Six months after the Exchange hired an official manager, the position has been terminated.

“We’ve decided we can operate without that position,” said George Post, president of the board of directors of Orcas Recycling Services, a non-profit that manages the Exchange. “We’re trying to balance our workload, and we need more workers than a manager. It was an experiment, we had never hired an official manager before. We wanted to see if we could make it work better. We learned something and now we’re going to see if we can go back and make it work the other way better.”

Manager Michael Ream’s contract was for 20 hours a week at the Exchange, which Post founded 27 years ago as a way for Orcas Islanders to both donate and pick up reusable items like clothes, books, and tools. Located at the transfer station, it is a hub of activity on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Ream was assisted by six staff members and up to five volunteers. Monetary donations made to the Exchange cover the cost of staffing and overhead. Donated loose change is part of the “Exchange Change” program; all of that money is given to a different island non-profit each month.

Post told the Sounder the Exchange had been losing money, and it was a factor in eliminating the position.

Ream, his wife Shelly, and their 15-year-old son Jeffrey moved from Alaska to Orcas in September. They plan to stay on the island. Ream, who was a carpenter for 45 years, plans to work as a freelance builder.

“The Board of Directors for the Exchange elected to end my relationship as manager due to financial issues and through no fault of mine or theirs,” Ream said. “The decision to fund a manager was reached in a truly optimistic manner but the economy just isn’t supporting that expenditure. Further complicating the process is the shear volume of goods received at the Exchange, which requires additional labor to deal with.  We all know that no household or business can continue to operate when revenue falls short of expenditures. I urge the community to become aware of what it takes to preserve this extremely valuable resource and consider the fact that it costs money to continue serving the community’s needs.”