• Island Rec’s current levy and funding expires in 2027. After 2027 there is no funding for Island Rec, High School sports or the operations and maintenance of John O. Linde Community Park, Eddie and Friends Dog Park, the Island Rec Skate Park, the Island Rec Family Park and Playground and the Lafarge Open Space gravel pit.
• By law the maximum term for Island Rec’s levy is six years; the maximum levy rate is 60 cents; this levy is for 38.5 cents per $1,000 of property assessment value. The expiring levy was also for 38.5 cents.
• Island Rec needs 2,600 voters to vote in April 2027 to validate the election and needs 60% approval to pass.

• This levy will continue Island Rec Programs and Trails- 16.5 cents
• This levy will continue funding of school sports- 10 cents
• This levy will continue the O&M of Island Rec Parks, including John O. Linde Community Park, Eddie and Friends Dog Park, the Island Rec Skate Park, the Island Rec Family Park and Playground and the Lafarge Open Space gravel pit.– 12 cents

The Island Rec levy renewal request will be on the ballot for the special election in April. Election day is April 27, 2021. In order to pass, by law the levy requires a supermajority of votes, which means a minimum of 60% "yes" votes.

View more information about voting and elections in San Juan County.

• At the end of the last levy cycle (2015) Island Rec provided over 2,700 hours of organized recreation programming with over 14,000 participants. During this levy cycle it has increased to over 3,200 hours of recreation programming with nearly 18,000 participants.

  EVENTS

  100 Hours Outside Summer Challenge

  Virtual Mileage Challenges

  Arbor Day Community Celebration

  Art in the Park

  Brad Pillow 8.8K Run

  Children’s Festival

  Community S'mores Beach Party

  Community Whale Watch

  Family Outrigger Canoe Day

  Farmers Market Arts and Craft

  Father Daughter Dance

  Halloween Dress Up Night!

  Holiday Tree Lighting Craft

  Inter-Island Bike Rides

  Island Kid’s Maker Fair

  Know Your Island Walks

  Locals Kayak Journey

  Messy Me

  Music on the Lawn

  National Coloring Day Community Coloring

  Nature Wonders Family Day

  Noon Year’s Eve Celebration

  Pickleball Tournament

  Pig War Picnic Games

  Pup-Kin Run at the Park

  Puzzle Tournaments

  Resolution Run/Walk 5k & Salish Splash

  Riders of the Nite

  Roller Skate Nights

  Shamrock Fun Run

  Spring Puzzle Hustle

  St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt

  Star Gazing at Jackson Beach

  Summer Playground Programs

  Teen Halloween

  Teen Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt

  Touch-a-Truck

  Tour D'Family

  Walktober Bingo Card Challenge

  Wheels For All

   

  DROP-IN RECREATION

  Drop-In Adult Roller Hockey

  Drop-In Basketball Open Gym Grades 3-6

  Drop-In Men's Basketball

  Drop-In Skateboarding

  Drop-In Women's Basketball

  Drop-In Youth Roller Hockey

  Teen Open Gym

  Youth Basketball Open Gym

   

  ADULT PROGRAMS

  Adult Beginner Outrigger Canoe - Turn Island

  Birdwatching

  Co-ed Soccer

  Woodworking Basics

  Digital Photography

  First Aid & CPR

  Yoga

  Gentle Walkers

  Intro to Ballet

  Island Hop and Hike

  Mindful Pause Workshop- Distress to De-Stress

  Nature Journaling

  Play Ukulele Today

  Seaweed Field Excursion

  Senior Cardio

  Senior Mobility & Flexibility

  Senior Strength

  Tai Chi in The Park

  Tennis 101

  Watercraft Safety and Navigation

  Woodburning Class

  Pickleball

  Pickleball 101

  All Ages Art Workshops

  All Ages Paint Nights

   

  YOUTH

  Dragonfly Preschool

  Mini Soccer

  STAR After School Care

  School Break Camps

  Swimming Lesson Vouchers

  Sailing

  Camp Eagle Rock

  Teen Adventure Camps

  K-2 Arthouse After School

  Upper Elementary After-School Paint Club

  Wednesday Afternoon Craft Club

  Youth Roller Hockey

  Skateboarding

  Art Bite for Teens

  Babysitting Safe Sitter Class

  Youth Basketball Leagues

  Fall Rec Soccer

  Friday Harbor Futbal Club

  Children’s Festival Poster Contest

  Island Kid’s Maker Workshops

  Kid’s Water Safety and Rescue

  Camp Orkila Day Trip

  Future Hoopsters Basketball

  Intro to Sports

  Art Camps

  Tennis Camps

  Basketball Camps

  Skateboard Camps

  Animal Sanctuary Kids Camps

  Build a Band Music Camps

  Circus Camps

  International Soccer Half-Day Camps

  LEGO Camps

  Lunch on Turn Island: Outrigger Canoe

  ...And so much more!

The renewed levy will allow Island Rec to maintain its current recreation programs, parks and services and allow for modest growth.  This includes:

• Preschool age programming expansion
• Increased maintenance and capital projects at Lafarge Property, Family Park, Skate Park, Eddie and Friends Dog Park and John O. Linde Community Park.
• Increase adult community recreation and continued education opportunities.
• Community assessment for expanded indoor and outdoor recreation facilities at John O. Linde Community Park.

• In 2009, voters approved Island Rec’s levy to fund school sports.
• The school has maxed out its levy capacity funding basic education.
• The School District’s budget cannot fund school sports and is 100% dependent on this levy to do so.
  Read the 2021 information and Frequently Asked Questions about the SJISD School Sports Levy partnership with Island Rec.

Access to park spaces create healthy communities and Island Rec is in the business of both parks and creating a healthy community.  As a public agency, it is Island Rec’s mission and mandate to operate parks and recreational facilities.

• • This park includes a playground, paved walking trail, soccer field, multipurpose field, baseball field, softball field, picnic areas and a restroom.
  • Island Rec is delighted that this community has donated over $4 million dollars to fully build the park, and public money is only needed to maintain it. This park has been developed through partnerships with the San Juan Island School District as the landowner, Friday Harbor Athletic Association and the San Juan Island Community Foundation as the developer and Island Rec as the public agency to operate and maintain the popular community facility. 

You live in a community where:

• Affordable and free community events and activities bring neighbors and families together.
• Parks, trails and open spaces are available and well-maintained for everyone to enjoy.
• Seniors and adults have recreational opportunities for a variety of interests and needs.
• Families have opportunities to recreate together in programs and parks.
• Working parents can be assured their children are well cared for at affordable, safe and enriching daily afterschool and summer programs.
• High school students have the opportunity of participating in a school sport and all the positive experiences that are part of being on a team.
• Working people want to live here because of the high quality of life provided through trails, parks, recreation programs and sports made available to the community.
• Tweens and teens have the opportunity to explore, develop and learn positive life-long leisure skills.
• Kids and adults have positive choices and alternatives to drug and alcohol abuse.

This is a property tax levy. Island Rec is asking for a renewal of the existing levy rate of 38.5 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value. Here are some examples of what San Juan Island property owners would pay to fund this levy for 2027-2033, based on the value of your property: