CAMANO ISLAND – After five years of work and a grass-roots drive to raise $224,000, Camano Island has a new 50-acre park.
Four Springs Lake Preserve has now opened its trails to the public. Workers have begun remodeling the former owners’ home and carport into a conference center.
The new park is a big accomplishment for Friends of Camano Island Parks, or FOCIP, an 11-year-old nonprofit group with more than 300 members. Terri Arnold, superintendent of parks for Island County, was impressed by the volunteer group’s fund-raising and planning efforts.
“FOCIP are some of the most hardy volunteers I’ve encountered, and they’re mostly retired,” Arnold said. “They’re unstoppable … I couldn’t do it without them.”
The final price tag will be a little less than $900,000. Aside from the out-of-pocket contributions from residents, the bulk of the rest of the project, about $650,000, will be funded by Island County’s conservation futures program.
The park is near the island’s top ridge. It features a mix of pasture, mature second-growth forest, picturesque ponds and a wetland, with a network of loop trails throughout.
The idea for the park first germinated in 1998, when Karen Kelly, a FOCIP member, met Royce and Rhea Natoli. The Natolis owned the 50-acre property and were selling a 10-acre parcel.
The Natolis loved the property but maintaining it was getting to be difficult as they got older, Arnold said.
The couple liked the suggestion of making the land a county park. So did county officials. Eventually, a plan was formed to remodel the house as a conference center and use the rental fees for park maintenance.
But to make it all work, local residents would need to come up with matching funds. Carol Triplett, president and co-chairwoman of FOCIP, said the group gave itself six months to see if people were interested.
They were.
“Within a few weeks of announcing the kickoff, we had $100,000,” despite the fact that some never saw the land, Triplett said.
Then the project stalled for a while. County leaders worried about unforeseen costs, while residents grew frustrated at having nothing to show for their contributions, Arnold said.
Now the project’s back on track. More than 200 people attended a recent open house. And keeping the land public has one added benefit for the original owner.
“Royce Natoli still misses the place a great deal,” Arnold said. “He still walks out there almost every day.”
Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.
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