Backed by $21,000 in pledges and a short-term financial plan, the Orcas Island Recreation Program will have six more months to operate as part the county Parks department.
After that, the fate of many of the island’s more popular activities, like soccer, sailing and swim lessons, will be in the hands of voters.
“San Juan County has said it will having nothing to do with Orcas Rec after 2010,” Orcas Rec Coordinator Linda Sheridan said. “People assume we’re getting money from the park and recreation district, but we’re not. We’re two different entities and they’re completely separate.”
Swayed by the pledges and the plan, the San Juan County Council voted without dissent Tuesday to keep in place what’s left of its support for Orcas Rec through the end of October. That means the program will continue to operate out of the county-owned senior center and that its two part-time employees, though no longer paid by the county, will remain within the county ranks, at least until November.
The $16,500 in county funds which Orcas Rec expected to receive in 2009 was eliminated by the council, along with funding for recreational programs on Lopez and San Juan, as part of nearly $1 million in mid-year budget cuts. Funding for recreational programs was eliminated entirely from the 2010 county budget as well.
The council agreed to keep some pieces of Orcas Rec intact, however, so that Orcas Island’s fledgling park and recreation district, which voters created in November, would not have to start from scratch.
Much like the Port of Orcas, the park and recreation district is a junior taxing district that can be funded by a property tax. Though voters overwhelmingly supported its creation in the November election – it earned nearly 72 percent of ballots cast – there was no property-tax levy attached to it at that time.
According to Bob Eagan, park and recreation district commissioner, the commission will likely decide tonight (Thursday) whether to take a funding proposal to the voters as part of the August primary or the general election in November. Either way, Eagan said, there’s a lot of work to do in determining what programs the district should run, which properties it should own, Buck Park for example, and the amount of property-tax that the public would be willing to support.
“The amount is really the quandary,” Eagan said. “But there’s the programming and the question about real estate that have to be addressed too. Those are the big three.”
Without financial support from the county, Sheridan said Orcas Rec has struggled to cover expenses since the start of the year. In fact, she said up until Tuesday that the program was in danger of being shut down entirely because its deficit had grown to roughly $9,000 by the end of April. (The program would be roughly $12,000 in the black if the $21,573 in pledges were converted into cash, according to the financial plan).
County Parks Director Dona Wuthnow said the decision not to close down Orcas Rec serves as a “vote of confidence” by the council for the recently-crafted financial plan, which relies on $55,000 in donations, $50,000 in user fees and $10,000 in grants and fundraising events, as well as a $17,000 budget cut, to keep the program afloat through the remainder of the year.
Sheridan added that it should also soothe the fears of those who pledged financial support but were reluctant to donate without a guarantee that the activities Orcas Rec traditionally offers in summer and fall would be available over the next six months.
“That’s what we needed to hear,” Sheridan said of the six-month reprieve. “I think it will put people at ease.”
Run for Rec
On Saturday, May 22 at Moran State Park, come show your support for the Orcas Rec Program and get in shape for the summer. Walk or run around Cascade Lake to help support its upcoming summer programs. The cost is $25 per person or $100 for a team of five. Meet at the Cascade Lake Picnic Shelter at 11 a.m. for race kickoff and announcements. This will be a fun family event for all ages to enjoy, (childcare will be provided).
