HomeMy WebLinkAbout101826 - email Jefferson County Park and Recreation District No_1ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Josh,
I attended a couple meetings of the Jefferson County Park and Recreation District No.1 in the past couple weeks, first a Special Meeting to discuss what to do about the double tax burden
that the property owners in that District will face with the Levy Lid Lift Parks and Recreation Levy that passed in August goes into effect in 2027. Second was a regular Board Meeting
to approve their 2027 budget and decide on a response to the question of what to do with the Park and Recreation District No.1 tax levy in light of the overall tax levy that was passed
in August.
There has been some discussion in the past on this topic between the County and Park District No. 1, mostly which seemed to be recognizing that there would be a double tax burden on
the residents of Park District No.1, and proposing a solution whereby Park District No.1 would give up on their tax collection and instead rely on contributions from the County General
Fund or Levy Lid lift funding via some type of agreement to be struck between the County and the Park District No.1 Board.
Parks and Recreation District No.1, has been a model of community involvement and support for Community Centers, they have done an excellent job of managing the Laurel B. Johnson Community
Center, raising funds and creating community support. The levy they had on the ballot in 2025, to fund the Laurel B. Johnson Community Center, passed with over 72% of the vote in favor
of the $0.15/$1000, demonstrating their reputation in the district. It does not seem to make any sense to ask them to step away from that levy in exchange for promises (even in an agreement)
of future funding through the County General Fund, or funding from the County-wide Parks and Levy funding that may not be renewed in 6 years. As you know well, getting support for renewing
an existing levy that has been well administered, is significantly easier than passing a new levy. It also does not make sense for the property owners in this small District to pay
both the $0.15/$1000 and the $0.21/$1000 for a total of $0.36/$1000 for park and recreation facilities.
Apparently, this was thought about, but not fully addressed, in the Resolution that was passed by the County in order to place the Levy Lid Lift on the Ballot in August 2026. Elements
of that resolution suggest that some agreement be struck with Park District No.1, but no solution actually proposed or outlined. However, the resolution did provide a mechanism in
the event of the City of Port Townsend forming a Metropolitan Parks District, such that in that potential future case the County could adjust the Levy Lid Lift rate to offset revenues
generated by the future Metropolitan Parks District, presumably to maintain the overall burden on the taxpayers of that district to be the same as the burden on the taxpayers outside
of that district. If such a carve out for a yet to be formed Parks District was included in the enabling Resolution, why would such a mechanism to deal with the existing (and well
functioning) Parks and Recreation District No.1 not be included in the enabling resolution?
I am fully aware that I am not in possession of all the facts, nor the legal restrictions and implications, but something seems profoundly wrong with having the property owners in Parks
and Recreation District No.1 paying $0.36/$1000 to support parks while the rest of the County only is paying $0.21/$1000. I took the liberty to draft a Resolution, imitating your resolution
style, and submitted it to the Jefferson County Park and Recreation District No.1 Board at their recent meeting, as a suggestion for how this problem may be resolved. I am attaching
that same draft to you, not to be presumptuous that you would use this, but rather to share my thoughts on a potential solution.
To be clear, I do not have any position with the Parks and Recreation District No.1 Board, and this is a matter that you need to work out with them, but I do offer any help that I may
be able to bring. As a property owner that will be subject to the double taxation for Parks and Recreation facilities, I do share that concern with other taxpayers of this district.
Thanks for your consideration of this matter, hopefully something will be resolved prior to the 2027 Property Tax Statements being sent out. I have copied Dennis Schmidt, President of
the Board, Jefferson County Parks and Recreation District No.1 on this email.
Respectfully,
Mark Knudsen
851 Camp Discovery Rd
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