HomeMy WebLinkAbout112023 email Support the aquatic center!ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
November 20, 2023
To the Jefferson County Commissioners,
I am a resident of Jefferson County and I want to add my voice to the chorus of others who support moving forward with the proposal for a new aquatic center. I moved here with my family
in August 2019 from the central Oregon Coast to take advantage of a job opportunity for my wife in Port Townsend. We are raising our two kids here and all of us recognize that we are
very fortunate to be able to call this place home. As a relative newcomer, I don’t claim to have a thorough understanding of all of the history surrounding many of the local issues
facing this community. But one issue I do understand is the glaring lack of a decent aquatic center. An aquatic center is an important resource for the county. It is a place where children
will learn how to swim, where families will go for year-round recreation, and where people of all ages will go to exercise or to rehabilitate injuries or other chronic health problems.
In other words, It is an investment in the physical and mental health and well-being of the entire community.
Before you are recommendations reflecting the culmination of a long process by a diverse group of stakeholders who understand the benefits that a modern aquatic center will provide to
our county. They include Jefferson County (you!), the Port Townsend School District, the Port of Port Townsend, the City of Port Townsend, the Jeffco Aquatic Coalition, the YMCA, and
Jefferson Healthcare. Each group brought the needs of their constituents to the table and, with no small amount of work by Carrie Hite, they came up with specific recommendations including
the construction of a new building on land donated by the Port Townsend School District that will be paid for through a mix of public financing, grants from the State of Washington,
and private donations from supporters of the aquatic center.
Grants are a critical piece of the financial package and time is of the essence to be able to receive $10-11 million that will become available later next year. To access these grants,
voters need to approve the public financing piece (a 0.2% county-wide sales tax) of the financial package by April. In order to move the process forward towards holding a vote, all
that is needed right now is for the county to simply support the recommendations of the stakeholder group. While this is just one small step, it’s also an important one because it is
necessary in order to be able to proceed with an independent financial review of the project as proposed. There is no doubt in my mind that financing is one area of great concern to
many county residents, and rightfully so. Voters need an independent financial review in order to evaluate the merits of the proposal and make an informed decision at the ballot box.
If the results of a feasibility study were to show that the finances are somehow based on flawed assumptions or erroneous conclusions then the public would be all the better for it.
With the results of a feasibility study in hand, you will decide whether or not to create a public facilities district or PFD, still another critical step in the process. But to get
there, I am asking for you simply to support the recommendations of the stakeholder group.
There are naysayers out there and anti-tax folks who never want to pay for anything if it is for the “public good.” They may try to bamboozle you with last-minute proposals such as a
circus-tent-like structure down in Port Hadlock to be built sometime in the future after there is infrastructure in place in another two years. Make no mistake, this is just an attempt
to throw sand in the gears of the process by delaying it indefinitely and does not represent the needs of your constituents. Please don’t be swayed by a vocal minority who will stop
at nothing to keep this process from moving forward. I believe that once the results of the feasibility study are available to the public, you will find there is overwhelming support
for this from all around Jefferson County. Thank you for supporting the recommendations of the stakeholder group for a new aquatic center in Jefferson County!
Sincerely,
Keith Bosley and Family
Port Townsend