Rep. Lekanoff sponsors 2025 Pea Patch capital request: Town Hall meeting March 15 at the Fire Hall, 5 p.m.

March 14, 2025 1:30 am
Pea Patch delegation visits with Rep. Lekanoff in Olympia to advocate for Pea Patch Community Campus funding. From l-r: Rusty Diggs, Suzanne Olson, Alex Callen, Rep. Lekanoff, Mariah Armenia, Bob Morris.
Pea Patch delegation visits with Rep. Lekanoff in Olympia to advocate for Pea Patch Community Campus funding. From l-r: Rusty Diggs, Suzanne Olson, Alex Callen, Rep. Lekanoff, Mariah Armenia, Bob Morris.

Submitted by Pea Patch Community Campus staff.

Rep. Debra Lekanoff will be on Orcas Island on Saturday, March 15, from 5-6 p.m. at the Orcas Fire Hall to discuss the 2025 legislative session and answer questions.

“The 2025 legislative session has presented significant challenges, including a large budget deficit and the uncertainty stemming from the new federal administration,” Lekanoff reports. Lekanoff will share how she and her colleagues are working to safeguard Washington state’s values and investments amidst these challenges.

Lekanoff is the sponsor of a $6.5M Local Community Project request of the 2025 Capital Budget to support the Pea Patch Community Campus. The Campus includes 20 long-term rentals for households of those with low income and permanent facilities for the Food Bank and Resource Center. The whole District 40 team is on board: Rep. Alex Ramel is supporting the project in the House, and Sen. Liz Lovelett is co-sponsoring the request in the Senate. The capital request is to complete site work on the campus — roads, utilities, stormwater measures and paving. Site work completion unlocks construction of the housing, which is nearly fully funded. There are about 50 islanders already waiting and eligible for the 20 affordable townhomes.

A delegation from Orcas Islanders traveled to Olympia on Feb. 12 to share their stories of housing, food and health challenges and to advocate for a unified community campus that will better meet their needs and improve service to the community for generations to come.

OPAL homeowner and incoming Board President Rusty Diggs had just found out she was pregnant 20 years ago when she and her husband lost their rental housing. The pregnancy turned out to be twins, and one of the babies suffered a birth trauma that left her disabled. Diggs and her family were able to buy an affordable home through OPAL, which gave them the stability to parent their children and start a business on the island.

“We had lots of support from friends in the community and the school to find the right resources for both of our kids. Today, Mona, who still needs 24/7 care, is a sophomore at Whitman College with her dad as her caregiver; and Isabella is at Harvard with a full scholarship. This could not have happened without OPAL’s affordable housing – and the food bank and resource center in the early years.”

The total funding required to complete the Pea Patch Community Campus is estimated at $48M, and the three organizations have raised more than 40% to date. About 50% of funding is projected to come from public sources: 30% from individuals and 20% from grants and organizational reserves. A capital fundraising campaign will launch later this year to complete the campus by 2028.

The Pea Patch Community Campus is a collaboration of OPAL Community Land Trust, Orcas Island Food Bank and the Orcas Community Resource Center. Learn more at https://www.opalclt.org/in-the-works/pea-patch-property/.