Orcas Islanders overwhelmingly supported the formation of a parks and rec district last November.

Now it’s time to put our money where our mouth is.

The Orcas Park and Rec District initiative received 72 percent of the vote in the 2009 election.

Since January of this year, commissioners Bob Eagan, Martha Farish, Jim Bredouw, Ian Lister, and Vicki Vandermay have been plotting a course for what the Orcas district will provide. It’s been slow-going for the board, who has waded through considerable research on how a rec district should function and assessed what services were needed in the community. It now has an outline of its programs and a preliminary budget.

Until it is funded, the district has no capacity to support parks or recreational programming on Orcas Island, including the Orcas Recreation Program, which is slated to close on Nov. 1.

The board has proposed a levy rate of 10 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for six consecutive years. If you own property on Orcas, you’ll pay $5/month for a $600,000 property assessment.

It will fund the following programs through the Orcas Rec program: soccer, baseball, British soccer camp, volleyball, basketball, sailing, arts and crafts, music and video, technology, swim lessons, teen nights, after school programs, senior water aerobics, Steve Braun triathlon, adult/youth music, adult/youth art, adult/youth computers, adult/youth yoga and movement, and adult/youth tennis.

It will also fund and manage Buck Park, which includes the tennis courts, skate park, and playing fields.

The Orcas Rec program is a dynamic, vital program for our island’s kids. After county budget cuts, it has been kept afloat by community donations, but it hasn’t been enough long-term. The program is closing on Nov. 1, and it will remain defunct unless the rec levy passes.

The fields at Buck Park are in rough condition, which is worrisome because of the sports played by our kids on those fields. Last spring, several students experienced serious injuries.

The school, which currently owns the land, has made it clear that funds for its upkeep have been tight. Volunteers can’t legally improve the fields as long as the park belongs to the school. The parks and rec district would be able to provide both long-term funding and management.

“This was an area where working together made sense if the goal was to make sure a community asset got used and maintained to everyone’s advantage,” commissioner Farish said.

Approving the Orcas Park and Rec levy should be one of the easiest decisions you make on this November’s ballot. Orcas Island is ready to have its own parks district, as voter numbers indicated last year. It’s time to complete this final step in the process.

For more information on the Orcas Parks and Rec District, visit www.orcasparkandrec.com