Suit finally hits school district
By GAYLE SARAN, South Whidbey RECORD
Feb 16 2005
Two former South Whidbey School District
administrators filed a civil complaint in federal court in Seattle
Friday
against the district and the South Whidbey Board of Education.
Former superintendent Martin Laster
and former assistant superintendent Dan Blanton, along with former
district
administrative assistant Susan Nerison, are seeking restitution from
current
board members and two former board members over incidents they claim
occurred
while the three worked in the South Whidbey district. The three
resigned
overnight last March in a move that caught the district by surprise.
Named in the complaint are school
board directors Helen Price Johnson, Jim Adsley, Bob Riggs, Greg Gilles
and Rich Parker, as well as former directors Ray Gabelein and Barbara
Schneeman.
Seattle attorney Judith Lonnquist
represents Laster, Blanton and Nerison. According to the
complaint
filed by the firm, the current and former school board members are
being
sued both as board members and as individuals.
The document claims the district
and the board violated their rights to free speech, to due process, of
property rights, of equal protection, and the right to petition the
government.
The claimants also charge that they were subject to defamation,
constructive
discharge, and wrongful withholding of wages.
South Whidbey Superintendent Bob
Brown was served notice of the lawsuit Monday. Brown said board
called
an executive session following a workshop that afternoon to discuss the
lawsuit. He said he and members of the board were not surprised by the
lawsuit; hey had been expecting it because since a notice of tort was
served
on the district in October.
The district faxed its official response
to lawsuit to The South Whidbey Record Tuesday morning.
“The three individuals [Laster, Blanton
and Nerison], who simultaneously and in concert abandoned their jobs
when
they cleaned out their offices during the night and disappeared in
March
of last year, claim that they were forced to leave because the school
board
gave no other choice but to do so. The district adamantly denies this
is
true... It is unfortunate that these three former employees are seeking
substantial amounts of money from the District for no valid reason when
they know full well that the District can ill afford it.”
The district has referred the suit
to Washington Schools Risk Management Pool. An attorney from that
office
will defend the district in the case.
Plaintiffs allege poor board behavior
Some of the details in the 16-page
complaint document relate to conversations and comments made by board
members
to one another, to the plaintiffs and members of the public, and to
allegedly
libelous
comments in e-mails. The complaint alleges that board members,
acting
in collusion with school principals, began to “foment district and
divisiveness
between the plaintiffs and district staff.”
By mid March in 2004, the complaint
alleges, the administrators’ work environment was hostile. They charge
that school board members escalated this to the point at which the
plaintiffs
experienced life-threatening health problems. Laster, Blanton and
Nerison
resigned on March 16, 2004, citing “constructive discharge” as the
reason.
The complaint further alleges that
members of the school board exploited an independent financial audit in
2003 to discredit and undermine the plaintiffs. The audit occurred
after
the district miscalculated its fund balance by about $360,000.
Prior
to his resignation, Laster informed the board he would leave the
district
at the end of his contract in June 2005, or “sooner if another position
became available.”
The plaintiffs are asking for a jury
trial and seeking an unspecified monetary damage. They are asking for
compensatory
damages for emotion distress and humiliation, double damages under the
Revised Code of Washington, and reasonable attorney’s fees. In
October
2004, plaintiff’s attorney Judith Lonnquist filed a claim as notice of
tort on the former administrators’ behalf asking for $2.75 million in
damages.
In a telephone interview this week,
Lonnquist said it is common practice to not specify a dollar amount
when
filing a complaint in Washington courts.
Laster is now assistant superintendent
in Alaska and Blanton is employed as a principal in a school district
in
Anchorage. Nersion works for the Edmonds School District.
Who pays?
The South Whidbey School District
is a member of Washington Schools Risk Management Pool which provides
property
and liability insurance coverage to a number of school districts in the
state. According to Bob Brown, superintendent of South Whidbey School
District
the case will be referred risk management, which will provide legal
counsel.
Cost to the district of the liability and property coverage is about
$180,000
per year.
Would
over-development on Whidbey Island ever come to this?
Published: Tuesday, February 15,
2005
Creek erosion undermines pipes:
The sewer district hopes to work with the city of Mukilteo and Paine
Field
to handle runoff and replace a sewage line in Big Gulch Creek.
By Bill Sheets, Everett Herald Writer
MUKILTEO - Big Gulch Creek is in
trouble.
As development has increased, the
torrents of water rushing down the Mukilteo creek during heavy rains
have
eroded the streambed, said Patrick Sorensen, general manager of the
Olympus
Terrace Sewer District.
"When the creek is really ripping,
it blows everything out," he said. The rush of water has also
exposed
the district's major sewer line through the gulch, undercutting it and
shifting it around, he said. The line has been damaged in places,
taking
on some of the excess water. If the situation continues, the
35-year-old
concrete line could break and spill sewage into the creek.
"If nothing's done, the problem's
only going to get worse," Sorensen said.
That's why the sewer district hopes
to begin building two new pipelines in the gulch next year, one to
channel
excess storm water and another to replace the sewer line.
Both the schedule and the cost depend
on an agreement between three parties: the sewer district, the city of
Mukilteo and the Snohomish County Airport at Paine Field.
The pipelines are projected to cost
as much as $20.2 million, officials said. But if the three parties work
together, the cost could be as low as $13.4 million. Money could be
saved
on environmental review, and restoring the creek and wetlands.
The sewer district, the city and
the airport already have split the cost of preliminary design and
acquiring
permits. Paine Field has paid $430,000, the sewer district $340,000 and
the city $170,000, said Bill Dolan, Paine Field deputy director.
It's not a foregone conclusion that
either the city or the airport will contribute to the sewer district's
project. Dolan said the airport wants to make sure the pipeline will
fulfill
Paine Field's environmental obligations at the north end of the
airport,
where the line is expected to keep excess storm water from flowing down
Smuggler's Gulch as well as Big Gulch.
If not, the airport will have to
spend money on detention ponds or tanks at the north end and won't want
to pay for both these and the pipeline, Dolan said.
"We've heard encouraging things"
from state officials about the adequacy of the pipeline to do the job
in
that area, Dolan said.
Paine Field spent about $2 million
on storm water improvements at the airport from 1999 to 2002 and an
undetermined
amount before that, Dolan said.
The Mukilteo City Council is waiting
for city staff to review the draft environmental impact statement on
the
project and give a report to the council, said council president Cathy
Reese. She would not predict how the council would vote.
"We've got to take a look at the
study and look at the numbers," Reese said.
The sewer district hopes to build
the pipelines in the summers of 2006 and 2007, Sorensen said. For this
to happen, the three parties would have to come to an agreement by this
spring to put the project out to bid by the end of the year, he said.
If the city and airport decide not
to contribute, the district could still build the line, he said, "but
it
would be significantly more expensive."
The storm water pipes would run most
of the length of the west edge of the airport, starting near the north
and south ends and meeting near the foot of Paine Field Boulevard. The
line would cross the Mukilteo Speedway to meet the new sewer line and
run
alongside it in the same trench down Big Gulch to Puget Sound.
Published: Saturday, February 12,
2005
Mukilteo run in line for fast
new ferry; The new boat could cut the trip time to 20 minutes
from
30 minutes, ferry system says.
By Lukas Velush, Everett Herald
A new ferry may be added to the Mukilteo-Clinton
run in 2008, speeding up commuting times on one of the state's busiest
ferry routes.
Washington State Ferries announced
Friday that it will build four new ferries, including one that's likely
to be added to the Mukilteo-Clinton route.
However, there's no guarantee that
Mukilteo-Clinton will get the first boat, so it could be 2011 before
another
boat is added to the run. That's when the last new boat is expected to
be finished. Construction of the first ferry will start in 2006 at Todd
Pacific Shipyards in Seattle. The 342-foot boats are expected to
cost a total of $284 million, officials said.
The new vessels will hold 130 cars
and 1,200 passengers, similar to the boats currently used on the
Mukilteo-Clinton
run. However, the new ferries will be much nicer and more efficient,
said
Celia Schorr, a spokeswoman for the ferry system.
"They'll have all the new security
measures," she said, including new cages, locks and barriers that would
make it difficult for terrorists to take over a boat. They'll
also
be more pleasant to ride, she said.
"They'll be quieter, they'll have
better seating - they're just a more efficient design," she said.
The new boat for the Mukilteo-Clinton
route would cut trip times from 30 minutes to 20 minutes, shaving key
minutes
off the commute from Whidbey Island. During peak commuting hours, even
more time would be saved because the long lines that commuters and
island
visitors now get stuck in would shrink.
The Mukilteo-Clinton run is one of
the top candidates for a new boat because it's one of the state's
busiest,
and because Mukilteo will have a new ferry terminal by 2010. The
new terminal will have two slips, which will match the two slips at the
recently remodeled Clinton terminal.
"We're getting to the point of looking
at a third boat," said Tim Saffle, operations and human resources port
captain for the ferry system.
It would help to finish the new
terminal before adding a third boat, but it's not necessary, Saffle
said.
If it's close to when the new terminal will be finished in 2010, "we
could
add a third boat, but it would be tough with only one slip," Saffle
said.
The other routes considered for the
new boats are the Seattle-Bremerton, Port Towsend- Keystone and the San
Juan Islands runs.
Feb. 9, 2005 South Whidbey RECORD
Wireless phones are still fading
in on island
By MATT JOHNSON
On Whidbey Island, not all wireless
telephones are created equal. Yet, because this bumpy, treed lump of
dirt
in the middle of Puget Sound has proved to be a difficult place to
establish
wireless networks over the past 15 years, wireless service ranges from
perfect to useless, depending on location and depending on the phone
service
provider.
In a recent test of five commonly
used wireless providers — TracFone, Verizon, T-Mobile, Nextel and
Cingular
— The South Whidbey Record found that the strong and weak points of any
company’s phone service depends heavily on where and how wireless
phones
are used on Whidbey Island. Through test calls made from 21 locations
between
Clinton and Deception Pass, the study found that large coverage gaps
between
the island’s 12 major communications towers make expecting
uninterrupted
service while driving point to point unrealistic for any of the
wireless
services tested. At the same time, each of the wireless phones provided
perfect reception in a number of out-of-the-way places, as long as they
were used when a vehicle was at a stop.
A tough place for towers
Under development since the early
1990s, Whidbey Island’s wireless network is regulated at the county
level
to provide the best service possible through as many wireless providers
as possible. In all, the island is home to just a dozen large
communications
towers, most of which provide space for antennae owned by several
wireless
providers. Island County’s code requires any company building a
wireless
communications tower to “co-locate” with other providers, meaning they
must allow other company’s to rent antenna space on their towers.
In addition to the towers, Whidbey
Island is home to dozens of small wireless antennae mounted on utility
poles and buildings. For the past several years, Island County planning
director Phil Bakke has encouraged the construction of these almost
innocuous
antennae as they do not interfere with scenery any more than the
structures
on which they are mounted.
Still, even as these smaller antennae
fill in the holes in wireless service up and down the island, wireless
providers acknowledge they still have a long way to go before it is
seamless.
Jamie Zabel, a territory representative with T-Mobile, said all of
Western
Washington is a wireless challenge because of its treed and mountainous
terrain.
“Washington is the toughest state
to put up towers,” she said.
Whidbey Island is a further challenge
for wireless companies, due to aesthetic and environmental objections
to
wireless communications towers. Two years ago, the board of
commissioners
of the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District — under pressure
from
citizens — voted down a request by T-Mobile to build a communications
tower
in the district’s Maxwelton Road community park. Had that tower been
constructed,
it would have been T-Mobile’s fifth on the island.
In The Record’s study, the wireless
services tested yielded a range of average performance. Scoring the
highest
average — 3.1 reception bars out of a total of five, as indicated on
the
phones themselves while connected on a call — were phones operating on
the T-Mobile and Cingular networks. Nextel’s service was ranked next at
2.6; Verizon at 2.2; and TracFone at 2.0. TracFone was the only service
in the study that has no dedicated transmission and reception antennae
on Whidbey Island. (For individual location scores, please refer to
accompanying
graph.)
While the T-Mobile and Cingular phones
did have the highest averages and registered more maximum reception
levels
than the other phones in the study, the other services in the study had
their own strengths. While its average score was the lowest in the
study,
the Verizon service tended to make clearer connections than most of the
others in marginal reception areas.
The Nextel service, a favorite among
Whidbey Island law enforcement and building contractors, was the only
service
in the study that included a shortwave radio, direct connection
feature.
Mike Hawley, Island County’s sheriff, said that feature is the big
reason
his deputies carry Nextel phones in addition to Verizon phones. He said
that while the Verizon phones tend to give better phone service in most
areas, the Nextel radio function is popular among deputies for its ease
of use.
With the lowest average score in
the test, the TracFone’s main selling point may be its flexibility.
Owning
and using this phone does not require users to sign on to a monthly
calling
plan — which for the other phones in this test range in price between
$19.99
a month and $249.99. TracFone calls can be made for as little as 19
cents
per minute. However, it does not offer unlimited nighttime and weekend
calling minutes, as do the majority of calling plans offered by the
other
wireless companies in the study.
