| With the $4 million budget shortfall facing the Kitsap County general fund, budget cuts being considered are pointing to discretionary — or elective — departments such as Parks and Recreation, the largest among the county’s few non-mandated programs.
To help find ways to preserve the Kitsap County parks and recreational opportunities, the Board of Commissioners established a select Parks and Recreation Sustainability Task Force that will advise the commissioners with short and long term strategies for the future of the Parks and Recreation Department.
The nine-member panel began meeting Aug. 15 and will work on a comprehensive and aggressive schedule, providing a report and recommendation to the Board of Commissioners by early October.
The nine-member Parks Sustainability Task Force will be chaired by former Kitsap County Commissioner Patty Lent, who will lead the following task force members:
- Anne Blair, Bainbridge Island, administrator, Kitsap Public Facilities District.
- Danny Brown, Port Orchard, a retired Army Colonel and South Kitsap Rotary Club president.
- Thomas Jelcick, Hansville, retired Navy Region Northwest regional community support director and former Monroe Parks and Recreation District board of directors.
- Carl Johnson, Silverdale, Central Kitsap Community Council chair, Central Kitsap School District board member and Clear Creek Trail Project leader.
- Silvia Klatman, Port Orchard, Bremerton Area Chamber of Commerce executive director.
- Mary McClure, Kingston, Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council executive director.
- Kathleen Simpson, Long Lake, certified public accountant and active youth sports leader.
- Frank Stowell, Bainbridge Island, Kitsap County Parks Advisory Board vice chair.
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