2019 End of Year Report

San Juan Island Park and Recreation District (locally known as Island Rec) established in 1984 as a junior taxing district for San Juan Island is governed by an elected board of five commissioners. Serving during 2019 were Commissioners Bill Cumming (chair), Scott Zehner, Adam Eltinge, Shannon Miniken and Jackie Reiff until March and then Allison Moalli joined the commissioners in June.

It is the purpose of San Juan Island Park and Recreation District to enhance the quality of life on San Juan Island by:

  • Offering the widest variety of leisure and recreational activities to all island residents
  • Acquiring, developing, maintaining, preserving, and protecting recreational resources
  • Ensuring that recreational activities and facilities are accessible and affordable to all residents.

Administration

2019 was the fourth year of the 38.5 cent levy passed in April of 2015 and the fourth year of a new inter-local agreement with the school district. Island Rec utilizes 18.5 cents of this levy, school sports are funded with 12 cents of this levy and eight cents of this levy is used for the maintenance and operations of John O. Linde Community Park, which the school district owns. The operating expenses totaled $1,358,304 with 24% ($331,771) allocated for school sports and 16% ($221,865) allocated towards the maintenance and operations of Linde Park. The budget expenditures specific to Island Rec totaled $804,668 for staff, programs, trails and parks (excluding John O. Linde Community Park).

The revenue in 2019 totaled $1,358,081. Tax dollars accounted for 65% ($520,665) of the budget specific to Island Rec’s staffing, programs, trails and parks. Program revenue in 2019 paid 25% ($199,531) of all budget revenue generated by other fees, grants and sponsorships accounts for 6% ($48,998).

FANS, Families and Neighbors Support Island Rec, a 501c3 created in 2012 for the purpose of expanding Island Rec’s level of service and keeping it thriving, contributed $14,500 in 2019. FANS continued to provide funds for Movies in the Park, Music on the Lawn, Children’s Festival, program scholarships, doggie waste bags and the 8.8k Race. FANS continued to offer concessions at all the Music on the Lawn nights. Additionally, FANS prizes for events, staff and volunteer recognition awards. In 2019, FANS secured a generous donation that provided an adaptive swing for the playground at the Family Park at the Fairgrounds.

In 2019, Island Rec provided $27,170 in scholarships, a 15% decrease from 2018. FANS provided $662.72 in additional scholarships for families that did not meet the requirements of other scholarships.

Harbor Rentals, Island Petroleum Services (IPS), Kings Market, Islanders Bank, Islanders Insurance, Roche Harbor Resort, Vinny’s Ristorante, Soroptimists, Larry’s Autobody, Luxel, Earthbox, Petro San Juan and Xtreme Fitness were key sponsors of Island Rec events and programs.

Island Rec’s Director Maddie Ovenell completed her fourth year in May. Steve Berkowitz transitioned out of his position in April and John Fyrqvist was hired in August. Morgan Johnston, the Recreation Manager completed her first year in this position and her seventh year as an employee of Island Rec. Lili Lyne completed her first year as the Sports Recreation Specialist. Courtney Leake worked with the STAR program and Dragonfly Preschool Camp and transitioned out of the position in September. Doug Archuleta was hired for the Afterschool Program Manager position and began in October. Heidi White completed her third year of service in April as the Administrative Assistant since returning to the organization in 2016. Tracy Roberson, the Park Maintenance Superintendent completed her third year in December of 2019. Mike Erickson, the Park Maintenance Lead completed his second year in March. CJ Woods joined the staff team to lead Camp Eagle Rock this year. Island Rec employed 31 seasonal and part-time employees working Camp Eagle Rock, Sailing Classes, STAR, Open Gym, Open Fair Building and other specialty programs.

There were three important administrative accomplishments in the 2019. First, the opportunity for the Island Rec office to expand its square footage became available and we were able to create a new conference room area and expand some staff offices. This has allowed for more meeting space and increased privacy for staff workspaces. The second notable accomplishment was an upgrade to fiber internet services which allowed for fast connection speeds and a more secure system. Lastly, the district successfully completed their 3-year audit with the Washington State Auditor. There were no issues or findings in this audit.

Parks, Trails and Open Space

Island Rec operates five parks: The Family Park and Skate Park at the Fairgrounds, Eddie & Friends Dog Park, Lafarge (Gravel Pit) Open space and John O. Linde Community Park as of January 1, 2016.