The areas in which wireless phones
do not receive or transmit on Whidbey Island tend to be consistent
across
all brands. On South Whidbey, some of the largest so-called “dead
zones”
exist between Langley and Bayview, on large sections of the southern
portion
of Maxwelton Road, in the city of Langley, and in the community of
Scatchet
Head. Further up the island, much of Highway 525 and Highway 20 between
Greenbank and Coupeville, the Libby Road area, and Deception Pass are
no-call
zones.
The impact of these dead zones lies
somewhere between annoying and critical. In the midst of a regulatory
effort
to push wireless providers to comply with Enhanced 911 functions,
Island
County’s 911 system — ICOM — is most impacted by holes in wireless
coverage.
ICOM’s E-911 system can instantaneously identify and locate a 911
wireless
caller anywhere in the county, provided that caller is carrying an
E-911
compliant phone with a built in global positioning device. Such devices
will be mandatory on all wireless phones manufactured by the end of
this
year.
But without a strong signal from
a wireless 911 caller, ICOM cannot necessarily locate a caller, let
alone
receive a call. Tom Shaughnessy, ICOM’s director, said signal strength
is dependent on wireless companies building more communications towers.
“(E-911) is only as good as the signal
that comes in,” he said.
Of the wireless services in The Record
study, Nextel and Verizon offer E-911 locator functions. T-Mobil and
Cingular
users must generally be located at ICOM through a signal triangulation
process.
At present, the development of Whidbey
Island’s wireless network seems to be at a standstill. T-Mobiles Jamie
Zabel said her company has no plans at present to build more
communications
towers on the island.
Virginia Bloom, manager of South
Whidbey wireless retailer Puget Sound Business Systems, said she has
heard
little of late about plans for new wireless communications towers on
Whidbey
Island. She said of the three wireless services her business sells,
only
Verizon seems to have current plans to build a new tower on South
Whidbey
in the near future
Documents at the Island County Planning
Department show a nine approved building permit applications for power
pole “swapout” style wireless antennae. Those swapouts will be done in
all areas of Whidbey Island.
Earthquake was our fault
Whidbey News-Times
Feb. 4, 2005
By Jessie Stensland
The island was shaken, but few were
stirred when a magnitude 3.1 earthquake hit Central Whidbey Thursday
morning.
The Pacific Northwest Seismograph
Network reported that the modest temblor struck at 6:08 a.m. and had an
epicenter on Plantation Drive, which is on the west side of Highway 525
south of Coupe’s Greenbank Store. The earthquake was 19.9 miles
deep.
The county’s emergency dispatch center
received a handful of calls about the earthquake, but no reports of
damage.
Camera crews from Seattle TV stations scrambled around the island, but
found few people with compelling stories to tell. Most of those heard
or
felt the earth shake thought it was more interesting than scary or
dangerous.
Mary Coupe, owner of the Greenbank
Store, said she woke up at about 5 a.m. and must have dozed off
momentarily
since she didn’t feel or hear a thing. She lives on North Bluff Road,
not
far from the epicenter. On the other hand, Vicki Plantz, the
store
clerk, was at home at Hancock Lake. “There was a big sound, my windows
shook for about three seconds and it was over,” she said. “I thought it
was just a big boat.”
Large ships traveling through Admiralty
Inlet often make her home vibrate with their the giant motors. She
thinks
it might be because she lives on the a fault line. Earthquake
experts
have identified a complex array of a dozen major fault zones in the
Puget
Sound, two of which run across Whidbey Island. There’s the North
Whidbey
Fault and the South Whidbey Fault. A fault is a fracture or zone or
fracture
in the rock strata.
The recent earthquake occurred on
the South Whidbey Fault, which is a slightly unstable fault. According
to a study by John Oldow of the University of Idaho for the the United
States Geological Survey, the South Whidbey Fault “exhibits documented
reverse motion related to N-S regional shortening and (is) thought to
have
significant potential for large magnitude earthquakes.”
On the other hand, the North Whidbey
Fault that runs through Oak Harbor seems to be quiet. Oldow writes that
there’s no director evidence of recent activity along this fault line.
Moreover, that lessens the risk of a giant, deadly earthquake caused by
coordinated ruptures of the North and South Whidbey Island faults.
According to a report by Harvey Kelsey
at Humboldt State University in California, scientists have found
evidence
of a major “crustal earthquake” along the South Whidbey Fault about
3,000
years ago. This displaced the two sides of the fault between three to
six
feet, with the north side becoming higher. Kelsey measured the
sea
level difference at Crockett Marsh and Hancock Marsh. He wrote that the
fault appears to be “an asymmetric fold” in the rock below.
Above ground, Whidbey Island folks
are still chatting about the earthquake. Sheriff Mike Hawley, who lives
in Freeland, thought it was a sonic boom. Jan Smith, the sheriff’s
spokesperson,
lives in Clinton and was at home when the earth moved. Smith
said,
laughing, that she was sitting in bed, drinking coffee and had a “fat
yellow
cat” on her lap.
“I thought something had hit the
side of the house,” she said. “There was no flickering lights, no
falling
pictures.”
You can reach Jessie Stensland
at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or 675-6611.
Home-based businesses get boost
from Greenbank expo
South Whidbey RECORD
Feb. 5, 2005
By STEPHEN MERCER
When it comes down to what really
drives the U.S. economy, economists often mention small businesses as a
large factor.
On Jan. 29 and 30, booths for the
Home Business exposition were set up in one of the barns at Greenbank
Farm.
Inside, entrepreneurs put their wares and their livelihoods on display.
They also presented an overview of what it’s like to run a home-based
business.
These are the entrepreneurs who have
decided not to wake up before dawn and ride back and forth across the
ferry,
or drive to the office every day. Instead, many visit their neighbors
home
to show off their products. It is a business in which they set their
own
hours and work at their own pace. But they are also expected to sell
their
services or products, which requires convincing homemakers, retirees
and
daily commuters to buy what they offer.
Because the businesses are home based,
business owners rely on word-of-mouth, house parties, county fairs and
advertising to market their products. Several at the weekend expo
reported
that their businesses consistently make a profit. A few others said
they
recently went into business on their own and wanted to use the
exposition
to show off their goods. Products on display included vitamins, vapor
cleaners,
home and garden party products, jewelry, magnets, juice, health
supplements
and stoves.
The idea for the job fair came from
dealers and consultants wanting to be part of the annual Uniquely
Whidbey
Trade Fair and Home Show in October, and from the various summer
markets
on Whidbey Island, said Issy Olivia, one of the managers of the
Greenbank
Farmers Market.
Since the entrepreneurs at the home
business fair sell products made somewhere other than Whidbey Island,
they
were turned away from the trade fair and the farmers markets.
“We needed a place for these people,”
Olivia said.
For the last several months, some
Whidbey Island entrepreneurs were told about the home business fair.
The
word of the expo spread, which brought a number of home-based business
owners to the farm.
Clinton’s Lori Oneal brought the
Lady Bug XL 2300 dry steam vapor system she sells to the expo. Similar
in appearance to a dry cleaner, the Lady Bug has a circular red base
with
a long tube and several interchangeable brushes. Ranging in price from
$800 to $1,400. the Lady Bug uses hot water to produce dry, hot steam.
The device kills bacteria and mold. It can be used everywhere from
decks
to stove tops.
Edmonds-based Advanced Vapor Technologies
manufactures the Lady Bug and other steam vapor products.
Sine Hough, a home-based entrepreneur
from Clinton, said the candles, pictures, statues, stoneware, pottery,
lotions, body sprays and other products that she and her business
partner,
Tasha Blasko, sell are mainly used at house parties. The products are
either
made or distributed by Home & Garden Party of Marshall, Texas.
Products
are usually sent to a party host or hostesses home, or Hough and Blasko
set up displays at homes themselves. Prices generally range from $5.50,
which buys a candle jar, to $100 for a framed picture.
Marcella Davenport, another expo
entrepreneur, sells Chinese-made items from her Freeland home-based
business,
Shangri-La. Her products, which range from magnetic bracelets to
pearls,
are priced between $10 and $175.
Yvonne Hall and business partner,
Tammi Snow, sell juice, health supplements, powders and tablets from a
Greenbank home under the Oasis name. Oasis is based in Lacey. Costing
between
$25 to $50, the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory products are
intended
to reverse the aging process.
Also at the expo, Langley’s Mary
Ellen Jones displayed the magnets, water purifiers, mattresses, air
filtration
and nutritional products she sells for California-based Nikken.
“Focuses on having a wellness house,”
she said of the Nikken-brand products she sells.
Denise Marinacci — who manufacturers,
makes the labels and bottles a water-based color sealant at her
Freeland
home — said she opened her business in Freeland on Jan. 27.
Marinacci said her product, Tinge,
Inc., has not yet turned a profit for her. Until it does, she said she
will continue working as a freelance accountant.
Tinge sealant comes in key-lime,
coral Baja and magenta sky colors. Marinacci said the product is
environmentally
safe and rubs on bamboo, wood and other surfaces to protect it.
“It is a great way to add color or
change what you already have,” she said.
Eight ounces of Tinge cost $20 and
cover 100 square feet.
Some other entrepreneurial business
at the exposition were: College Search Consultants, The Body Shop at
Home,
Whidbey Chai, Tastefully Simple, The Pampered Chef, Home Comfort
Technologies,
Inc., Island Spa Services, Stampin’ Up, Melaleuca, Homemade Gourmet and
Essential Air.
Fee hikes pay off for county
Whidbey News-Times
Feb. 2, 2005
By Eric Berto
By increasing planning and community
development fees, Island County has been able to stash away nearly $1.1
million since 2002.
Approximately $351,000 of that was
signed away last week when the Board of Island County Commissioners
approved
a contract for land-use attorney Keith Dearborn. The hire is in
anticipation
of this year’s scheduled update to the critical areas ordinance of
Island
County’s comprehensive plan.
“The way we’ve saved the money is
just a few years of staffing turnovers have allowed me to stay under
budget
and the revenue collected has been in excess of our operating costs,”
Island
County Planning Director Phil Bakke said.
In 2002, the Island County Commissioners
approved a 15-percent increase of planning and community development
fees.
This lump increase came after several years of 5-percent increases.
Since
1993, those fees have increased a total of 40 percent. To build a
home valued at $200,000 would require a $1,440 building permit. In
addition,
the county will tack on a $936 plan review fee and the state adds a
$4.50
fee. Mechanical and plumbing fees add $22 and $20 respectively.
In 1998, when permit fees were increased
by 5 percent, the permit fee for the same $200,000 home was $1,251. The
plan review fee was $813. These fees pay for plans inspections
and
any minor revisions necessary. According to 2005 budget
estimates,
Island County is expected to take in more than $2 million in planning
fees.
Bakke said that his office is able to generate a profit because it is
understaffed.
“We’ve squeezed more and people are
giving 110 percent,” he said. “The staff would be happy to see a slow
down
(in permit activity) to speed up the turnaround in permit time.”
Island County Budget Director Elaine
Marlow said that the fee increase made three years ago was badly
needed.
“Before we decided to review planning’s fees, planning was barely
breaking
even” she said. “Which was a problem because we were developing and
defending
the comprehensive plan and that had to come out of the general fund.”
While other county programs struggle
to make ends meet, the planning department has been able to save up the
funds needed to hire consultants and conduct scientific studies on the
county’s critical areas. “Part of it has to do with the fact that
growth management issues are very costly,” Marlow said. “The Board of
County
Commissioners is very conservative financially and they’re going to
make
sure they have the funding to handle these issues.”
Land use issues sometimes result
in a costly series of appeals and court cases. Island County is still
fighting
a case from the development of the county’s comprehensive plan.
“Government isn’t in business to
make a profit,” Marlow said. “The goal is to break even, not to show a
profit.” In addition to funding the review of the critical areas
ordinance, the increase in fees has also allowed the planning
department
to fund half the cost of an attorney to handle land use issues for the
county and additional staff, Bakke said. The county also has
plans
for the remainder of the $1.1 million, he said. Biologists will be
hired
in order to determine the impact growth is having on critical areas.
“We will be looking at wetland and
stream science,” Bakke said. “Part of that is doing a very substantive
scientific evaluation of current standards.” Bakke said the
amount
of money being spent shows the county’s commitment to being thorough
with
its review process.
“WEAN doesn’t need to worry, we’ll
be spending plenty of time with scientists,” Bakke said, referring to
the
Whidbey Environmental Action Network, which has challenged past
planning
decisions in court. The critical areas ordinance review will
address
each type of area individually, Bakke said. Frequently flooded areas,
geological
hazards, aquifer recharge areas, fish and wildlife conservation areas
and
wetlands will all be addressed.
A final agenda for the review process
will be announced later this month, Bakke said.
You can reach News-Times reporter
Eric Berto at eberto@whidbeynewstimes.com
Dearborn returns to comp plan
work
South Whidbey RECORD
January 29, 2005
Judge Hancock
By ERIC BERTO
Ignoring opposition from Island County
Prosecuting Attorney Greg Banks and environmentalists, the Board of
Island
County Commissioners voted to approve a contract for land-use attorney
Keith Dearborn. The $351,000 contract finalized Monday will
employ
Dearborn while the county reviews and updates its critical areas
ordinance,
which is part of the Island County Comprehensive Plan.
The ordinance governs development
near sensitive areas such a streams, wetlands, bluffs and wildlife
habitat.
