About us:
The Village Green Foundation is a 501(c)(3) corporation.
Village Green Foundation is the new (2009) name of the Kingston Community Center Foundation, which in turn took the place of the Kingston Community Center, the group that operated the present community center building until 1999.
Board members for 2009-2010 are:
Brad Pugh, President: Lifelong Kingston-area resident, and principal of Larson Casteel Landscape Architects, Brad brings a passion for the park, knowledge and experience with park development, and his personal awareness of how Kingston’s growth has outstripped its infrastructure.
Susan Lavin, Vice-President: Branch manager, Kitsap Regional Library, Kingston branch. Susan was branch manager of the KRL Poulsbo branch when the new building was built and brings to this project credibility as a spokesperson for the importance of an up-to-date library as an engine of economic growth and social infrastructure for the community. Susan’s been a Kitsap County resident for 20 years.
Katherine Klint, Treasurer: Owner, West Sound Bookkeeping, 8 years. Katherine has experience keeping accounting records for many businesses in north Kitsap, including several non-profit corporations. She’s a 9-year Kingston resident.
Linda Fyfe, Secretary: Executive Director, Kingston Chamber of Commerce, 2 years, Linda served as President of the Village Green Foundation's predecessor, the Kingston Community Center Foundation, from 2003 to 2006 and is happy to be back on the Board. She has served for many years as President of the Parent-Teacher-Student Association at more than one Kingston school. She brings first-rate community knowledge along with top-notch organizational and event management skills.
At-Large Members:
Jo Ann Cratty: 21-year King County Sheriff, and 18-year Kingston resident. Jo Ann is President of Kingston’s Super Seniors, and longstanding volunteer organizer of the Chuckwagon subsidized senior lunch program. Jo Ann was closely associated with the Kingston Community Center in the years that they managed the existing community center.
Don Hutchins: Don retired to Kingston in 2009 after two distinguished careers: First, in facilities engineering with the US Navy in the US as well as overseas, and then as a NATO employee responsible for directing a very large public project designing a new NATO headquarters building in Brussels, Belgium.
Nancy Martin: Trustee, Past President and Co-Founder of Martingale Company, a publishing company. Because of her 32-year association with Martingale, Nancy has extensive business experience that is invaluable to the Board and the project. Her involvement with the Kingston Chamber of Commerce and Kingston Stakeholders are a vital link to the other developments taking place in Kingston. She’s a 12-year resident of the Kingston area.
Mary McClure: Executive Director, Kitsap
Regional Coordinating Council, 9 years, and Kingston Farmers Market
President. Mary brings two decades of residency in Kingston and an
intimate knowledge of how things get done in Kitsap County.
Kay Peiguss: Active in the Kingston Friends of the Library and the Kingston Chamber of Commerce, Kay is a retired English as a Second Language teacher who has also been active in the Kingston High School booster club. Kay’s zeal for the library and the park are a vital resource for the project. She is a 7-year Kingston resident.
Jon Sole: Former commercial construction contractor, and active in the Kingston-North Kitsap Rotary, Jon brings intimate knowledge of construction issues that we’ll be facing increasingly. He’s an 8-year Kingston resident.
Dave Wetter: Retired United Parcel Service Vice-President of Plant Engineering, Dave is Past President of Greater Kingston Kiwanis and active with the Kingston Stakeholders as well as Vice-President of the Downtown Kingston Association. He serves on a quality improvement committee for the County’s Department of Community Development and is thoroughly acquainted with local construction and permitting requirements as well as general construction engineering principles. He recently oversaw the reclamation of the military housing site, and delivered on a commitment to spend less than $75,000 doing it, because he was able to coordinate the efforts of over 80 volunteers. Dave is a 10-year Kingston resident.
Funding plan:
Capital (construction) funds:
The pie chart below reflects our understanding that every possible source of funding will be needed to construct the building. The total amount needed to construct the building is being determined in the fourth quarter of 2009, but the estimate is $5 to $6 million.
The Village Green Foundation is committed to a plan for sustaining the building, including running recreational and educational programs in the building. Because County funds for even existing facilities are being reduced, and Kingston has no taxing authority, we plan a locally directed Metropolitan Park District as the best possible source of operating funds.
There are sources of capital funds, as you can see in the pie chart, but sources of operating revenue are hard to find. If we were to rely on rents and user fees to operate the building and its programs, those rates would be much higher than local averages. We feel obligated to find an alternative to supplement revenue from rents and user fees to be able to make the building sustainable long-term.
The Board is aware that there are funders who will not consider a capital grant unless there’s a viable plan for maintenance and operation of the planned facility. The MPD is essential to the capital funding plan. Washington changed its law in 2002 to broaden the availability of MPDs so that even unincorporated entities like Kingston could form them. The MPD’s powers include raising capital funds, but we have identified other sources for capital funds - grants, appropriations, donations - but not for operating funds.
Our plan is to take the MPD to the ballot at the time of the 2010 Primary, August 17. There’s lots of work to be done between now and then, but the MPD we envision would result in an addition to our property tax bills of an average of $50 per year. Because of statutory calendar requirements, the MPD tax wouldn't be seen on property tax bills until 2012.