NORTH WHIDBEY: Parks and Rec levy on ballot again

Sam Fletcher reports from the North Whidbey Pool, Park and Recreation District for the Whidbey News-Times.

The only public swimming pool on Whidbey Island will remain open if the North Whidbey Pool, Parks and Recreation District levy passes in the November election.

It’s a simple replacement levy, supporting up to 20 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, which must be re-voted upon every six years. If it doesn’t pass, the John Vanderzicht Memorial Pool will close by the end of the year.

They Said It

“It’s not a new tax,” said Commissioner Bill Larsen. “It’s not anything on top of what people are already paying.”

The levy pays for facility upgrades and program expansions that have occurred in recent years. While the cost remains the same, people are getting more bang for their buck, Larsen said.

Larsen said they always wanted to be more than a pool and getting someone in a leadership position who had that experience with those programs was the key [referring to executive director Jay Cochran].

Kids benefit greatly from levy support, he said, as many of them learn how to swim at the pool. School teams practice at the pool.

“Whether you’re a new swimmer or a novice swimmer, or you’re somebody who’s serious about the sport, there’s something going on for just about everyone,” he said.

According to the advocacy committee for rejecting the resolution, since the last levy, property owners in Oak Harbor are now taxed to support two parks and recreation organizations, the City of Oak Harbor parks and recreation department and the North Whidbey Pool, Parks and Recreation District.

The committee states that property owners could save nearly $1 million annually by combining the two organizations that provide recreational districts to the same population.

At a March meeting, Oak Harbor Councilmember Jim Woessner addressed the idea of having the city take over the parks and rec district. He pointed out that $800,000 spent on improvements in recent years would have been absorbed by the 22,000 Oak Harbor residents as opposed to the 41,000 people of the greater North Whidbey district.

On the Ballot In November 2024