“Most people in Island County are
impacted by or impact a critical area,” Island County Planning Director
Phil Bakke said. “You might live on a steep slope, or have a drainage
ditch.
Most people will have some interest in the critical areas update.” The
commissioners also signed a waiver exempting the contract from needing
to be put out for competitive bid.
“We’re interested in having a land-use
attorney that can defend the county in the best possible way,” Island
County
Commissioner Mike Shelton said. “The specialty that he has is land use,
and I don’t believe that our (prosecutor’s) office has that specialty.”
But Banks, in a statement read during
the meeting, said his office should be leading the process. “I
have
tooled my office to meet the needs of the GMA review and critical areas
update,” Banks said. Banks said he has assigned a deputy
prosecutor
to give the planning department priority in handling land-use issues.
The
attorney had gone so far as to take night classes at the University of
Washington to obtain a certificate in Washington land-use law.
“So that he may better represent
the county — not because he will be making $351,000, but out of a sense
of duty and loyalty to the county,” Banks said. Shelton said the
county went to an outside firm because the prosecutor’s office had made
itself unavailable during previous plan updates. The comment that drew
a laugh of apparent disbelief from Banks.
“One of the things Greg (Banks) has
not been able to do in the past is dedicate an attorney to work with
the
development of the plan,” Shelton said after the meeting.
The
prosecutor’s office has taken the stance of letting the county develop
the plan and it will defend it, Shelton said.
“That’s actually not true,” Banks
said after the meeting. “When I took office in ‘99, there was never an
invite for us to be involved in the process.” Funding for
the
Dearborn contract comes from approximately $1.1 million the planning
department
has amassed from an increase in permit fees.
Whidbey Environmental Action Network,
which has fought with the county since the comprehensive planning
process
began, also opposes bringing in an outside law firm to represent the
county
in the critical areas update.
“Dearborn’s made his career helping
jurisdictions evade GMA’s (restrictions) as much as they can,” WEAN
spokesman
Steve Erickson said. “This is a declaration by the commissioners that
they
intend to weaken the codes, because that’s what Dearborn specializes
in.”
A history of conflict
Dearborn first became involved with
Island County in 1984, Erickson said. Island County had temporary
zoning
laws in effect for more than 15 years, which was the longest of any
county
in the country, he said.
In the late 1990s, Dearborn came
on board to guide the county through the adoption of its comprehensive
plan. The commissioners were under pressure to meet deadlines set by
the
state Growth Management Act.
Through March of 2000, the county
had spent $1.1 million on developing the comprehensive plan. More than
$722,000 went to Dearborn’s practice. The initial contract with
Dearborn
ended in 2000, when Island County Superior Court Judges Alan Hancock
and
Vickie Churchill refused to approve any more funding.
State law prohibits the county from
employing outside attorneys unless the presiding Superior Court judge
agrees.
According to a 2000 Whidbey News-Times article, the judges called the
money
spent on Dearborn “astonishing.”
The judges refused to authorize any
further extension of Dearborn’s legal services. The county
commissioners,
however, still had the authority to hire Dearborn as a land use
consultant.
The commissioners approved Dearborn’s consultant contract on Feb. 28,
2000.
This created an additional $125,000 in expenses.
Erickson said that by bringing Dearborn
back into the mix, the county is sending a clear message of its intent
for the review process.
“The county
is setting itself up for more wars over the protection of critical
areas,”
he said. “These guys specialize in trying to break down local citizen
groups.
They don’t specialize in solutions that meet the letter and spirit of
the
law.”
Even though
Dearborn has not yet begun serving the county, a conflict of interest
issue
has been raised. A letter Erickson sent to Hancock and Churchill notes
that Dearborn’s wife and law partner, Allison Moss, is representing
Nichols
Brothers Boat Builders, Inc. in that company’s bid to secure a master
permit
that will allow it to expand its Freeland boat yard.
“Critical area issues are of prime
importance in determining the fate of this project,” the letter states.
“It is not proper for her to simultaneously advocate for this project
and
hold a key position in the review of critical area regulations.”
Dearborn, however, asserted that
the work Moss is performing is separate from the critical areas review.
In a signed waiver of any conflict, Dearborn wrote that all of Nichols’
contracts are complete and any revision to the ordinance would occur
separate
of those proceedings.
Judges allow new contract
This time around, Hancock and Churchill
still had some lingering questions about the need for the services of
an
outside law firm.
“We had a number of questions,” Hancock
said Tuesday. “We had taken a position (in 2000) that it wasn’t
appropriate
to have any additional contracts at that point. And we were reluctant
to
approve any additional contract at this time.” Approval for this
contract came after the judges voiced concern over several issues in an
earlier draft.
“Our major concern was to make sure
that there were cost-containment clauses,” Churchill said.
Under the contract, the total amount
paid out will not exceed $351,550. If the firm finishes early or under
budget, it will not receive the rest of the money. If the costs run
above
$351,550, Dearborn will absorb those costs. One of the other
concerns
Hancock and Churchill expressed was the county’s ability to monitor
Dearborn’s
billings.
Under the new contract, all bills
will be sent with an itemized description to Phil Bakke, who will
review
them personally.
Published: Monday, January 31, 2005
Manure recycling plan moves ahead
By Lukas Velush, Everett Herald
Writer
MONROE - A partnership that could
help save Snohomish County's dairies and help clean the county's rivers
for salmon is moving ahead.
Construction could start as soon
as this summer on something called a biogas digester, a device that
captures
the methane gas given off as cow manure decomposes. The gas could then
be burned to generate electricity with fertilizer as a byproduct. Both
could be sold to pay for the operation.
If it works, dairies could eliminate
the cost of treating the vast amount of manure their cows create, one
of
the most expensive parts of operating a modern dairy.
The goal is to help the declining
industry rebound, preserving a way of life for many longtime Snohomish
County families while also making sure the farm land doesn't get
converted
into housing tracts, something that could be deadly to salmon.
"We're about ready to rock and roll
on this," said Andy Werkhoven, whose family owns Werkhoven Dairy Inc.,
one of the dairies that plan to send their waste to the biogas
facility.
"It's truly a good deal that's going to bring something to our bottom
line."
Four Skykomish Valley dairy farmers,
including the Werkhovens, the Tulalip Tribes and a local environmental
group, are among those only weeks away from formally creating a limited
liability corporation that will run what they're calling the Snohomish
Basin Biogas Partnership.
The partners are also nearly ready
to select the company that will provide the digester, said John Sayre,
executive director of Northwest Chinook Recovery and a member of the
partnership.
"We have spent a lot of time learning
about biogas and the different systems that are out there," Sayre said.
"We've narrowed it down to four companies."
Finally, the Tulalip Tribes are closing
in on formally taking ownership of the old Monroe Honor Farm from the
state.
The farm is where the biogas plant will be built. The partnership is
right
now preparing to open an office at the site.
The 277-acre former dairy is located
in the heart of the Skykomish Valley. Locals know it as the farm once
operated
by prisoners from the nearby Monroe Correctional Complex.
Some of the land can be used for
stream restoration and other environmentally friendly uses as long as
it
maintains its agriculture roots, Sayre said.
The Tulalips have been pushing for
a biogas plant because the tribe's leaders want to restore the health
of
the rivers that salmon depend on and have in turn fed generations of
Tulalips.
"If this works for farms, what we
see is continuing this kind of work in other places," said Terry
Williams,
the Tulalip Tribes' commissioner of fisheries and natural resources.
The biogas plant will cost $1.5 million
to $2.5 million to build. A feasibility study shows that the
electricity
and compost it generates will pay for the operation, and even could
generate
revenue that could be poured back into the venture.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Inquiry into 4 possible cases
of ballot fraud: 3 county residents suspected of voting for dead
relatives
By MICHELLE NICOLOSI, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
REPORTER
The King County Prosecutor's Office
has asked the King County sheriff to investigate four possible cases of
voter fraud: three in which county residents are suspected of having
voted
for dead relatives and one case in which a person is suspected of
voting
twice.
Officials would not release the names
of the people who are being investigated, as they have not been charged
with a crime.
The Prosecutor's Office forwarded
the cases to the sheriff Thursday. The county elections office reported
the cases to the Prosecutor's Office last Wednesday, said prosecutor's
spokesman Dan Donohoe.
"We had an initial review of the
complaints and determined that we needed some additional
investigation,"
Donohoe said. "It will be a couple of weeks before we can have a
decision
whether a charge can be filed."
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported
Jan. 7 that at least eight people who died well before the November
general
election were credited with voting in King County.
Two people contacted by the P-I --
Doris McFarland of Duvall and Bob Holmgren of West Seattle -- said they
had filled in ballots for their dead spouses. McFarland said yesterday
that she had no comment; Holmgren could not be reached for comment.
This month, Holmgren said his wife,
Charlette Holmgren, died Sept. 29 at 57. He said she had asked her
husband
of 40 years to vote for her in the event that she was unable.
Bob Holmgren said: "I honored my
wife's request. I did her last wish for her. At the time, I really
thought,
honestly, it wasn't going to make a difference -- this one vote -- but
it was going to make a difference for her. Who would ever guess the
(governor's
race) vote was going to be that close?"
Washington Republicans -- who are
suing to have the results of the governor's race thrown out -- say
ballots
cast for dead voters and by felons, along with other previously
reported
problems, could easily have affected the outcome of the election.
Democrat Christine Gregoire defeated
Republican Dino Rossi by 129 votes in a hand recount of almost 2.9
million
ballots statewide. Rossi had won the initial count and a subsequent
machine
recount. In a lawsuit, Republicans are trying to prove that mistakes
made
in the election process invalidate the result.
Donohoe said he could not confirm
whether McFarland and Holmgren are among the cases under investigation.
If those under investigation are charged and found guilty, they could
be
sentenced to as much as a year in jail, he said.
South Whidbey RECORD
Girl’s body found, alleged killer
caught
By JESSIE STENSLAND
The long search for 15-year-old Elaine
Sepulveda came to a sad end Friday when police discovered her body in a
grave under a compost heap and arrested an 18-year-old man who had been
a suspect since the girl’s disappearance in November.
Police arrested James Sanders at
his grandparents’ home on SE Sixth Avenue early Friday morning after he
admitted that he had accidentally killed the 15-year-old girl and
buried
her in a compost heap, according to the police report. Detectives
immediately
began to search debris-strewn area and found a small body at about 5
a.m.,
Island County Coroner Robert Bishop said.
The discovery ends a two-month-old
mystery of Sepulveda’s disappearance. She slipped out of her home early
in the morning of Nov. 6, apparently to meet Sanders, and hadn’t been
seen
since. The police and Navy organized massive searches of wooded areas
while
her family and friends blanketed the Puget Sound region with thousands
of “missing” fliers.
Sanders, who looked scared and frail,
appeared in a preliminary hearing in Island County Superior Court late
Friday afternoon. His was hidden behind his long hair during most of
the
hearing. Sepulveda’s family and a circus of mainland media filled the
hushed
courtroom.
Sanders is being held on suspicion
of second-degree murder, which is without premeditation. In arguing
that
Sanders should be held, Banks said there was “very strong
circumstantial
evidence that it was an intentional killing” and that he “certainly had
motive.” Before she disappeared, Sepulveda told friends that she was
pregnant
with Sanders’ child, Detective Jerry Baker wrote in his report.
In court Friday, prosecutor Banks
keyed on what forensic evidence had been found that day.
“She was found in a fetal position,”
Banks said, “which may mean Miss Sepulveda may not have been dead when
he left her.”
Sanders’ attorney, Coupeville attorney
Craig Platt, said his client should not be held in jail. He pointed out
that no specific cause of death had been determined, as well as no
positive
identification of the body.
Judge Alan Hancock, nevertheless,
set Sanders’ bail at $500,000.
Baker wrote that Sanders’ grandfather,
Ted Duris, told him at 1:15 a.m. Friday that his grandson admitted to
accidentally
killing the girl at St. Steven’s Episcopal Church. According to Duris’
account, Sanders told him he was trying to prevent Sepulveda from
killing
herself and accidentally knocked her to the ground, inflicting a head
injury,
the report states.
Sanders told his grandfather that
he tried to revive the girl, the reports says, but was unsuccessful, so
he buried her in the compost pile.
Friday, the police cordoned off the
area of the compost pile with police tape and set up a tent around the
grave site. Shaun, a next-door neighbor of the Duris house who didn’t
give
his last name, said the grave site was under a shared compost pile
between
the two houses. He described it as a “dark corner where kids like to
come
over to smoke pot, drink and whatever.”
It’s also a place where his three
kids play hide-and-seek.
“It’s pretty eerie,” he said. “You
never think in your whole life that something like that would happen,
especially
not in your own backyard. It’s really sad.”
Bishop said he and detectives painstakingly
excavated the body from about 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday. He said he’s
confident
that the body, which was in “a very shallow grave,” was that of
Sepulveda,
though final dental identification won’t be done until today. The
medical
examiner will perform an autopsy over the weekend, which Bishop said
will
likely determine the cause of death.
“It’s a well-preserved case,” he
said. “There’s a lot of evidence.”
Wallace said the State Patrol Crime
Lab is still processing evidence from the Dec. 10 search of Sanders’
home
on SE Glencoe Street. FBI crime scene investigators in white body-suits
executed the search warrant for the police.
