanks to Ellen Edwardson
— by Margie Doyle —
This is a call to action from those who support The Exchange and Orcas Recycling Services (ORS) in its mission to ““Build a zero-waste community through service, education and stewardship of Orcas Island’s waste and resource streams.”
“Reuse, Reduce and Recycle” has long been the ORS policy and vision. Since 2013, when ORS acquired the lease to operate the county’s Orcas Waste Transfer site it has not only cleaned up, managed and improved the site, it has made huge strides in advancing its mission. Now it is on the brink of building the county-required road on its site that is crucial to constructing a new “Exchange” building and growing its Reuse, Reduce and Recycle efforts.
ORS has a funding application for that road that is the subject of a County Council public hearing on August 4, next Tuesday. Here’s where you come in: Ask the County Council to support in part or in full, the ORS/The Exchange grant request from the San Juan County Public Facilities Financing Assistance Program (PFFAP) funded through the .09 Rural Sales and Use Tax (also known as the “PFFAP” and “.09 funds”.)
This is one of those jargon-y, little-known but significant funds that gives money to county public facilities.
On July 14, a team, whose makeup is regulated by county code, recommended four grants, based on the applications, presentations, history and reasoning submitted before June 16 this year.
While funding is limited, the grants are not a neighbor v. neighbor competition, and the recommendations are just that — advice given to the Council in making its decision. The Council’s public hearing on August 4 precedes their vote on the allotments.
County Councilman Rick Hughes has said, “I’m supportive of ORS as it is important to get the road work done so the Exchange can open faster.”
If, as voters and taxpayers, you would like to advise and influence our county councilmen’s vote regarding this allotment, write them now at:
- council@sanjuanco.com (this will go to all 3 council members automatically;
- individually: Bob Jarman — bobja@sanjuanco.com; Jamie Stephens — jamies@sanjuanco.com and Rick Hughes — rickh@sanjuanco.com
and attend the meeting on Tuesday, August 4 in Friday Harbor.
With respect for their responsibilities, we think the Council should weigh the considerations and allocate funding to ORS/The Exchange to rebuild the road at the County-owned Orcas Transfer Station site, which is leased to ORS/The Exchange.
Some critical facts to consider:
- Expenditures of Rural Sales and Use Tax received by San Juan County must meet all of the following requirements:
- The funds must be used for “public facilities” as defined in the RCW 82.14.370;
- Funded projects must be listed as an item on the county’s economic development plan;
- and each public facility must foster economic development in the community.
- This year’s funding ($190,726), is roughly half of what was awarded last year to all applicants;
- Of the four entities that received recommendations from the evaluation team, only one was fully funded (the county fairgrounds solar lighting project);
- Last year, Orcas Recycling Services received a PFFAP Grant of $40,519 towards this project. ORS Executive Director Pete Moe says “Our [current] grant proposal asked for $60,000, which would [bring] the County’s contribution to roughly half the expected cost of the road improvements required at The Orcas Transfer Station”;
- ORS and The Exchange could employ up to 10 full- and part-time workers permanently. Road construction will provide short-term work for dozens of contractors. When the road is complete and new waste/resource operations can function, it has the potential to employ more — a significant economic driver that benefits both tourism and sustainability of our rural haven.
Please remember, it is important to speak to ALL county councilmen NOW of the wisdom, efficiency and support of their constituents in approving funding of the grant request.
Here’s why we think they should allocate funding to ORS for 2016:
- Road costs have increased;
- Permitting process nearly completed;
- ORS history of responsible stewardship of public facilities:
- clean-up of old Exchange/Transfer Station site;
- completion of Stormwater Management plan for the county-owned site
- completion of county-approved Master Plan
- increase of operation hours
- introduction of new services including collection of batteries, used cooking oil, and electronics;
- communication/involvement with constituents through Great Island Clean-up, Hazardous Waste collection, recycled art shows, school education programs and newsletter;
- ORS/The Exchange is an economic driver for the county in several ways:
- as a responsible lessee of the County, ORS waste transfer operations contribute to the County revenues;
- In this new age of eco-tourism, the site continues to be a tourist attraction as an example of successful “waste” resourcing;
- It provides local, year-round employment and entrepreneurship.
As islanders and citizens of San Juan County we have the right to speak up and advise our elected representatives as to how we would like county funds spent, within their stated purpose. Friends and supporters of the island non-profit Orcas Recycling Services/The Exchange are needed on August 4 at the public hearing (and before, in writing) to make their voices heard.
And if you would consider notifying our readership of your actions in writing the Council and/or attending the public hearing on August 4 in Council Chambers in Friday Harbor, please add your comment to that effect — thank you!
