Endorsement: Orcas Issues Supports Park & Recreation Levy on Proposition 1

Accomplishment and grief bring our community together like nothing else. The largest island event ever was the Rally to Save Turtleback Mountain four years ago in 2006. It is an island reference point celebrating nature, community and appreciation.

But saving Turtleback Mountain for all of us wasn’t a piece of cake. Thorny issues like removing a sizeable piece of property from the tax base and whether affordable housing could be accommodated brought out contentious debate. And after Turtleback became “ours,” the issues of access and protection were argued back and forth in what some consider “dreary” meetings.

Now, Orcas Island voters have the opportunity to accomplish something good and great — to institutionalize and preserve our lauded island beauty and lifestyle for our community, and our future.

The Orcas Island Park and Recreation District (OIPRD) is asking for approval of a levy on the ballots that will be mailed this Friday to fund the district that was created by the voters last November. The Orcas Park & Rec District Commissioners have met regularly this past year to determine how best to bring forward a government agency that serves the public good.

In the face of an impatient electorate and a “Just Do It” ethic, the OIPRD Board has deliberately and conscientiously gone about creating a responsible governing body. It has considered the programs and standards of its parent, the County-supported Parks Department. It has labored to make sure the mandate of island parks and recreation can be viable under a new funding form, a taxing district. Likewise, they have carefully considered the funds required to maintain the programs.

OIPRD has held scantily-attended meetings to solicit public input on the dry mechanics of board conduct, open public meetings, budget formulation and the ever-tricky “blending” of missions, mandates, liability and funding that go into our patchwork of parks and recreation.

Yes, recreation is worth taxing, for both the wealthy and the impoverished and especially for the beleaguered middle-income or minimally-compensated. At a recent parent meeting of pre-teenagers, the group consensus was that the most effective “solution” to the teasing, bullying, and exclusion that is normal but insidious to that age group, is the outdoor recreational experiences they share with others.

It is well-documented that social and recreational activities are essential to emotional and community well-being. The implications in reduced health care costs and crime prevention are profound. For some 15 years, the Orcas Rec program, under the leadership of Kathi Ciskowski, Didier Gincig, and Linda Sheridan, have provided these experiences.

They planted the bulb, providing structure, programs, schedules, resources and oversight to the chronically under-funded county program. Now it is time to harvest that bulb, separate it and replant it to provide a bumper crop for future harvests.

Let’s celebrate accomplishment in growing our island recreation program to a stewardship of nature and community, rather than grieve the disappearance of an old friend.