Detectives have focused on Sanders
from the beginning because he admitted meeting Sepulveda outside on the
night of her disappearance. Police believe the teenage girl left her
home
at the Navy’s Saratoga Heights housing early in the morning of Nov. 6
and
met with Sanders on Regatta Drive.
Sanders’ mother, Diseree Sanders,
called police Nov. 7 and gave them a plastic bag containing Sepulveda’s
clothes which she found in her son’s room. The T-shirt, a sweatshirt
and
tennis shoes were sent to the State Crime Lab, where technicians found
blood on her sweatshirt, Baker wrote.
The body was found clothed in jeans,
socks and a bra, but no shirt or shoes.
Baker also wrote that Sanders denied
ever having sex with Sepulveda, but admitted that he had given her
information
about inducing a miscarriage or abortion.
Officials from two national organizations,
The Laura Recovery Center and the Klaas Kid’s Foundation, called off a
large search effort that was supposed to start Friday morning and
continue
over the weekend.
“I can’t say anything,” Ted Duris
said Friday. “According to police, they said they’d handle everything.”
South Whidbey RECORD:
Harbormaster
complaints come to surface
By JENNIFER CONWAY
January 15, 2005
Allegations of rude behavior on the
part of Langley harbormaster Ben Reams got his contract terminated in
October,
but he may yet remain in his position with the city.
While Langley Mayor Neil Colburn
stands behind the city’s decision to terminate that contract, he is at
the same time offering Reams’ a new one that he believes could right
alleged
past wrongs.
In an interview Thursday, Colburn
spoke about the harbormaster position after more than 500 pages
documenting
Reams’ performance and history in the Langley Boat Harbor were turned
over
to The South Whidbey Record through a public disclosure request.
Provided
in the documentation are several complaints about Reams by visitors to
the Langley Boat Harbor, complaints Colburn said he could not
previously
discuss because of legal personnel issues.
Yet despite the allegations, a revised
contract for the harbormaster position through the end of 2005 was
offered
to Reams on Friday morning. Reams’ current contract was terminated in
August
and initially targeted January as his last month in the harbor. The
termination
date was later extended to April.
Colburn defended his October decision
to not terminate Reams’ contract. He said multiple letters of complaint
were something he could not ignore. Over a dozen complaints about
behavior
alleged to be rude and unprofessional on Reams’ part were documented by
the city since 2000.
“I felt it was something I had to
deal with,” he said. “How many times can you put up with that?”
On July 8, Colburn sent a letter
to Reams advising him of the concerns he had about his job performance
as the harbormaster. In the letter, he wrote that Reams’ knowledge of
the
harbor was an asset to the city, but noted that his on-the-job
performance
must be changed if he wished to retain his job. Colburn told Reams that
all contact with the public must be friendly, helpful and gracious at
all
times.
Colburn also stated in the letter
that Reams was not authorized to approve terms or conditions for
payment
or to assign permanent slips other than in the manner specified by city
ordinances and regulations.
He went on further to admonish Reams
for criticizing the Langley Boat Harbor master plan, harbor
improvements,
or individuals involved with this planning while acting in the capacity
of harbormaster.
While the allegations concerning
Reams’ behavior are serious in nature, Colburn said the city had also
received
many sincere letters thanking Reams for his outstanding service, prior
to the start last fall of “Campaign to Save Our Harbormaster.” The
campaign,
run by a part-time Langley resident, has worked at encouraging harbor
users
to send positive letters of support for Reams to City Hall for the
purpose
of encouraging the city to keep him employed.
Despite the large amount of positive
letters expressing praise for Reams’ kindness and cooperation over the
years, Colburn said letters of complaint alleging poor attitude, foul
language
and poor treatment could not be overlooked.
“There’s no call for that — not when
they represent the city” Colburn said. “We shouldn’t be getting any bad
letters at all.”
Testimonials sully Reams’ record
In an interview this week, Mill Creek
resident Lori Stadlman said an incident in May prompted her and her
husband,
Gary, to write a letter about complaining about Reams. They sailed into
Langley Harbor over the Easter holiday weekend, and did some repairs on
their boat while moored in the harbor. Stadlman said she and her
husband
borrowed six screws from Reams, promising to return them when they came
back to Langley.
When they returned several weeks
later, on Memorial Day weekend, Stadlman said they were mooring their
boat
when they were accosted by Reams. In her letter to the city, she said
Reams
yelled the following: “You (expletive) stole screws from me.” She said
Reams continued to yell, something observed by other boaters on the
dock.
Even after they returned the screws,
Stadlman said Reams’ belligerent and obnoxious behavior continued.
“Anytime he had a chance, he was
just mean to us,” she said. “He was like that to us the whole weekend.”
The Stadlmans, who belong to the
Everett Yacht Club, said they cannot recommend that other boaters visit
Langley. She said Langley was a particular favorite destination in
winter
months because of the quick 20-minute trip from Everett. Now they and
other
members of the yacht club choose to go to Oak Harbor, Edmonds and
Elliot
Bay instead.
“We just decided we didn’t need it,”
Stadlman said. “Around the boating community he’s known to be quite an
obnoxious person.”
Marysville resident Doug Copelin
also said he would not return to Langley Harbor after witnessing Reams’
rude behavior toward other boaters. Copelin said he did not feel this
way
when he met Reams over four years ago. The first time he and his wife,
Jo, visited Langley, he was impressed by Reams’ expertise and
professionalism
in helping them maneuver their boat into a tight position in the small
harbor. He said Reams’ was cordial, and had even had hot dogs and soda
on their boat with the couple and their friends afterwards.
“Ben has been accommodating getting
us in on our boat,” Copelin said. “On the other hand I’ve seen him play
games with people too.”
He said witnessing the poor treatment
to visitors of Langley showed him Reams’ negative side. He said he will
not return to the harbor until Reams changed.
“I’d certainly like to go back there,
but I’ve just got a bitter taste in my mouth now,” he said.
Other letters of complaint submitted
to the city included examples of rude or sarcastic interaction,
disrespectful
and insulting comments to owners of Bayliner or trailer boats and
assertions
of unprofessional presentation of an employee of a public entity. A few
others complained Reams had touched, untied, moved or boarded their
vessels
without their permission, both while they were on their boat or
shopping
or dining downtown Langley.
City demands more accountability
In a July 8 letter to Reams, Colburn
told Reams he would be required to meet with him or city administrator
Walt Blackford on the first and third Wednesdays of each month starting
in August. He said the meetings would facilitate regular communication
between the harbormaster and the mayor’s office, provide an opportunity
for discussion about the marina and future improvements being
considered
and to discuss marina regulations.
Colburn said Reams’ did not show
up for many of the required meetings, nor did he attend public meetings
or hearings addressing proposed plans for a Langley Boat Harbor
expansion.
Colburn said his presence and expertise was missed.
“We want Ben to be part of the process
and we need to be able to communicate with him,” he said. “How can we
get
the person who knows the most about it to show up?”
Colburn said the city has issued
Reams a revised contract that would retain him until the end of 2005 or
to the date the harbor is transferred to the port scheduled for January
2006, whichever occurs first. He must decide whether to accept that
contract
by Tuesday.
The biggest revision in the harbormaster
contract concerns accountability, Colburn said. Any future harbormaster
contracts will specify the harbormaster is to report to the city’s
public
works department once a month. Reams has the first option at that
contract.
“We’re offering him the contract
first,” Colburn said. “We want him to be a part of the boat harbor for
as long as he wants to be in the boat harbor.”
Colburn said a great amount of time,
energy and expense has been spent by the Campaign to Save Our
Harbormaster
to inaccurately portray the city. He said his good-faith efforts to
reach
a solution with Reams were exhausted before he made the decision to not
renew his current contract.
Colburn did move the scheduled contract
end date from from January to April, which will allow Reams to take
care
of personal responsibilities and make arrangements before the contract
ended. Originally Reams’ 90-day notice would have ended the contract in
January after it was given in October.
“I cannot emphasize enough that this
was not personal,” he said.
A letter from Reams’ to Colburn,
dated Oct. 26, 2004, Reams reiterated the conditions set forth in his
current
contract with the city.
“Regardless of my scheduled departure,
you have my personal word that I will treat every visitor to the marina
in a friendly and courteous manner so that it reflects positively upon
the city. I have listened in good faith to your wishes for the public
to
be properly served, and the marina to be professionally operated and
maintained,
and I will continue to do so in the best possible manner so that I may
leave my 18 years in the employ of the city with good standing and
cheerful
memories.”
Joe Whisenand, a resident of Greely,
Colo., and the creator of the Campaign to Save Our Harbormaster
campaign
refused to comment about the new contract or about the findings of a
public
disclosure request he made on behalf of the campaign. He said the
campaign
believes there is no question Reams’ has fulfilled his contractual
obligations,
and said his competency should not be questioned.
“Our single purpose has always been
solely and partially to help Ben keep his job,” he said.
When contacted this week, Reams declined
to comment on the issue.
South Whidbey RECORD
Jan. 12, 2005
Auditor admonished for late military
ballot mailing
By STEPHEN MERCER
Upon notification of a possible lawsuit
by the federal government, all of the state’s counties met a
hastily-imposed
early deadline to send out military absentee ballots in October. Except
one county.
State Elections Director Nick Handy
said this week that Island County did not mail out about 1,000 of its
general
election military ballots in time to meet a federally-imposed deadline
of Oct. 8. State law had set the deadline on Oct. 15 last year.
However,
Handy said since a presidential election was in the offering this year,
federal law supersedes state law. Military ballots are ballots sent to
both U.S. military personnel and Americans living overseas who are
registered
in the state.
Handy said all of the counties were
notified by an e-mail labeled “urgent” about the earlier deadline.
But Ann LaCour, Island County’s chief
deputy auditor, said only Suzanne Sinclair, the county’s auditor,
received
the “urgent” e-mail. In addition, she said she believes the e-mail was
not sent until Oct. 8 and since Sinclair was out of the office part of
that day no one else checked her e-mail. LaCour also said the state
never
followed up to find out whether the e-mail was received. So county
employees
followed state law.
Sinclair said she did not read the
e-mail until the evening of Oct. 8. Since Oct. 11 was Columbus Day, a
federal
holiday, the ballots could not be mailed until Oct. 12.
Handy said the state notified the
Department of Justice about the county’s failure to issue the military
ballots on time. The department did not fine Island County, he said.
The state first received notification
of the earlier deadline on Oct. 5. The federal government then rejected
a proposed schedule presented by the counties on Nov. 7 that would have
mailed two-thirds of the county’s overseas ballots on Oct. 8 and the
rest
on Oct. 15. That prompted Handy to send out the “urgent” e-mail.
Since some counties were unable to
prepare complete general election ballots in time, they were allowed to
send out ballots that listed the presidential and vice presidential
candidates
along with write-in space for all other federal candidates.
Handy said Washington state was not
alone in receiving pressure from the federal government to change the
deadline
date for military ballots.
“There has been a heightened awareness
for all states to get their ballots out early,” he said.
Although the date change was a nationwide
effort, Washington was probably the most affected since it has the
nation’s
latest primary. Most primaries are held in June and July, but
Washington
state does not hold its until September, Handy said. With votes not
certified
until late September, general election ballots must then be quickly
printed
with the candidates names and parties in time for the general election,
he said.
Handy said the close election results
in last year’s gubernatorial race shows how dangerous that short of a
turnaround
can be. If any election results were close enough in a primary race,
there
won’t be enough time for a recount, he said.
“Its really not an adequate time
to process everything if you’re in a recount environment,” Handy said.
“But we’ve been lucky so far.”
Handy said there’s been efforts in
the state to convince the Legislature to change the law and move the
date
of the primary back. In fact, he said he hopes controversy raised from
the governor’s race will show the need to change the primary date.
Mayor resigns
from Board of Health
Jan 12
By Eric Berto
Oak Harbor Mayor Patricia Cohen
has submitted a letter of resignation for her position on the Island
County
Board of Health.
Island County Health Department
Director Tim McDonald made the announcement during Monday’s board
meeting.
The board did not make a decision to accept her resignation.
“There are so many demands on (the
mayor’s) position,” Cohen said. “It has turned out that I, often times,
have a conflict in my schedule. It’s not fair to the rest of the board.”
According to a 1999 ordinance and
Island County Code, the mayor of Oak Harbor is required to sit on the
Board
of Health. But Dave Jamieson, Island County’s chief civil deputy, said
that Cohen is not obligated to sit on the board.
“Only with the continued willingness
of the mayor of Oak Harbor to continue to serve, is she required to be
there,” Jamieson said.
According to the ordinance, all
three county commissioners, the mayor of Oak Harbor and a
representative
of the Whidbey General Hospital Board of Commissioners sit on the Board
of Health. The commanding officer of Naval Hospital Oak Harbor also
sits
on the board as a non-voting member.
They receive no pay for their duties,
which include the monthly board meeting, a monthly meeting with county
officials, an annual meeting with the Community Health Advisory Board
and
various functions and events.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t have any
interest, it was becoming difficult to find the time,” Cohen
said.