(From https://theorcasonian.com/190726-for-public-facilities-assistance-recommended):
The evaluation team recommended that four of the ten applicants receive the .09 tax proceeds for the following projects:
- Town of Friday Harbor project for Spring Street Urban Pocket Park received $35,000.00 of its $40,000.00 request
- Port of Orcas project for Visiting Pilot Laundry and Hygiene Facility received $86,627.00 of its request for $91,627.00
- The San Juan County Parks & Fair project for Fair’s Main Exhibition Building Exterior Upgrade received $19,099 of its requested $37,500.00;
- The San Juan County Parks & Fair project for Fairgrounds Exterior Solar Lighting Project was awarded its full request of $50,000.00.
The six applications that did not receive funding came from:
- San Juan Island Parks & Recreation District (Island Rec) for SJI Community Park Playground
- Fisherman Bay (Lopez Island) Sewer District for Normandy Lane Sewer Main Installation Project
- Orcas Island Library District, for Orcas Island Library Expansion Project
- San Juan County Public Works for Lopez Village Farmers Market Stormwater Project
- Orcas Recycling Services for Road & Traffic Flow Improvements at the Orcas Island Transfer Station
-
Port of Orcas for Orcas Airport Fixed Wing Medical Evacuation Gate Automation
To County Council,
Please support the Xchange/ORS need to improve the Recycling Center used and loved by most Orcas residents. Where is there a plan for a Laundromat at Madrona Point for $91,627?
I will write to the County Commissioners about this. I hope all Orcas residents will, too. We have been waiting so long for The Exchange to re-open. We need our Commissioners to support this. Thanks, Everyone! And thank you, Margie Doyle, for this informative piece.
Jean and I sent our strong e-mail request to Rick separately, and also to the entire Council.
Thanks for the heads up on this Sharon!! Done and done!!!
I’m with John on the $91000 Laundromat. Did I miss something. Haven’t seem anything on this. And I thought I was current.
It’s not a laundromat at Madrona Point. It’s a visiting pilot laundry and hygiene facility at the airport.
https://www.sanjuanco.com/Docs/CAgendadocs/07-14-2015/PFFAP7_PortOfOrcas_1.pdf
I’ll go to Fri Harbor next week on Tuesday. What time is it?
Thanks Ellen, I assume it’s Tuesday morning, will post the time for sure as soon as the agenda is out. I’m planning to catch the 6:55 ferry from Orcas that goes the long way around, and arrives in Friday Harbor at 8:15. I’m also writing the County Council at council@sanjuanco.com just in case the ferry breaks down or the creek rises. Margie Doyle
I personally find it a bit outrageous that funding the comfort and convenience of visiting pilots is considered more important than funding for the library, the Exchange, a playground, and the other public facilities that more directly affect the people who actually live here. These too have economic impacts.
My email to County Council:
Rick, Bob, and Jamie,
Please rearrange the priorities given to you as recommendations for disbursement of these funds and provide 100% of the funding request of Orcas Recycling Services.
The recent Editorial at Orcas Issues enumerates how the ORS / Exchange request clearly qualifies for funding from this source.
As a private pilot, I’m embarrassed to note that SJCCC has received a recommendation to fund $86,627.00 of the $91,627.00 request by the Port of Orcas for a visiting pilot’s laundry and “hygiene facility”. The Port has other sources of funds to squander as they may, given that it already provides shower and bathroom facilities for visiting pilots, separate from and in addition to, the public restrooms in the terminal.
It’s very clear to me that the Orcas community at large does not support funding such a facility when pressing, valuable, and long-delayed needs which support economic development are going unmet.
Choose wisely,
Fred
I hope ORS/The Exchange gets the funding it needs as it seems to have been a nightmare for them to even get this far with all the County regulations. It has been closed for too long.
But in regards to the Port of Orcas, if you went to or watched the video of the County Council meeting the visiting pilot’s laundry and hygiene facility was recommended because there is also an economic benefit to that. As an airport that allows camping under the wing of your plane these pilots and visitors also spend money here just like those that camp at the park or stay in hotels do. They desperately needed shower and laundry facilities on site for these tourists who come via airplane without ground transportation.
I hesitate to enter the fray, but will do so in spite of my better judgment. The Port of Orcas project was ranked #1 among those submitted by a broadly representative committee based on (I suspect) the quality of the presentation and the analysis of the economic impact. I presented the project in person as all applicants had the opportunity to do. I don’t think the Exchange did so. I take umbrage at Fred Klein’s characterization of this as “squander” as it will have quantifiable positive economic impact. Perhaps the Exchange’s original presentation did not express the economic impact that is being claimed above or subsequent to the applications. I’m not sure. I do think my project probably had the strongest case for economic development and certainly stronger than that for the library (which is really for 2nd year money in addition to $1.XMillion in state funding, pocket parks or improvements to the Fairgrounds–all of which are good, worthy projects — Finally, I personally support the Exchange. I’ve provided assistance to Pete in answering questions about facility structures.
Thank you for this thoughtful article and giving us a heads up!
I have sent an email to the Council and hope they can allocate all funding needed towards getting the Exchange and the ORS road up and running again.
Agreed– there are many great projects on this list, but the services offered by ORS/Exchange is used pretty much by everyone on the island. Can’t think of a better criteria.
Let me add my voice to those who think the ORS project should be funded. We’ve been struggling with the loss of the Exchange since the fire. I can’t think of a better project for the PFFAP funding to support.
Doug Bechtel
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Margie. As a long-time supporter of the Exchange, I have to add another “economic” benefit that it brings (or once brought) to the island: the avoided cost of throwing away useful items that would otherwise have to be trucked away. And what about the avoided costs experienced by those who pick up and use these items? This is especially important to those less well off who work here at low wages, or at least it used to be that way. Economic benefits should be construed to mean more than just bringing more dollars to Orcas Island. I will add my voice to the growing chorus in support of this issue.
The Exchange made perfect sense, we miss it’s contribution to the well being of this island desperately.
Good day,
I am writing in support of using some of the .09 Funds for the road project at the transfer station on Orcas for the Exchange. This is a service that was very helpful to me when I was building my own house and clearly helps keep valuable resources out of the waste stream which is a good thing. All of my acquaintances have made use of the Exchange – both to get, and get rid of stuff – it is truly a community-based economic resource. I currently know people who are storing useful items in their garage waiting for the Exchange to reopen rather that throw them away.
As for the $86,627 Port of Orcas project for Visiting Pilot Laundry and Hygiene Facility, I am having trouble figuring out why we are funding the .02% of folks in the country who can afford to own and fly their own personal plane into Orcas. If a person can afford an aircraft for a recreational toy, does the county really need to provide them with better bathing and “Hygiene” facilities? As it stands, the Port charges $6 a night (or $33 per 4 weeks!) for a place to tie down a plane: this comes with overnight camping on the grass next to the plane, use of a car (free of charge, though it is recommended you pay $5 for every 6 hours of use for fuel! the other 99.98% of us who do not fly an aircraft, have to rent from Orcas Island Shuttle at a rate of $64.95/day plus fuel cost!), and use of a shower and restroom. Six Bucks! The closest you can get to that is $38 a night at West Beach Resort if you walk or bike in and want to camp with a shower facility, but you don’t get a free car nor can you park your RV for that price. The Port is a public facility, and we all get our FedX and UPS through the port, but pilots already get the sweetest deal in the county – do we really need to spend 86 grand in public funds so they can have even nicer facilities? These folks can afford to spend money on B&B’s, Inns, Taxi service, and car rentals, and we are losing revenue by providing them with virtually free facilities. It does not make any sense. Why not open these sites up for bicycles? Close to 100% of the US population owns a bike, and they would be psyched to camp for six bucks, and they also would spend money in town – probably more on food as that is their fuel. Shoot, I know people who would live on the grass for the summer at $6/night let alone $33 for 4 weeks with bathrooms and showers. This seems like a taxpayer boondoggle. The Exchange offers a much better cost to benefit ratio for the general community.
Funding the road for the Orcas Tranfer Station is much more important than a “Hygiene Facility” at the Airport! Money is better spent to improve Orcas Recycling/Exchange as it serves more people. What happened to common sense, who makes these decisions!?
The Exchange is as beloved as it is missed. Certainly we should expect our county government to support its rebuilding and reopening. It would be helpful and insightful to understand why the advisory committee recommended funding as noted. Knowing more about the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the submissions would only help strengthen all of the projects reviewed. Kudos to the Port for putting together such a strong and obviously well received proposal.
About the Port’s proposal…’perks for pilots’ make for challenging optics. As a self-interested actor, would I recommend funding for the Exchange vs pilot hygiene? Yes. But I think it’s dangerously convenient to devalue the Port’s proposal. First off, they successfully navigated the public review process and demonstrated value for their project. This shows operational competence that increases the likelihood of successful project execution. But I wonder if there’s not a broader conversation here. Is there a need for a publicly funded hygiene project that reaches beyond pilot/private aviation needs? (which I assume to be largely seasonal) Could a publicly funded hygiene facility help address other community matters, such as the needs of a growing homeless population? Thoughtful analysis is necessary before answering these questions. I simply hope that the ‘perks for pilots’ optics don’t prevent engaged community dialogue.
Good points Alex, but let’s get our Exchange back open before we spend lots of time on this discussion. It is crazy to say that vacationing pilots cannot afford a B&B…if that is the case maybe they should sell an airplane or two. Merry
Without knowing or commenting on the other projects competing for funds, I just wanted to say that I heard that Council did indeed award the Exchange a sizable sum of these grant funds today! Thank you to all who made their priorities known–grassroots action really worked. I am very heartened. And thank you to Council for listening to Orcas islanders about this important community institution!