Letter to the Editor: Vote for Levy and County Parks

Please Support Continued Funding to Keep Our County Parks Open and Well-Maintained.

Support for proposition number one on the November ballot continues the current “Levy Lift” funding needed to keep our county parks open, well-maintained, and in good repair.

Our county parks make it possible for us all to enjoy some of the best features of living on these islands, including:

• Natural areas having treasured views, access to the shore, and benches for picnicking.
• Popular places for public events, like concerts and Saturday markets at the Village Green and the Fourth of July activities at the Eastsound Waterfront Park.
• Places for family recreation.
• Private events for residents and visitors, like weddings.
• Shoreline camping, with reservation privileges for county residents.
• Convenient, year-around restrooms.

The “Levy Lift” funding cover a substantial share of the costs for operating and maintaining our country parks, such as the persistent attention needed to clean the restrooms, remove the trash, mow the grass, and keep all in good repair. It covers basic, current services; it is not a “bond fund” for supporting large new projects or programs.

In addition to our own use as residents, our parks draw many mainland visitors who choose to spend their vacation dollars here. However, the increased number of both residents and visitors using our parks has also sharply increased operating costs. Park managers have been able to partially offset higher costs by using volunteers, by charging user fees, and by applying a portion of lodging tax revenues. However, these saving and added revenues are not sufficient to keep our parks operating daily, cleanly, safely, and in good repair. Funding for operating our parks is not available from the state and Federal government.

Please help keep our county parks open and maintained by supporting this measure.

Jeff Struthers, Orcas Island