Cohen has missed the last two board meetings, effectively leaving a
vacant
seat. If the Board of Health wishes to fill that seat with anyone other
than Cohen, the Island County Code will need to be amended, Jamieson
said.
McDonald said Cohen is resigning due to having too much on her plate.
“It’s my understanding that she simply
has too much to do and she has to prioritize,” he said. “I think the
Board
of Health will have to come to grips with the resignation.”
McDonald said the board will likely
find another mayor or other elected official to fill the vacancy.
For Cohen, she said that the decision was based on her priority of
serving
the city.
“My obligation first and foremost
is to Oak Harbor and the citizens here,” she said. “We’re not the same
city that we were five years ago.”
She said that it was not one specific
duty that led to her resignation, rather it was the accumulation of
local
projects that were occupying her time. Issues such as the city’s growth
and economic development are among the new challenges she said she
faces.
She said that according to city code,
the mayor’s office is technically a part-time position, but the
proliferation
of ad-hoc committees have created an increasing burden. According
to her letter of resignation, Cohen said that part of her decision was
based on the complexity of the decisions the Board of Health makes.
“They’re difficult calls to make,”
she said. “They are hard decisions that require plenty of time to
research.
If you are going to do it right, then you need to devote the
time.”
McDonald said he agreed that the job’s responsibilities are cumbersome.
“It’s a large job,” McDonald said.
“It’s so big that it’s very difficult for a person to get their hands
around
it.”
You can reach News-Times reporter
Eric Berto at eberto@whidbeynewstimes.com
Published: Sunday, January 9, 2005
Rancor over election could spill
into legislative session
By Jerry Cornfield, Everett Herald
Writer
OLYMPIA - Washington state lawmakers
return to the Capitol on Monday, but the celebratory spirit may not
last
long.
With challenges of the governor's
election under way and the threat of higher taxes looming, the edge
will
be off the excitement soon after lawmakers get down to work for the
2005
legislative session.
Civility could be an early casualty,
with confrontation looming as early as Tuesday. Republicans say they
will
object to granting Christine Gregoire a certificate of election as
governor.
They'll ask for a delay until the first court hearing in the election
challenge.
"It's sad," said Rep. Hans Dunshee,
D-Snohomish. "Some people will use (the election) as an excuse to be
grumpier
than they should be."
Democrats plan to rebuff the postponement
and move to kick the 147-member Legislature into high speed for the
remainder
of the 105-day session. They will control the pace and the tone
of
decision-making, because they hold majorities of 55-43 in the House of
Representatives and 26-23 in the Senate.
For Democrats, this is an opportunity
to push their agenda. But it also poses a risk of partisan fighting at
every turn as lawmakers figure out how to close a $1.8 billion deficit,
how to rejigger the election system, and how to pay for education,
Medicaid
and raises for state workers.
The last time the party reigned with
such supremacy and the state faced such a deficit was 1993. Then, Gov.
Mike Lowry and the Legislature raised taxes. A year later, amid a
nationwide Republican revolution and a statewide revolt against the
taxes,
Democrats lost three seats in the Senate and 21 seats plus control in
the
House.
There's a different mood among Democrats
in Olympia today than 12 years ago, said Sen. Lisa Brown, D-Spokane,
the
Senate majority leader.
"We said we wanted to fix health
care, improve education and get more jobs in the state. That's what
we'll
work on," she said. "Democrats gone wild is not going to happen, at
least
not in the Senate." State Sen. Dave Schmidt, R-Bothell, who will
be in the minority party for only the second time in his 10-year
career,
said he wonders if Democrats really have learned their lesson.
"If they do too much, it may end
up backfiring on them," he said. Republican Minority Leader Sen.
Bill Finkbeiner of Kirkland agreed. He was a Democrat in 1992, but
switched
parties in 1994.
"Democrats are trying to keep themselves
in line," he said. "For the good of the state, they hopefully will work
on policy and not throw red meat to their supporters."
Daze of the deficit
The issue driving debate this year
will be writing the state's two-year budget, which takes effect July 1.
With a projected deficit of $1.8 billion, lawmakers once again must
wrestle
with how to pay the bills and still keep promises that cost
money.
Two years ago, they soaked up $2.8 billion in red ink through cuts,
transfers
and actions such as not giving raises to state workers and not paying
for
voter-approved initiatives 728 and 732 for smaller classes and higher
teacher
pay.
Outgoing Gov. Gary Locke provided
Democrats a bit of political cover fire in his budget proposal, which
includes
new taxes on soda pop, alcohol and physicians. The plan estimates
that those new taxes would generate up to $600 million in two years -
funds
that could pay for the education initiatives and expand health care for
children of poor families, or for higher state worker salaries.
Democrats are noncommittal on taxes,
but say everything is on the table.
"We don't start there," Brown said.
"We also don't want to preside over the shredding of the safety net."
Republicans are committed to saying
no to any new tax. As difficult as it is to tell state workers to wait,
they may do just that if a pay raise can only be covered by new taxes,
Finkbeiner said. Public employees are braced for a fight to
protect
the pay increases, said David Groves, spokesman for the Washington
State
Labor Council, which represents the workers. "It should be passed, and
passed early, so state employees can't be used as a late-session
bargaining
chip," he said.
Vote scrutiny
When not talking about money, lawmakers
will be wrestling with the state's election system. Already, lawmakers
and Secretary of State Sam Reed are championing changes, most of which
respond to twists and turns taken in the governor's race.
Suggestions include requiring absentee
ballots to be received by election night, holding primary elections
earlier
and coming up with new rules for handling of mail and provisional
ballots.
Schmidt is among those concerned
by overreaction.
"A lot of what we need to do deals
with consistency from county to county," he said. "We hear consistently
that we run some of the best elections in the country. When you make so
much news, people think it's out of whack."
Legislators also will chew on a number
of other complex and emotional issues, ranging from gay rights to
smoking
bans to ball fields to scooters. Reform of medical malpractice
and
liability insurance laws will again fill hours of hearings. Two
competing
initiatives will be presented to the Legislature; neither is likely to
win approval, and both may be on the November ballot for voters to
consider.
And lawmakers might offer their own alternatives.
City and county leaders want more
state money for local road improvements, or at least a change in law to
make it easier for communities to pass construction bond
measures.
They also want the state to remove hurdles impeding economic
development.
"I believe in regulations. I believe
in doing things the right way. But every way you turn is a roadblock,"
Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall said.
Lead story in Saturday, January
8, 2005 RECORD on Clinton Forum meeting on Ferry service...click
here for more!
Published: Thursday, January 6,
2005
Council tries to avert sanctions:
The Snohomish County Council passes a resolution that Island Crossing
is
still farmland in efforts to reverse state imposed penalties.
By Brian Kelly
Everett Herald Writer
Responding to sanctions ordered by
Gov. Gary Locke that could mean the loss of more than $9 million in gas
tax revenues, the Snohomish County Council unanimously passed a
resolution
Wednesday declaring that land at Island Crossing is still set aside for
farming. Locke slapped the county with sanctions on Dec. 27,
telling
the state treasurer to cut off the flow of gas tax funds to the county
starting March 1.
The outgoing governor said the county's
attempt to change the land-use designations at Island Crossing to
accommodate
a car lot violated the state's Growth Management Act, the law that
protects
prime farm and forest lands from urban development. County
Council
members said they hoped Wednesday's resolution would further
demonstrate
that the land at Island Crossing has reverted back to its agriculture
zoning.
That's something council members
said already happened after the changes opposed by Locke were shot down
in 2003 by a growth management hearings board.
"It seems prudent for the county
to go on record and clarify, once again, in no uncertain terms that the
prior designations on the property are in effect," Councilman John
Koster
said. Council Chairman Gary Nelson said the governor may not have
had complete and correct information when he ordered sanctions.
Council members have pointed to an
emergency ordinance passed by the council after the growth board's
decision
in March, and a section that automatically reinstated the earlier
land-use
designations. But the growth board, and later the governor, said
that wasn't enough.
County leaders said they hoped the
new resolution would end the dispute.
"I'm pleased with their action,"
said County Executive Aaron Reardon. "The council took a very positive
step forward."
The resolution itself spanned six
pages. And with other exhibits and attachments, it totaled a hefty 34
pages.
Koster said that he hopes it not only clarifies the county's position
but
leads to sanctions being lifted. Glenn Kuper, a spokesman for
Locke,
said the council's resolution was being reviewed.
"Hopefully, by the end of the week
we'll have a sense of what our next action is going to be," Kuper said.
The council changed the land-use
designations and zoning of 110.5 acres at Island Crossing in 2003, and
tried to include the land in Arlington's urban growth area so the land
could eventually be developed.
Car dealer Dwayne Lane has been pressing
for the change so he can build an auto dealership on the high-profile
location
next to I-5.
Whidbey News-Times
Jan.2,05
City re-starts process
By Jessie Stensland
They’ve got questions. You’ve got
answers.
How should the city of Oak Harbor
deal with the growth in population expected over the next 20 years?
Should the city be expanded outward
or should more people be crammed into the existing boundary?
Does the city need more single-residential
homes, apartment complexes or condos?
Where should new roads be built?
What’s the best way to protect wetlands?
Should more land be opened up for
stores like Home Depot?
The city of Oak Harbor has a framework
to help planners and politicians answer such questions. It’s called the
Comprehensive Plan. City staff and a group of volunteer task force
members
have such started a major overhaul or update of the plan, which was
adopted
in 1995.
Since the Comp Plan has such a major
effect on what the city will look like in the future, Development
Services
Director Steve Powers says city officials want as much input from the
public
as possible.
“The Comp Plan gives is an ideal,
a vision we want to achieve,” he said.
There are a variety of ways citizens
interested in the city’s future can share their ideas with
planners.
The City Council set up a task force of 15 community members who have
already
been meeting for the last month. Citizens are welcome to attend the
meetings
and speak their minds, or just listen to discussions.
Those unable to attend the meetings
can still stay in touch and up to date. City staff plans to issue
regular
Comp Plan briefs that cover task force and planning commissioner
meetings,
technical and statistical information, as well as upcoming meetings. To
get on the distribution list, contact Kathy Gifford at 679-5551 or
e-mail
her at Kathy.Gifford@oakharbor.org.
Or folks can simply write a letter
and drop it off City Hall, or contact a City Council member. The
task force will forward their recommended amendments to the planning
commission
sometime next year. The planning commission will work through the
recommendations
and send them onto the City Council.
The update is mandated by the state
legislature, but Powers said revisiting the document also makes for
sound
land-use planning. The population projections, for example, used during
the 1990s, turned out to be off since the state overestimated growth in
Island County. The new numbers, Powers said, have been adjusted
downward.
About 20,940 people currently live
in Oak Harbor. Based on projections from the state Office of Financial
Management, the city’s Planning Commission decided to use 30,419 as the
population estimate for 2025.
One major change to the Comp Plan
that the Task Force is likely to consider will be adjusting the
boundary
of the Urban Growth Area, or UGA. The UGA is the ring of land around
the
city’s boundary that is expected to be annexed into the city during the
next 20 years. The city has the responsibility of planning for the
area,
though the county has permitting responsibility. The city and county
developed
unified development standards for the UGA.
Powers said the UGA will likely be
expanded to take into account the next 20 years of growth, though the
expansion
may be limited because of the new, lower population estimates.
The community will not only have
to decide in what direction the city should grow, but what kind of
growth.
That might mean high-density residential areas, like apartment
complexes,
or rural residential areas with homes on a number of acres. Officials
will
have to decide if the city needs more room for commercial or industrial
businesses, and where such areas should be located.
Powers said the city will also be
considering so-called “sponsored amendments” to the Comp Plan, which is
done an a nearly-annual basis. These are amendments most typically
filed
by a private property owner seeking a change in the land use
designation
of their property, such as a change from low-density residential to
community
commercial.
You can reach Jessie Stensland at
jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or 675-6611.
Friday, December 31, 2004
Simple, obey the law
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL
BOARD
Gov. Gary Locke has sent the Snohomish
County Council a clear, simple message: Obey the state's growth
management
laws or face the consequences.
Properly, the governor demands the
simple respect for law expected of every citizen and, especially, every
elected official. Though an obdurately ideological council majority may
think otherwise, no governor could do less and deserve public respect.
This is only the second time that
financial penalties under growth management have been approved by a
governor.
It's the first time a supposedly forward-looking urban county has
embarrassed
itself by getting into such trouble over a measure that is critical to
maintaining a good quality of life in the Puget Sound region. In
keeping
with Locke's history of wisely measured management, the $9 million
penalty
for failing to put required protections back on a parcel of prime
farmland
is minimal but real.
There's still time for the council
to clearly spell out its intentions to protect the land while it
pursues
the latest in a series of appeals. No money will actually be withheld
until
March 1. Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon says the governor has
agreed -- generously, we say -- to continue to work on a resolution of
the issue. The council should leap at a face-saving opportunity to sit
down with Reardon and Locke staffers. Reardon says the issue probably
could
be settled for now if the council makes a minor change in county code
language
to clarify that the land will be protected until a court decides an
upcoming
appeal.
The County Council has a right to
continue to appeal this issue, though it's hard to understand the
dogged
pursuit of yet another auto dealership at the expense of fertile
Stillaguamish
Valley farmland. There's also continual opportunity to revise the
Growth
Management Act in the Legislature. But constructive discussion begins
with
promptly and explicitly obeying the law, not sidestepping it.
Published: Friday, December 31, 2004
Everett WA Herald
Gregoire crowned; Opponent
Dino Rossi vows to fight ballot count
By Jerry Cornfield and Jennifer
Warnick
OLYMPIA - Democratic Attorney General
Christine Gregoire celebrated Thursday as Washington's governor-elect
and
pledged to unite residents divided by the prolonged and bitter election
battle, though it may still not be over.
"An election night without end has
concluded," she said Thursday at a news conference four hours after her
129-vote victory was certified. "I'm ready to do the people's work. I
think
there is a mandate ... to bring Washington state together."
Standing in the state reception room
of the Capitol with family behind her and supporters nearby, Gregoire
said:
"We may start with a narrow margin, but we will not limit our goals.
There
is much work to be done, and I can't wait to begin."
Republican candidate Dino Rossi discussed
his pursuit of a possible challenge just moments before Gregoire spoke.
He cited new information on potential wrongdoing in King County, where
3,539 more votes were tabulated than the number of people credited with
voting.
"We want to know who those voters
are," he said at his Bellevue campaign headquarters. "You shouldn't be
able to certify the election with 3,500 mystery voters..."
Whidbey News-Times, Dec. 26, 2004
Officials hope vote count is
over here
By Eric Berto
Is the race for Washington State
governor over, or will officials in Island County have to start
re-examining
ballots that were previously thrown out?
The answer to that question was unclear
Thursday, when just 10 votes out of approximately 3 million cast
statewide
separated the two candidates for governor. Wednesday brought the
unofficial tally of King County’s ballots and a Supreme Court decision
that could result in counties having to recanvass ballots already
determined
to be ineligible.
Island County Prosecuting Attorney
Greg Banks, who is represented in Island County’s canvassing board,
said
that since the results have been certified in every county except King,
that will likely prevent those counties from recanvassing the ballots.
“I think we’ve complied with the
state,” Banks said. “We’ve recanvassed, recounted and
recertified.”
King County was expected to certify its count late Thursday.
The Supreme Court decision applies
to ballots that had signatures that were determined to not match those
on file. In Island County, the Canvassing Board, which is a
three-member
board that oversees elections results, threw out 255 ballots for
various
reasons. Of those, 39 absentee ballots were discarded because the
voters
did not sign the ballots, which means elections officials had no
signature
to compare them with.
“They were all sent letters and given
the opportunity to respond,” Voter Registration Deputy Michele Reagan
said.
The county received other ballots without signatures, but the voters
sent
in signed voter oaths, Reagan said.
“The ballots that were rejected by
Island County were a pretty cut and dry thing,” Island County Auditor
Suzanne
Sinclair said. “I don’t recall anybody whose ballots were rejected
because
of non-matched signatures. I don’t know how you can recanvass a missing
signature or a late post mark — those are pretty cut and dry.”
Banks
said that he does not expect a clear solution soon.
“I suppose the remedies are limited
only by the creativity of the lawyers involved,” Banks said.
South Whidbey RECORD
Dec. 18, 2004
Coles Road annexation approved
By JENNIFER CONWAY
In less than three weeks, the Langley
City Council could give the final nod that would annex 40 acres of
property
on Coles Road into the city of Langley.
At a Langley City Council meeting
Wednesday, councilmembers unanimously approved the annexation and
passed
the first reading of an annexation ordinance. The second reading, which
could put the ordinance into effect, is slated for the next city
council
meeting in 2005 on Jan. 5. During the meeting, a public hearing
was
held on the issue and the applicants and the public were invited to
discuss
the annexation.
Bob Libolt, a partner of the Pacific
Crest Partners — the firm that plans to purchase the property after it
is annexed — said the design of the development has changed since he
first
approached the idea of the annexation in 2003. He said his group is
committed
to preserving the rural character of Coles Road, and has no intention
of
clearing the entire 40 acres of property.
“It’s quite different than we imagined,”
said Libolt. “We’re certainly committed to the preservation of trees.”
During the meeting, Langley resident Eric Levine expressed his concern
the development would set a precedent for other developers wanting to
come
to Langley to propose similar communities, and would give future
developers
the appearance of an easy approval.
“It looks like a suburban subdivision
to me,” Levine said.
Council member Robert Gilman said
the council’s approval of the annexation would not set a precedent of
approval
for future projects, and approval of the current annexation and
development
scope had not come without a lot of work from the city and the
developers.
“It’s a little harder than that,”
Gilman said. “There is the hope that this can be developed in a way
that
is community enhancing.”
Another Langley resident, Malcolm
Ferrier, told council members and the developers of his desire to keep
the Coles Road development as environmentally friendly as
possible.
“We really want this development to be a shining jewel in the town of
Langley,”
Ferrier said. Council member Faith Bushby acknowledged Ferrier’s
comments and agreed that achieving an environmentally conscious
development
was an important aspect for the future of Langley for many people.
“I definitely appreciate your point-of-view
and am standing right beside you,” Bushby said. Mayor Neil
Colburn
also agreed, and said no one was looking to live in a suburbia in
Langley.
He said the council would remain faithful to their commitment to
develop
Langley in a sensitive and open process.
“You know what our intent is,” Colburn
said. “We share the same values and the same concerns.” On
Thursday,
Colburn said he felt positive about the annexation, despite calling it
a tortuous process for both city council, staff and the developers. The
changes made to downscale the development over the past year and a half
and the preservation of trees and open space made the annexation and
proposed
development a positive project for the city of Langley.
Colburn said the annexation process
was a community building process that sparked additional community
engagement
and had been a starting point for the Langley Community Forum. He
also reiterated how valuable the developers dedication of 16 acres to
the
city will become for the city. The entire 12 acres on the west
side
of Coles Road will provide Langley will a buffer in perpetuity.
Jeff Johnson, one of the two Pacific
Crest Partners present at the meeting, said Thursday they looked
forward
to continuing working with the city of Langley and Langley residents.
“We’re satisfied with the process
and feel like we have a good development plan,” he said. Johnson
said his company has an agreement with the property’s current owner,
Gordon
Iverson, to purchase the property at the time the preliminary plat is
approved.
He said he and his partners plan to submit a preliminary plat
application
within the next two months. Once the preliminary plat application is
submitted,
Johnson said he and his partners will continue to an open and
responsive
relationship with the city and it’s residents. More public hearings
required
in the plat application process will also allow for more public
comments,
questions and feedback.
In the annexation agreement, several
conditional items are listed for the developers for future
development.
Included in the list is a limit of 24 single-family homes, a
requirement
for approximately 30 acres of open space, construction of walking
trails
and a trailhead, specific buffers for neighboring properties and Coles
Road and approval of design guidelines for future homes, landscaping
and
tree and vegetation retention.
Whidbey Island News-Times Dec. 15,
2004
County to spend $69 million
By Eric Berto
Island County commissioners approved
a $69 million county budget Monday.
The move requires the use of approximately
$347,000 in reserves to keep the budget balanced. This leaves the
county
with approximately $1.2 million in reserve, Budget Director Elaine
Marlow
said.
This represents a 9.3 percent increase
over last year’s $63-million budget. The commissioners also
approved
1-percent hikes in the County Roads levy and the county current expense
levy. The Conservation Futures levy will remain at its mandated 6.25
cents
per $1,000 of assessed value.
The board approved the hikes despite
some opposition from community members.
“I know my budget doesn’t expand
because I feel I need something,” Clinton resident Reece Rose told the
commissioners. “What is the overwhelming need for the Conservation
Futures
Fund?” Island County Commissioner Mike Shelton described the need
as the desire to preserve open space in Island County which has come at
a cost, and the conservation funds brought in barely cover them.
“That’s a fair question Reece and
its one that I struggle,” Shelton responded. Rose ran a losing
campaign
against Shelton in this year’s Republican primary election.
Budget
Director Marlow said the citizens of the county have been very vocal
about
protecting open space.
“One of the things the commissioners
have to balance is there are a lot of other citizens who feel open
space
is very important,” Marlow said.
The alternatives to not taking the
levy increases would be to cut services.
“I firmly believe it’s up to voters
to work with their officials to decide what programs they can do
without,”
Marlow said. “Nobody wants to lose a deputy ... having to wait 20
minutes
when you’re scared is a long time.”
The increase of the roads levy means
approximately $61,000 in new money and roughly the same for the current
expense levy. The county will also see a 3 percent increase in
levy
revenue as a result of new construction, Marlow said. The 2005
budget
includes the recreation of a position in the WSU Extension Services
Program
and a new assessor’s trainee.
“I think what this budget does is
it represents, to a degree, the restoration of previous cuts,” Shelton
said Monday. The county is also expecting a significant increase
in revenues from sales taxes, Marlow said. This year, they will come in
higher than was budgeted and the county is budgeting for an additional
5 percent increase, she said.
Island County was budgeted to use
approximately $400,000 in reserves for 2004, but the sales tax increase
means the county might use only $100,000 in reserves. Public
services
continues to be the largest user of funds — 53 percent of the budget
goes
toward public safety, roads and public health. Only 8 percent is for
administration,
she said.
Published: Sunday, December 12,
2004 Everett, WA Herald
Bayview wants ZIP code:
Whidbey Island plan could help local businesses
By Scott Morris
LANGLEY - Folks in the Bayview area
of Whidbey Island want to bring new ZIP to their corner of the island.
Bayview residents gathered this week
at the invitation of the Goosefoot Community Fund to hear the group's
proposal
to create a new ZIP code for Bayview, which overlooks Useless Bay a few
miles southwest of Langley.
"The Bayview community is well over
100 years old," said Bob Frause, a spokesman for Goosefoot, a nonprofit
group formed in 1999 to preserve the area's rural character.
"In some cases, people have addresses
with Langley, Freeland or Clinton ZIP codes. There's a lot more of the
community around there that I think bonds around Bayview. I think it
just
makes sense." Many in the standing-room-only crowd of at least 60
people signed a petition Tuesday supporting a new ZIP code, he said.
At the meeting, Goosefoot leaders
talked up their plan to encourage local entrepreneurs - instead of
corporate
big-box stores - to set up shop on commercial land on Highway 525. They
plan to do that by consolidating adjacent parcels so new businesses can
share costly installation of storm-water retention ponds, septic drain
fields and parking.
Often, business owners have to shoulder
such costs alone, and it gets too pricey for local entrepreneurs,
Frause
said. Corporate businesses with deeper pockets have an advantage. The
new
ZIP code and the shared infrastructure project are two parts of the
same
goal: to enhance the sense of community in Bayview.
They've got a big fan in state Sen.
Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island. "We need more creative
innovation
in creating economic development in Island County," she said. The
senator said she could identify with wanting a new ZIP code because
until
recent years Camano Island had to use Stanwood's ZIP code.
She said it is especially helpful
for tracking demographic statistics, from sales taxes to poverty levels
to health care and others.
Frause said the group will look at
two ways new ZIP codes are created. One is driven by the U.S. Postal
Service
based on population. The other is to lobby politicians to pull some
strings
by arguing that it would help economic development. The latter is
the route Camano Island ended up using, Haugen said. As for
giving
local businesses a leg up by sharing infrastructure costs, Haugen
pointed
to another Camano Island example that she supports at Terry's Corner.
Camano Commons opened an alternative
mall this fall with locally owned shops and shared infrastructure.
Likewise,
Haugen said the ideas in Bayview are examples of how state growth
management
rules she championed in Olympia can promote economic development in
rural
areas.
"It's someplace not only to attract
tourists, but also people who live there can feel like hanging out and
going someplace special," Haugen said.
South Whidbey RECORD
Schools plan for clear water
Dec. 11, 2004
By GAYLE SARAN
Clearing up the drinking water at
South Whidbey schools was the topic of discussion at a public forum
Monday
night hosted by district administrators.
South Whidbey School district officials
and representatives from the Island County Health Department and the
state
health department held a public forum Monday to discuss the recent
discovery
of traces of lead in the water at three of the district’s five schools.
The forum was attended by a crowd
of about 32 people with six or seven parents, and 26 were school
district
administrators, supervisors and board members. The 90-minute
meeting
was held in the Intermediate School gym. Newsmen from KOMO Channel 4
were
attended for part of it. Interim Superintendent Bob Brown told
the
audience that he decided to hold a forum to better inform the public of
the situation.
“We consider this a serious issue,”
Brown said. The district will solve the issue of lead in the
water
and has taken immediate steps to do so he said. School officials
discovered the presence of lead during a routine sampling conducted
every
fall. Water samples taken during mid-September and again more in
November exceeded the allowable levels for lead at three of the
district’s
schools, Primary, Intermediate and South Whidbey High School.
Matt Hassrick, the father of two
children and the main questioner during the meeting wondered whether
students
are tested regularly for lead levels in the blood. Tim McDonald,
director Island County Health Services told the audience that the
situation
at South Whidbey is not an issue we would start screening students for.
“There are no indications that we
should start that effort,” McDonald said. If parents are
concerned
a blood test for lead levels is about $40. McDonald said in the
state
of Washington lead has never been traced back to school drinking water
as the source. Speaking of the well on Maxwelton Road that is
shared
by the three schools, McDonald said he doubted if the source water was
a problem.
