PORT ANGELES — Olympic Medical Center commissioners Wednesday endorsed the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center’s bid to form a metropolitan park district, despite requests not to do so.
Five commissioners — John Beitzel, Jim Cammack, Jean Hordyk, Jim Leskinovitch, and John Nutter — endorsed the proposal as helpful to OMC’s mission of promoting health.
Commission Chairman Tom Oblak abstained because he belongs to the center and serves on the campaign committee for the measure.
Commissioner John Miles abstained after saying commissioners should follow one opponent’s suggestion that they examine the business plan for the aquatic center, which is known as SARC.
“I don’t see what’s wrong with awaiting a business plan,” Miles said. “Seems pretty reasonable to me.”
Bob Anundson, a candidate for the board that would govern the new park district if voters approve it Aug. 4, said asking for SARC’s business plan was “just the way you do things in order to optimize your success.”
He and Eckhart Mildenstein, also a SARC board candidate, said they did not oppose forming the district, only OMC’s endorsement of it and the taxing and bonding power the SARC board could wield without voter approval.
If voters approve the metropolitan district, roughly the area served by Sequim schools, it would replace an existing parks and recreation district that’s existed since 1988.
Passage would be by a simple majority.
It would be a permanent taxing district with a board that has the authority to levy property taxes up to 75 cents per $1,000 assessed value without voter ratification.
The proposal is to impose a levy of 12 cents or less.
The district would support the aquatic center, East Clallam County’s only public swimming pool.
Criticism
Mildenstein called it public subsidy of a “hobby.”
Of the 30,000 residents in the proposed district, only about 10 percent belong to SARC, he said.
“This should not be just a game for the SARC insiders. The SARC outsiders should be on the board. This [park district] will come through, and it will be a total disaster if they all are SARC users,” he said.
“What we do not need is a campaign that focuses on endorsements.
“We need a campaign that informs voters about what financial power SARC wants to take from voters with this metropolitan park district.”
Anundson is running against Mike McAleer for Position 5 on the proposed metropolitan park district board.
Mildenstein faces Warren Pierce for Position 1. They were joined in their opposition at Wednesday’s meeting by Torben Jensen.
Metropolitan park district proponents, whose 12-cent levy failed in an election last February, said SARC is spending down its reserve funds and will close by December 2016 if it doesn’t find a new revenue stream.
Support of measure
Susan Sorensen, chairwoman of Citizens for SARC, and Frank Pickering, chairman of the center’s current board, spoke in favor of forming the district.
“We’ve had a developing partnership between OMC and SARC focusing on the wellness and rehabilitation of many of the citizens of Clallam County,” Pickering said.
The five commissioners who followed his urging cited SARC’s role in providing aquatic therapy and exercise to residents.
“One of the main thrusts of our hospital is prevention,” Leskinovitch said, “and to provide the wellness programs for our community.”
In other action Wednesday, OMC commissioners approved spending:
■ $850,000 for remodeling to accommodate new CT scanning equipment.
■ $290,000 to build a “soldier wall” to retain topsoil on the hospital bluff above Port Angeles Harbor.
■ $282,000 to remodel a business suite at 801 E. Front St. in which to house the combined offices of Olympic Home Health.
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Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.