Orcas Park & Rec District to Make Another Try

The Orcas Island Park and Rec. District commissioners, at a special meeting held on Dec. 17, voted in favor of presenting a reduced levy on 2011’s February 8^th ballot of 9 cents per $1,000 of appraised property value.

Jim Bredouw, OIPRD commissioner said,

After many hours of discussion that ranged from abandoning the notion of a publicly funded district altogether to simply resubmitting the original budget of 10 cents/$1,000, it was decided to go out one more time with a 10% lighter budget of 9 cents – the lowest amount we felt could accomplish the minimal services that we are reading the majority of the public appears to want us to provide.

Because a clear majority of Orcas voters approved the original 10 cents proposal last month (it garnered 58.75% of the vote but needed a supermajority of 60% to pass), we were determined to sharpen our pencils but with a budget that would still leave our fundamental purpose intact.  This would include providing an organizational and insurance conduit for dozens of primarily self-sustaining programs like soccer, little league baseball, sailing, the mentor program and dozens of others, as well as a minimal but critical maintenance of lower Buck Park; a gift to the Orcas public that is bordering on being dangerous to use in its current condition.

It would also provide some funding for programs that we consider essential, such as potentially lifesaving swimming lessons for both kids and adults, as well as after-school and Fri./Sat. night programs that give many of our latch-key kids and teens a healthy and productive alternative to unsupervised free time, that sometimes results in less desirable outcomes.

Hopefully at least 60% of the public will find this relatively small price (about $4/month on average) a good investment that some, including many law enforcement officials, feel they would be spending anyway in police, court, medical and/or rehab costs should these programs fail to exist. We think this is just a smarter and more productive way to direct the public’s hard earned dollars and it is certainly better for our kids.

For more information, you may go to OrcasParkAndRec.com.