The key (to solving the issue) it’s
not what’s in the plumbing fixtures...the key is fix the corrosive
nature
of the water. The process of clearing up the water will be
monitored
by the Washington State Department of Health and the county health
department.
Jolyn Leslie, regional engineer for the state health department who
will
be overseeing South Whidbey schools efforts said replacing pipe and
fixtures
is very expensive.
“It is a Band-Aid. Fixing the corrosive
nature of the water is the solution,” Leslie said. Leslie pointed
out it’s important to remember that even with lead fixtures, if the
water
was not corrosive the district would not have a problem. School
districts
in the state are required to test annually for lead and copper. The
results
are reported to the Washington State Department of Health.
Parent Hassrick wondered why the
lead reports were not available for 2002-03. John Willson, the
district
maintenance and transportation director said his staff was pruning
through
files and finds bits and pieces of those reports and that they would be
made public as soon as “we pull the missing data together.”
Willson told the audience it’s important
“to focus on the problem right now.”
State law requires that the public
be notified within 90 days of knowledge of elevated lead levels.
The district has done that. Within 12 months state health department
requires
that they submit a treatment plan and in 24 months it must be
implemented.
Leslie said the district has done a terrific job laying corrective
action.
“They are taking the appropriate
steps..going above and beyond what the state requires but that’s the
way
to go. Several questioners asked about Langley Middle School’s
water
and paint because of the age of the building. The school is on Langley
city water and has not been tested for. Superintendent Brown said
the district will begin testing the middle school and Bayview School as
well, even though they are on different water systems than the three
schools
on Maxwelton Road.
South Whidbey schools are not alone.
More than a dozen districts in the state are reported higher than what
is acceptable lead levels in drinking water. In recent months the
Seattle School District has been embroiled in controversy over the
discovery
of lead and iron in its drinking fountains. The Seattle School
Board
approved spending up to $15 million to ensure the district has some of
the cleanest water in the nation. (That’s in addition to the $3.4
million
spent for testing and bottled water).
Tests found high levels of lead in
25 percent of fountains and faucets across the district. The Seattle
school
board approved a new policy setting a maximum lead-contamination level
of 10 parts per billion - more stringent than the Environmental
Protection
Agency’s recommended 22ppb. In 1991 the Environmental Protection
Agency set as its goal a zero lead content in drinking water.
Coupeville board deals with inflation
Whidbey News-Times Dec. 8, 2004
By Nathan Whalen
In the next week, Coupeville officials
will be making decisions that could downscale the planned high school
and
other projects within the Coupeville School District. That’s
because
construction costs are increasing and officials have to make changes to
stay within budget while still meeting the promises made to the
community
during last May’s bond election.
Currently the new high school is
expected to cost nearly $23 million, which is approximately $3 million
more than expected.
With the increased costs at the
high school, the school district has to find a way to fund the
remaining
projects outlined in the $22.8 million bond that voters approved.
School officials cited the sharp
increase in inflation as a cause for the higher costs for the high
school
When estimates for the bond was
completed in late 2003, officials calculated a 3 percent inflation
rate.
In the months that followed, however, that rate climbed to
approximately
12 percent.
The district also saw additional
costs for the high school that came up during the educational
specification
process. The community members that participated in the process wanted
to see changes that included an additional science classroom. The
Coupeville School Board met in a special meeting Monday evening and
directed
officials to come up with $1 million to $1.5 million in cuts to the
high
school. They will consider those orders during a meeting next week.
“It’s going to come to down tweaking
every little bit,” said board member Mitchell Howard.
Superintendent
Bill Myhr said he wants to give the board a clear, easy to read balance
sheet giving an accurate outline of the costs of each proposed project
and the money available.
However, one official cautioned
that removing too much from the high school could hurt the quality of
the
facility. “We need to build a quality high school for this
community,”
said Gary Goltz, school district construction manager. “If we poor-boy
it, then we’ll live with it forever.”
Some attending the Monday meeting
were also concerned that the increased costs could affect
lower-priority
projects. Two projects that came up during the discussion were
the
covered play area at the elementary school and the sports facility at
Engle
Field. Glenda Merwine, principal at the elementary school, told
of
concerns that many parents voiced in recent weeks
“I will tell you that the majority
of elementary school parents voted for the bond because of the covered
play area,” Merwine said.
Even though a low priority, officials
want the Engle Field project complete because it ensures facilities for
the baseball, softball and soccer programs.
“I have a hard time displacing any
programs when we said we weren’t going to displace any programs,” Myhr
said during the meeting. The new high school is slated to be built on
the
current baseball field and practice field. The best time for
construction
on Engle Field would be this spring to be ready in time for the 2006
athletic
seasons. In an interview after the meeting, Myhr said he believed
there is still enough money for all projects and there is time to make
adjustments.
“In some ways we’re very fortunate
because we’re at the beginning,” Myhr said. Money to deal
with
increases can come from contingencies in the high-school project,
additional
matching money from the state, and revenues accrued from bond interest,
according to Myhr.
Myhr said that there was a 16 percent
contingency put into the high school project to accommodate any
unanticipated
costs. He is going to see if that contingency will help absorb
increases.
While the school district originally
expected to receive $900,000 in matching money from the state, it looks
like that amount will now be closer to $2 million. Myhr said the
school district is also expecting an additional $250,000 from interest
earned on the bonds. He also pointed out that the school district
currently has a healthy fund balance and could use that money for some
of the proposed projects. As of October, the school district had a
$1.15
million fund balance.
The Coupeville School Board didn’t
make any decisions during the Monday evening special board
meeting.
They are expected to make a decision next week during another special
board
meeting. By then they should have more accurate information on the
costs
of every project, the money available and an idea of possible
reductions
at the high school.
Goltz said that a decision needs
to be made as soon as possible. That’s because inflation is eating up
money
and design work needs to be done for the district to meet its fall 2007
deadline to complete the high school.
South Whidbey RECORD Dec. 8, 2004
Herzberg stands up for Langley
force size
By JENNIFER CONWAY
As the city of Langley finishes
writing its 2005 budget and looks ahead to an even more sparse 2006,
Police
Chief Bob Herzberg is trying to tell city officials that the
department’s
officers and services are an asset the city cannot afford to loose.
In preparing the 2005 budget, Mayor
Neil Colburn asked city council members to avoid making personnel cuts,
even though a vote on a $185,000 property tax levy increase failed
September.
Instead of cutting personnel, the council approved the 2005 budget Dec.
1 minus planned street improvements, some employee health-care coverage
and money for park landscaping and tree trimming maintenance.
The city now plans to get an early
start on the 2006 budget. Colburn, who gave up his $14,000-a-year
salary
to make up budget shortfalls for 2005, said he hopes the council will
have
a clearer vision of what cuts could be made and where while working
with
another skeleton budget in 2006.
By waiting until city departments
and their budgets had been thoroughly reviewed, the council will have a
better knowledge about them and their staff and funding, Colburn said.
Referring to the police department
as the 300-pound gorilla in the room, Colburn said the law enforcement
consumes 33-percent of Langley’s general fund revenues annually. At a
council
meeting last month, councilmembers asked Chief Herzberg to present the
police department’s annual report. In addition to the department’s
incidents,
council member Bettina Fisher also asked that comparisons to similar
cities
and police departments be made.
In the department’s
2003 annual report, Herzberg compared several similarly sized police
departments.
He compared Langley’s 1,005-person city to 23 other Washington cities
with
approximately 740 to 2,130 residents. Langley ranked fifth smallest
budget
of the 24 in terms of the percentage of the general fund it consumed.
Long
Beach, with a population of 1,345, puts 54 percent of its general fund
toward its police department of six officers and one clerical employee.
Herzberg said Langley providing the
same service with just four officers.
“We shouldn’t be the go-to department
because the money’s not coming in as strong,” he said. “We’re already a
good deal.”
Herzberg said he was surprised during
the 2005 budget process to learn his department was a target for
possible
cuts. After recently hiring two new officers and spending the time and
money in training them, Herzberg said the possibility of losing an
officer
after 2005 worries him.
“I never really saw it coming,” Herzberg
said.
Colburn said Langley does not have
the financial stability to ensure that all city employees will have
jobs
after 2005. He said city administration is thinking about laying off
one
employee in 2006.
How much for how much service?
Though the police department has
a budget of $310,000 — out of the city’s general fund of approximately
$941,000 — Colburn said police protection in the city often goes
unnoticed.
“I don’t think people appreciate
the police as they should,” Colburn said. “We are more well-served by
police
than people think we are.”
In 2003, Langley Police responded
to 864 incidents inside city limits, or about 2.4 calls per day.
Officers
also responded to 400 calls outside the city to assist county sheriff’s
deputies. In a breakdown of service calls in a report generated
by
Herzberg, the department responded to over 14 general types of
incidents,
including domestic disputes, property crimes and citizen assists.
“If you need help in some way we
are here to take care of that,” he said. “You have to be ready for
everything
from barking dogs to a serious crime.”
The wide variation on the types of
calls received shows the department acts as not only a law enforcement
agency, Herzberg said, but provides many types of social services
duties
for the city of Langley.
In 2003, Langley officers gave out
325 traffic warnings and cited 61 drivers. The department also made 69
arrests, including 58 for misdemeanors and 11 for felony crimes.
Losing one full-time officer would leave the city without 24-hour-a-day
coverage. This would compromise the safety of Langley residents,
Herzberg
said.
“How is the city supposed to be covered
the 40 hours we’re losing?” Herzberg said.
Currently, the police department
only has one reserve officer and pays three deputies from the Island
County
Sheriff’s Office to pick up shifts when needed. Herzberg said it is not
always possible for deputies to take extra shifts in Langley. Even with
the four officers, Herzberg said the department’s use of the reserve
officer
and three sheriff deputies is still sometimes not enough to cover the
department’s
vacation and sick leaves, forcing some officers to be on duty for
24-hour
shifts.
In the next year, Herzberg said,
the city will ask for feedback from city residents about what services
they feel are important, and where they want to see public money spent.
“We want to start doing these things
and get input,” Herzberg said.
Dec. 4, 2004 RECORD
Freeland Library gets tucked
under Sno-Isle’s wing as Friends back out
By STEPHEN MERCER
Negotiations are underway for the
transfer of control of the Freeland Library building from the Friends
of
the Freeland Library to Sno-Isle Libraries. In November, the
Sno-Isle
Library system’s board of trustees approved the transfer of ownership
of
the Freeland Library building from the 11-member Friends of the
Freeland
Library Board of Directors to the Sno-Isle Libraries, Friends President
Joann Peterson said this week.
A lack of new volunteers to climb
ladders and fix the library roof, and do other basic maintenance duties
prompted the board to approach Sno-Isle about taking over ownership,
Peterson
said. She said the Friends of the Freeland Library has been paying
approximately
$15,000 a year for building costs upkeep, which also includes changing
lightbulbs and fixing plumbing.
Under the new agreement, Sno-Isle
will continue to fund operation expenses, such as staff wages, books
purchases
and computers upkeep and maintenance, Sno-Isle spokesperson Mary Kelly
said. Now, in addition, Sno-Isle will assume the costs of maintaining
the
library building.
Negotiations are still ongoing as
to what the role of locals will be in the building’s maintenance and
landscaping
duties, Kelly said. Talks are also underway as to when ownership will
change
hands, she said.
Whatever changes happen, the same
books, librarians and computers will remain. “As far as library
services
go, people who use the Freeland Library won’t see any changes,” Kelly
said.
Peterson said the Friends of the
Freeland Library still plan to raise funds for a planned 1,200 square
foot
expansion of the library in 2005. She said nearly $400,000 has been
raised
by the Friends and Sno-Isle for the expansion. When the change
occurs,
Peterson said the Friends will become more of an auxiliary
organization.
She said the board will be able to spend more time identifying and
supporting
special projects identified by the library staff, such as bringing in
local
speakers to the library or hosting special art displays.
“I believe that the Freeland community
as a whole is really going to benefit,” Peterson said.
She said the Freeland Library was
built in 1994 at a cost of approximately $550,000. Building from a
“mass
community effort” and fundraisers by the Friends of Freeland Library,
Peterson
said more than $200,000 was raised. Sno-Isle also contributed $150,000
and applied for and received a $200,000 federal grant. “It really
was a collaboration from the very beginning,” she said.
Dec. 1, 2004
Inflation worries high school
builders in Coupeville
By Nathan Whalen, Whidbey Island,
WA NEWS-TIMES
Over the next year, a new high school
in Coupeville will be designed. While architects take into account the
needs of the students and teachers, they will also have to take into
account
inflation that is causing sharp increases in the price of construction
materials.
The school district planned for a
3- to 4-percent inflation rate this year. Now that rate looks to be
between
6 percent and 10 percent.
“We’re currently facing inflation
that’s without precedent in the building industry for the past 20
years,”
said Gary Goltz, construction manager for the Coupeville School
District.
He added that costs for the high school could increase 24 percent over
the duration of the construction project.
Funding for the high school is paid
for by a $22.8 million bond issue voters approved last May. “It
means
that we will have to follow the priorities set by the board,” Goltz
said.
Those priorities place the high school construction, a new roof for the
high school gymnasium and a physical education/health/locker room
facility
as more important than a covered play area at the elementary school and
a resurfaced parking lot at the high school gym.
