HomeMy WebLinkAbout112023 email Comment on Healthier Together briefing Nov 20 2023ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
To the Commissioners:
You have a scheduled briefing on the subject of the proposed Aquatic Center on Monday. I hope you can take this input into account as you discuss the proposal.
I submit to you that our community really should have a decent pool; the current pool will not long survive, and Jefferson County residents apparently make lots of trips to Clallam and
Kitsap Counties to avail themselves of facilities there. Our shool children need to learn to swim, etc, etc. I've heard plenty of public comment about the importance both to families
and to older citizens. I'm sure you agree that it's a desideratum, but I've heard comments among you about imposing a tax on all county residents to support it (or at least spending
good money to put the question on the ballot). You have been concerned about whether the cost to residents more distant from Port Townsend is proportional to the cost of the tax.
I hope you are aware that it is expected that the City of Port Townsend will continue to subsidize the facility to the tune of $400,000 or more a year. That money will come from City
taxpayers.
The City will share the cost of the election on the ballot measure if you approve it.
The projected cost per county resident is $10-30, which I don't call particularly burdensome. What a person will actually pay will depend on their consumer behavior. I have a hunch
that folks in Port Townsend may spend more money on taxable goods than folks in South County and that they may order more products online than folks in South County, who live closer
to shopping opportunities in Kitsap County. It's reasonable to think that City residents will pay more of this sales tax per person than residents elsewhere in the county. And a
City resident's share of the City subsidy will be more than $30, so City people will pay on the order of two times what District 2 and District 3 residents will pay in taxes. Local
donors will carry a lot of the weight, along with granting agencies.
At this point, the specter of a property tax, is off the table.
Your agenda does not indicate that you are asked to take any action, which differs from the request on page 12 of the report you will be considering. It asks that you approve the steering
committee's recommendations.
You you know, I have been advocating for the inclusion of public shower facilities in the aquatic center. This is because of need for such facilities for a range of people, including
the unsheltered, some tourists, people who live off the grid, and people temporarily without running water while renovating their homes. It is also because it is obvious that not including
them in this project will delay another solution and because any stand-alone facility would inevitbly be more expensive than including showers in the current project.
The steering committee continues to refine its recommendations as they research and as they receive public comment. At this point, they recognize that the City Council "approves" public
showers (page 13). In actuality, most members of the City Council have affirmatively stated that they are an important component and they they positively want to see them included.
On page 3 of the report is an estimate of costs for the showers. Based on the presentation to City Council on November 13, this involves showers with access from the exterior to the
building. That may be the reason for the estimate of $50,000 for operations, as such an arrangement would require additional staff.
I'd like you to know that I have provided Carrie Hite and the steering committee with information about a sports and aquatic center run by the Skagit Valley Family YMCA with a well-thought-out,
integral showers program that has run successfully for a couple of years without controversy and without requiring extra staff. It is my hope that you will recommend that the steering
committee actively search for a solution involving showers accessed by going through the lobby, which will already be staffed.
I appreciate this board's thoughtful consideration of a myriad of issues our county faces. I admire your work!
Deborah Pedersen
Port Townsend
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