Expenses for all parks (excluding John O. Linde Community Park) and the Trails Committee account for 5% of Island Rec’s budget with 6% of tax dollars collected financing them. Regular trash pick-up and general maintenance occurs for these parks daily during spring, summer and fall, and adjusted in the winter based on usage.

In 2019, Island Rec completed a new fence at the skatepark. This project was partially funded through a public facilities financing grant from San Juan County.

The Trails Committee had a busy year continuing to support maintaining trails on the island. Under the Trails Committee, a sub-committee was created to work on the creation of a trail from American Camp to English Camp, that would commemorate the Old Military Road, which historically connected the two camps. The sub-committee, Old Military Road Trail Committee (OMRTC) received a National Park Services Rivers, Trails and Conservation Technical Assistance grant to begin developing the concept.
The operations and maintenance of John O. Linde Community Park is a multi-phase process. Funding for all the O&M of the park comes from levy dollars collected. In 2019, through a partnership with the San Juan Island Community Foundation, construction on the baseball field began. This is the last field that needs to be completed at the facility. The remaining section of the walking path was completed, thus creating a 1-mile paved walking trail at Linde. Mike Carlson Enterprises was hired through the Community Foundation for the project.

An important project that Island Rec maintenance staff completed in 2019 was building a new information kiosk at John O. Linde Community Park. Additionally, engineered wood fiber was added to the playground at both Linde and the Family Park.

In 2019, the approval for amplified sound at John O. Linde Community Park was extended two years by the Town of Friday Harbor.

Programs

The cornerstone of Island Rec is its year-round broad recreation programming. The District operates in three distinct seasons, offering special events and on-going activities for people of all ages. The majority of Island Rec resources are dedicated to recreation programs.

Highlights of the 2019 recreation program were:

  • Dragonfly Preschool Camp operated in the summer for three weeks.  This was the first multiweek preschool camp that Island Rec has offered.
  • Due to popularity on the island, Pickleball was added as a drop-in program at the fairgrounds.
  • Because attendance has been low in previous years, we scaled back Movies in the Park to just one movie this year.
  • A Circus Arts program returned to our summer line-up.
  • We operated our first Jump Rope Camp in the summer, and it had great success.

Partnerships are vital to Island Rec’s success and to serving the San Juan Island community effectively. Partnerships and cooperative programming avoids duplication of services and utilizes existing resources to deliver a better service. Island Rec continued its ongoing partnerships with:

  • FANS
  • San Juan Island School District
  • San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce
  • San Juan Island Sailing Foundation
  • San Juan Island Fitness Club
  • San Juan Island Community Foundation
  • Alchemy Art Center
  • Family Umbrella Group
  • SJI Farmer’s Market
  • San Juan Island Prevention Coalition
  • San Juan Island Family Resource Center
  • Port of Friday Harbor
  • San Juan Nature Institute
  • Village at the Harbour
  • San Juan Island Library
  • San Juan Island Historical Museum
  • Friday Harbor Athletic Association
  • Town of Friday Harbor
  • Spring Street School
  • San Juan County Fairgrounds
  • San Juan County Health and Community Services
  • YMCA Camp Orkila
  • San Juan Island National Historic Park
  • Friday Harbor Football Club
  • Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
  • Peace Health: Peace Island Medical Center

Since 2008 Island Rec’s Board has recognized individuals, businesses and organizations with its Shining Star Awards and Volunteer Appreciation. Island Rec had the support of 158 volunteers who contributed more than 1134 hours providing park and recreation programs and services for San Juan Islanders. Award recipients for 2019 were:

Partnership Award: Commitment to providing recreational opportunities through cooperative efforts
San Juan Community Foundation; for Partnership in developing the baseball field at John O. Linde Community Park. 

Community Spirit Awards:
Francie Hansen
Family Umbrella Group

Outstanding Volunteer Service:
Dave Zeretzke
Kristen Rezabek

Recognition of 5 years of Volunteer Service:
Kevin Soper

Recognition of 10 years of Volunteer Service:
Skip Foss
Peter and Susan Risser
Angela Carlson
Walt and Judy Cornell

Recognition of 15 years of Volunteer Service:
Francie Hansen
Binney Haenel

Past Reports:

2018 End of Year Report, 2017 End of Year Report, 2016 End of Year Report, 2015 End of Year Report, 2014-end-of-year-report, 2013 Year End Report, 2012 Year End Report, 2011 Year End Report, 2010 Year End Report