To say the Island County Parks Department is hurting is an understatement.

The Parks Department has never been a huge operation, but at one time there was a specific parks director with several employees to maintain county parks on Whidbey and Camano islands.

Not long ago, the director position was folded into the responsibility of Public Works Director Bill Oakes in an effort to save money. And then came the financial crisis. The county make one round of painful budget cuts in December and finished another last week. Parks took big hits in both rounds, and is now left with very little. We’ll be lucky if the grass is mowed this summer and if there’s enough in the maintenance budget to keep them safe. Forget any ideas of improving the parks or increasing the number of parks.

To maintain and improve our system of parks in Island County, others are going to have to chip in and help. There’s an encourage move on Central Whidbey to start a parks and recreation district there, matching what already exists on South and North Whidbey. Others are talking of moving the boundaries of the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District northward. Creating a new taxing district in the present economic climate is daunting, but it could be done to save our parks. Voters on Central Whidbey particularly treasure their environment, and may be willing to pay a bit more to support parks. Rhododendron Park could be transferred to the new parks district, as could others smaller parks and county-owned parcels that could become parks.

On South Whidbey, the parks district there might be willing to at least temporarily share the burden of maintaining county parks at Double Bluff, Maxwelton and Freeland. It might be a tougher sell on North Whidbey, but perhaps the parks district could help with Ala Spit and other county-owned water access areas. Existing budgets could be juggled, or voters could be asked for small tax increases in November to cover the costs.

As the economy squeezes larger governments, from federal to state to county, local residents will have to do more to keep their communities livable and to make them better for future generations. Helping Island County’s parks survive is a good place to start.