tLTAC approves $25K grant to keep public restrooms open

Public restrooms at four county parks are likely to remain open year-round thanks to a $25,000 grant from the San Juan County lodging tax facilities fund.

In an 8-0 decision, the grant drew the endorsement of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee on Jan. 21 and, pending approval by the County Council, would help finance year-round maintenance of restrooms at Orcas Island’s Eastsound Village Green and Shark Reef Sanctuary on Lopez, as well as seasonal port-a-potties at Eagle Cove and Reuben Tarte Memorial Park on San Juan Island, both of which are popular day-use parks.

A decision by the council, which has final say on the expenditure, was expected Tuesday. The odds of the council, which agreed several months ago to gamble on the grant, following suit are better than good.

Still, Lance Evans, director of the Orcas Island Chamber of Commerce and a LTAC member, is keeping his fingers crossed. The facility on the Green is the only “official” public restroom in the village. That the council chose to gamble on the grant took many on Orcas by surprise and, he said, was not well-received.

“A lot of people in the community reacted almost viscerally when they heard about it,” Evans said. “They can’t imagine a resort destination like we have here without a public restroom that’s open.”

Despite two months of uncertainty, Evans credits county officials for coming up with a funding alternative for a much-needed service.

“It’s absolutely a big victory for everyone involved,” he said. “If the county had not found this solution, and had to look elsewhere, I think it would’ve been incumbent on the entire island to somehow take on this responsibility.”

Without the grant, the Parks Department had planned to close those restrooms – with exception of summer months – to help off-set a $108,000 cut in its budget that went into effect this year. The department also intends to generate additional cash with a seven percent boost in camping fees at the county park on San Juan Island and reduce its expenses by eliminating some services, such as taking individual camp-site reservations over the phone, and, if all goes according to plan, through volunteer labor and increased donations.

The county maintains two distinct, though nearly identical, lodging tax accounts. One supports tourism-related facilities, such as museums, performing arts centers and parks, and the other is dedicated to promoting tourism. Both are funded by separate two percent taxes on local lodging establishments, such as hotels, motels, inns and B & Bs. In 2007, the twin taxes together generated roughly $700,000.

In 2009, the committee reviewed requests submitted by 21 different groups that together totaled just over $500,000. Based largely on its recommendations, the council divvied up $315,000 between eight non-profits and two public agencies.

San Juan Island’s Rich Peterson, chairman of the county council and of the LTAC, said there’s $25,000 leftover in the facilities account to finance the parks’ “emergency” grant. However, he said, any future requests by parks will be expected to conform to LTAC’s normal grant-review timeline. He said the committee should begin taking requests for facilities-account funding sometime in late March or early April.