To the editor:

It’s time to build a community recreation center. Our parks commissioners and directors have worked for several years to listen to the community through surveys, public meetings and comprehensive planning to meet the needs of the public.

They have done a great job in the past to bring us baseball fields, soccer fields, trails, and numerous events including concerts and a triathlon, all of which have been very successful.

The community has responded to the parks department with the desire for a community recreation center which will serve the needs of kids through seniors. It can include tennis courts, swimming pools, basketball courts and indoor activity space.

Now some of these facilities presently exist on South Whidbey in private facilities. Yet these are not accessible to everyone in the public or are not suitable for the activities of the public.

The high school has tennis courts but they are not available during most of the year when school is in session. The Community Park has no indoor activity space. There is neither leisure pool for kids nor competition pool for fitness swimmers.

I am a member of the Island Athletic Club which is a wonderful facility run by great people. I will continue to be a member of IAC after a community recreation center is built because it serves my needs. They do an excellent job of providing updated equipment, professional fitness programs and qualified staff. But the fees to support this are beyond what many of the public are willing to pay. Thanks to the IAC we now have a Masters Swim Program. They have hosted and supported the Masters Swim Program even though the pool is not designed for this use. The IAC does not have tennis courts, basketball courts, a competition pool or leisure pool.

I do not believe that we should build public facilities to duplicate what private facilities provide, nor could we provide public facilities with similar programs. Let’s build what the public needs and doesn’t currently have as outlined in the plan for a community recreation center.

There is never a best time to build public facilities. The longer we wait the more expensive it gets. Let’s pass the bond and get started. We will look back in the future and be glad we did.

Kurt Johnson

Freeland