You are going to be seeing a lot of letters and articles in the next few weeks concerning the Orcas Park and Recreation levy request.

Hopefully you will take a few moments to review the details and separate the wheat from the chaff.

The bottom line is that the county discontinued funding for the Orcas Recreation Program which resulted in that very positive and valuable program being forced to shut down.

The Park & Recreation commissioners you elected are all fiscally responsible neighbors of ours with businesses of their own who have worked very hard for the past year in a completely open forum. Their hard work resulted in a very reasonable solution.

They have cut their original request by 10 percent to nine cents per thousand of assessed value. Simply put, this represents $45/year for a $500,000 property or $3.75/month.

The OIPRD Web site is updated with a new FAQ, budget page and voting dates: http://www.orcasparkandrec.com/orcasparkandrec.com/Welcome%21.html.

Any of the commissioners would be more than happy to answer any questions.

Ballots will be mailed to you on Jan. 19. Please vote yes.

Thank you for your time.

Bob Phalan

Orcas Island