Skagit County commissioners place Fidalgo-area Metropolitan Park District proposition on ballot

Skagit County commissioners voted 3-0 on Aug. 4 to approve a resolution placing a proposition to form a Metropolitan Park District — a special taxing district that would include parts of the Anacortes School District — before voters.

The measure, which commissioners approved as consent agenda item 4 after a public discussion, would allow voters in the proposed district to decide whether to form the park district and set an initial levy for park services that supporters say would stabilize funding for the Fidalgo Pool and Fitness Center. Mr. Dolan, the executive director of the Fidalgo Pool and Fitness Center, and several island residents spoke during the discussion.

Supporters say the district aims to create a steady funding source to eventually replace the pool’s 50-year-old facility, which Mr. Dolan said is out of code in several ways and not ADA compliant. Mr. Dolan told commissioners the item had been on the ballot previously and failed by only a handful of votes; he said the current resolution adds clearer language and boundaries after consultation with the city of Anacortes and Skagit County staff. He also said a petition route to put the issue on the ballot requires signatures from 15% of the voters in the proposed area and that the county and Anacortes must approve the ballot language by the filing deadline for the November election.

Why it matters: forming a metropolitan park district would create a local taxing authority that can levy property taxes to support parks and recreation services. Mr. Dolan said commissioners and the district’s proponents are proposing an initial cap intended to be modest: a 12¢ levy per $1,000 of assessed value as the first-year limit, with an annual increase cap of 1% unless voters approve additional lifts. He said the current levy rate for the existing parks-and-recreation authority is about 9.21¢ per $1,000 and that the last comparable approval he reviewed from 2021 was about 11.35¢ per $1,000; those figures were offered in discussion as context for the proposed starting figure.

Island residents and other commenters urged caution and better outreach. Suneek Knapp of West Shore Drive told the commissioners the consent agenda packet lacked clear boundaries, a stated tax rate, and details about who would be included; Knapp said residents of Guemes, Cypress and Sinclair islands learned about a prior annexation only at the time of the voters’ pamphlet and were opposed in 2024. Jeff Burdock of South Shore Drive and a commenter identifying himself as Mr. Orsini echoed concerns about tax increases and insufficient public notice. Commenters pointed to geographic and financial barriers — including ferry costs — that make access to the pool more difficult for island residents.

Commissioner Browning said she would let the voters decide and praised the clarity Mr. Dolan said the revised language provides. The county record shows the motion to approve the resolution was moved and seconded and carried by voice vote: “Motion carries three-zero.” The motion record provided in the meeting did not list individual roll-call votes by name.

Next steps: the resolution approved by the commissioners places the proposition on the path to appear before voters in the November election, subject to filing deadlines and any petition efforts that proponents might pursue. If proponents collect a petition meeting the 15% threshold, that is an alternate path to ballot placement that Mr. Dolan described during the discussion.

The commissioners’ action on Aug. 4 was procedural — it approves putting the question to the electorate rather than adopting any taxes or operational changes without voter approval. The county materials and public comment during the meeting indicate questions remain about outreach to island communities and the district’s boundary details; those concerns were raised publicly and recorded in the meeting.