The following was submitted by the Orcas Island Exchange.
Road and site construction continues as we work hard to get our site ready for a new Exchange!
Island Excavating and our project manager Ken Katz have completed significant sections of the new “U” shaped loop road and the Exchange building site. This week they are working on our stormwater bioswales (just in time we think!).
The site will have a model stormwater mitigation system—perhaps one of the most extensive in the County. Looks kind of barren right now (see below), but the bioswale areas will be beautifully re-planted with native vegetation, as will the entire site. We are going to need lots of volunteers to help planting—you can sign up for that here.
We are also excited to announce a new scale shack has been ordered—a customized construction trailer to facilitate processing transactions more efficiently for everyone. We are looking forward to saying goodbye to the broken-down old trailer that’s been on site for decades!
Our design team continues to dial-in the new Exchange building, and we’ve hired a company to do the engineering and final design so we can apply for building permits.
Lots of progress, lots of work to be done, lots of money to be raised, but we are on-track.
Campaign about to launch
The Exchange has given so much to islanders over the years; from school clothes to needy families, home furnishings to the displaced, materials for artists, the odd part to fix up something broken – all at a “name your price” sliding scale that made these goods accessible and affordable.
“Rebuild The Exchange” is a capital campaign to pay for a new Exchange reuse facility on the original site. We are confident that the operation will pay for itself—and will not be a continuing financial burden on the community.
The effort will roll out over the next few weeks—with an island-wide mailing, person-to-person fundraising, and media coverage. We intend to make it very clear to the community what is needed to get the Exchange open in the spring of 2016.
For a sneak preview, visit our “Rebuild The Exchange” page on our website at http://www.exchangeorcas.org/rebuild-the-exchange/. And keep coming back—as we will be updating it regularly – especially the fund-raising thermometer.
Now it’s time to prove that together as a community we can create a new Exchange, in a manner that is time and cost-efficient and sustainable for generations. Today, right now we need to come together and Rebuild The Exchange.
