Senator Liz Lovelett – The Washington State Senate convenes for floor debate, March 7th, 2019.
Hold onto your swim caps…. we are excited to share that late Sunday night the 2019 Washington State Capital Budget, passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, included a $1,000,000 award for the Lopez Island Swim Center!!! Freshman Senator Liz Lovelett from Anacortes showed great vision and strength as the sponsor of this successful request which was also strongly supported by Senator David Frockt, Representative Jeff Morris and Representative Debra Lekanoff.
On top of the $500,000 previously received from the State, the $175,000 Youth and Recreation Facilities award, and the land investment of $190,000 by San Juan County, a combined total of $1.865 million has now been committed by local and state government to ensure that our Lopez Island children grow up being swim competent, that we have a year-round place to swim regardless of the weather, that a therapy pool is available to ensure we get back out to enjoy the life we want to live, and a gathering place for all of us on Lopez, young and old, to splash, swim and smile.
This success has been achieved through hard work, persistence and with support from our elected officials, but it also is as a result of the support FLIP has received from over 700 community donors over the years. This amazing level of community support has created an environment that has convinced our elected representatives of the merits of the Swim Center and of the commitment of the community to make it a reality.
We invite you to send a thank you letter to Senator Lovelett for her courageous ask. She supported the pool, let’s show her our support in return! Her address is Liz.Lovelett@leg.wa.gov. We would appreciate your sending additional letters of thanks and support to Senator Frockt (David.Frockt@leg.wa.gov) and Representatives Lekanoff (Debra.Lekanoff@leg.wa.gov) and Morris (Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov).
We have much work to do to raise the funds we need to complete the project, but this tremendous level of State support takes us closer to our goal.
Lopez Will Swim!
Your FLIP Board
editing by Carolyn McGown