Goltz said the spike in inflation
is attributed to several causes, among them tremendous pressure for
building
materials in foreign countries such as China and increasing energy
costs.
He added that China is going through an enormous building phase that
stems
from a strong industrial base. That demand is increasing the worldwide
cost for steel and wood.
School officials hope to deal with
the inflation problem as plans for the high school are developed in the
next year. “Essentially right now we’re trying to tie down the
high
school project,” said Bill Myhr, superintendent of the Coupeville
School
District. Goltz said he plans to pursue more matching funds from
the state. The school district is expecting to receive an estimated
$900,000
in state match that is funded by state timber revenues.
He has a history of getting additional
money for school construction projects. As construction manager for the
Oak Harbor School District, he was able to acquire an extra $13 million
in matching money and grant awards for construction projects.
Goltz
said he probably won’t be able to find as much extra money in
Coupeville
because there aren’t as many projects as there were in Oak Harbor.
Other ideas include looking at different
kinds of building materials and finding a way to build an economical
facility
within budget while still meeting the needs of students. He added
the new high school will be designed to accommodate future
growth.
“We’re going to build an infrastructure that will allow more classrooms
later on,” Goltz said.
Myhr said the school district will
have to decide whether to move forward with the Engle Field project if
the cost for the high school increases. “We want to take care of
our first priority,” Myhr said. The Coupeville School Board met
in
a workshop session Monday night to discuss costs of the high school. No
decisions were made and the school district will make adjustments to
deal
with the unanticipated increases in the next year. The high school
project
is expected to go out to bid in fall of 2005.
The increase in inflation evolved
over the past six months, after the school district originally
calculated
costs for the bond. Goltz said school districts in the state began
noticing
the sudden increases last summer. Many of those school districts had
projects
that came in over budget.
“That was a wake up call,” Goltz
said. He expressed confidence that the high school can be
designed
within budget over the next year and will meet the needs of the
community.
“We’re going to build absolutely a first class high school,” Goltz said.
South Whidbey
Island RECORD
New well
finally delivers reliable water supply to Deer Lake homes
By STEPHEN MERCER
Dec. 1, 2004
It is natural to expect that when
turning on a water faucet or hose valve that water would come streaming
out. But for at least three years, the four families that make up the
small
Clinton community on Redwood Drive might turn on the faucet or hose and
only see a trickle of water.
Anita Phillips, who has lived on
the drive with her husband, Jim, for about four years, said last summer
the well that supplied the Redwood Drive water system for the families
with water dropped low for at least the third straight year. That left
the families with a limited supply of water.
“It was just not adequate for four
families,” she said of the well.
The well reached its lowest point
in early September, Phillips said. By then, she said water had to be
carried
from a neighbor’s well for the next three weeks. Phillips said because
she and Jim along with another home owner live above the well, the
water
often had difficulty reaching the home at the low level.
At the same time, she said the two
homes located down from the well would still receive water since the
water
flowed downhill. So two of the homeowners would not have enough water
to
wash cars or water flowers while the other two homeowners could, she
said.
To compensate for the lack of water, the families rotated watering
schedules.
“There were some trying times,” Phillips
said.
By the end of September, she said
an arrangement with a nearby developer ensured that all four families
would
receive plenty of water. But that was something she and her neighbors
planned
on having well before the summer.
In Aug. 2003, Phillips said she and
other neighbors contacted the Island County Health Department after the
well had nearly dried up for at least the second straight year.
Upon examining the well, the county
health department decided that the best way to obtain a reliable water
source was obtaining permission from the state for the Redwood Drive
residents
to use a well being planned for a community nearby.
Called the west Deer Lake water system,
the new well will eventually service more than 20 homes. Mel Simmons,
who
is developing the property, said the 159-foot deep well can pump 41
gallons
of water a minute. By comparison, the old Redwood Drive well could pump
five gallons a minute, Phillips said.
Because of the number of homes the
west Deer Lake well would service, a permit from the department of
ecology
was required for the Redwood Drive residents to receive the rights to
the
water from the water system.
Normally the process to grant a permit
for a new application could take up to six years to go through the
backlog,
conduct water recharge tests, fill out paperwork and complete an
assessment,
said Jerry Liszac, a hydrogeologist in the Dept. of Ecology’s water
resource
program. Since the county declared the periodically low Redwood Drive
water
system well a public health emergency, though, it took a little more
than
a year from the request for use until water began flowing through the
pipes.
“If we get a letter from the health
department, then we will expedite,” Liszac said.
And that was just fine with Simmons.
“The homes needing the water made
the permit process faster,” he said.
Simmons said the pipes were already
installed for the housing development and he just needed to put in a
couple
of fire pumps for the homes. After a short period to flush out the
system,
Phillips said all of the home owners now receive better quality water
with
more pressure. Doug Kelly, a hydrogeologist with the Island County
Health
department, said no evidence exists why the well ran low on water. He
said
he hypothesized that the well, which may have been hand dug about 80
years
ago, either wasn’t adequate for the demand or silt inside the well
blocked
the water.
Because the well was dug before the
county’s comprehensive plan was written in accordance with the state’s
Growth Management Act, no one ever registered it. Kelly said. He said
about
approximately 10 percent of the county’s 6,000 to 7,000 wells are not
registered.
RECORD
Nov. 27, 2004
By GAYLE SARAN
The South Whidbey Board of Education
voted Monday to throw its support to other school districts suing the
state
for failing to adequately fund special education in public schools.
At a board meeting Monday night,
school board directors voted unanimously to approve a resolution
supporting
the 11 school districts filing the lawsuit. That vote, if it helps win
the suit, could mean South Whidbey schools could receive more money in
the future to do more with its special education students.
“We are expected to fully fund education,
the state should have to do their part too,” Board President Helen
Price
Johnson said.
Price Johnson said passing the resolution
does not require any financial obligation on the part of the South
Whidbey
School District.
The 11 districts formed a consortium
called the School Districts’ Alliance for Adequate Fund of Special
Education.
They filed their suit in Thurston County Superior Court on Sept. 30
through
the Seattle firm of Preston, Gates and Ellis. The suit does not seek
recovery
of damages, but rather asks the court to retain jurisdiction over
special
education funding for “a sufficient number of years” to compel the
state
to comply with court orders.
The courts have ruled that Washington
State is obligated to fully fund basic education; special education
falls
within that obligation. The suit claims the gap between what the state
is paying versus what it should be paying exceeds $100 million dollars
a year.
With special education costs increasing
every year, school districts have had to rely on local levy funds to
pay
for unfunded expenditures.
Bob Brown, South Whidbey’s superintendent,
said this week that the district has to spend much more on each of its
230 special education students than is funded by the state, spending
that
directly impacts local tax payers.
“The additional funds come out of
our levy money,” he said. “Levy dollars should be going for enrichment
and enhancement purposes and programs that benefit all students.”
The state allocation for basic education
is about $4,800 per student. For special education students, South
Whidbey
receives an additional $4,000 above basic education funds for each
student.
But Ben Thomas, the district’s business
manager, says it’s never enough to cover what the district spends.
During each of the past three years
special education at South Whidbey was underfunded by nearly $200,000,
according to Thomas. Diane Watson, who supervises the special education
program in the district, said special education has been underfunded
for
years and the cost of educating those students is increasing.
Some items funded with special education
money are special education para-educators and teachers, occupational
and
physical therapists, buses with wheelchair lifts, and speech and
language
services. Some students require a full-time para-educator while at
school,
a cost of $12,000 a year.
Watson said she supports the effort
by the Alliance.
“The funding of education for all
our children is the paramount duty of the state,” she said.
While the state does provide school
districts for part of the shortfall with so-called “Safety Net” funds,
Watson said they are inadequate because it requires that districts
continue
to use levy dollars before it provides any assistance.
In 2002-03, Safety Net paid less
than $12 million in relief to school districts, while the unfunded
portion
of actual special education costs was an estimated $102 million
according
to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or OSPI.
Watson said the funding formulas
for special education are outdated.
District officials would like to
see an end to the requirement that districts spend their levy money on
special education before becoming eligible for the state’s safety-net
funding
and improve the method of calculating special education funding.
The state pays for special education
services up to 13 percent of the school district’s population including
preschoolers.
The state education officer, Bergeson
has proposed removing those 3- and 4-year-olds from the count to create
more slots for school-age youth.
According to OSPI’s Web site. Bergeson
has requested that the legislature allocate $400,000 to study special
education
formulas. So far it hasn’t happened. The two-year budget proposal from
Bergeson also includes a $200 million increase for special education.
In a press release, the Alliance
states that it chose special education as the focus of its lawsuit
because
the mandates surrounding the provisions of quality education for
special
need students are clearly outlined in both federal and state law. This
is the first step to address the state’s educational funding problems
in
a specifics area rather than to tackle the massive underlying issue of
restructuring the entire education funding system.
Two court decisions from 1983 and
1988 may have a bearing on the case. In 1983, Superior Court Judge
Robert
Doran ruled that special education must be fully funded by the state
and
in 1988 he said the state needed to implement a “safety net to help
districts
fund special education.”
The members of the Alliance are the
following school districts: Bellingham, Bethel, Burlington-Edison,
Everett,
Federal, Issaquah, Lake Washington, Mercer island Northshore, Riverside
and Spokane. There are 296 school districts in Washington state.
Photo by Stephen Mercer
Bob Effertz stands on the east side
of Deer Lake Road’s crosswalk Friday afternoon to demonstrate how
difficult
it is to cross the road after the ferry arrives at Clinton.
Clinton
walkers to get a safer crosswalk
By STEPHEN MERCER
Nov. 24, 2004 Whidbey Island RECORD
Changes are underway that should
make crossing Highway 525 in Clinton safer.
Dustin Terpening, a public relations
officer for the Department of Transportation, said last week the DOT
has
budgeted $50,000 for upgrades to Clinton’s streets. The majority of the
changes will happen at the Deer Lake Road crosswalk, where the DOT will
repaint the crosswalk stripes, expand the crosswalk, add raised stripes
to help guide the visually impaired, and install a new flashing
crosswalk
beacon.
In addition, Terpening said, larger
speed limit signs, warning flags and more street lights are budgeted.
“We’re doing as much as we can with
$50,000,” he said. Work began in October and should finish in the
upcoming months.
The notification of the changes was
good news to Clinton resident Bob Effertz. He said controlling traffic
has been a goal of the community since a visioning meeting on the
subject
six years ago.
“We didn’t want traffic to be the
thing that defined Clinton,” he said.
Effertz serves as the president of
the Clinton Forum, a non-partisan group which debates Clinton issues.
Following
six years of non action by the DOT, Effertz said the fact that some
community
members continually pushed for the changes shows that citizens’ voices
do matter.
“This encourages us to keep working
as a community together even though it might take away to get something
accomplished,” he said.
Sarah Carter and Stephanie Streither—
two Clinton Wells Fargo bank employees who frequently either use the
Deer
Lake Road crosswalk or see other use it— also support the upgrades.
The crosswalk is very dangerous,
Streither said on a recent day as she considered the crossing. She
noted
that the crosswalk is in the middle of a blind corner just up the hill
from the Clinton ferry dock. When a ferry pulls into the dock, over 130
cars drive the through the middle of town and through the crosswalk.
“It’s not very accommodating of local
traffic,” she said.
Carter said elderly people walking
to the bank must use the crosswalk. She said she has watched several
times
as some of these bank customers have nearly been hit by vehicles.
Both lifelong South Whidbey residents,
the two women agreed that traffic has only been getting worse over the
last couple of years.
The improvements to the crosswalk
began with the removal of the Deer Lake Road Island Transit bus stop,
expansion
of the sidewalk and installation of the raised rectangle-shaped yellow
stripes.
The larger speed limit signs and
orange flags have been put in, as well.
Upcoming changes to the crosswalk
include installing a brighter light on the east side of the Deer Lake
Road
crosswalk near Ace Leather Goods, repainting the fading crosswalk
stripes,
and a new street light close to the Island Transit Park and Ride just
off
the highway and Deer Lake Road. Mark Voth, a DOT engineer said the DOT
also plans to add a street light on Humphrey Road in the upcoming
months
to aid people walking from the ferry to their vehicles.
Voth said the Washington State Patrol
will have more of a presence in the area to enforce the crosswalk and
speeding
rules as well. The state patrol did not return a call for comment on
the
changes.
Nov. 20, 2004 Whidbey Island RECORD
And the
winners are...
By STEPHEN MERCER
As Island County voters turned out
in record numbers for this month’s general election, two races were
decided
by margins of a couple thousand votes.
Almost 90 percent of Island County’s
registered voters cast ballots in the Nov. 2 general election. By
comparison,
Island County Auditor Suzanne Sinclair said 84 percent turned out for
the
2000 general election.
These islanders joined Skagit and
Snohomish county voters in sending Chris Strow to the state Legislature
as a 10th District representative, and returning Sen. Mary Margaret
Haugen
for another term in Olympia.
Republican Strow defeated Democratic
challenger and Coupeville mayor Nancy Conard 30,228 to 28,415, a margin
of 1,813 votes. Strow will replace Barry Sehlin, who chose not to run.
In the other 10th District House race, Republican incumbent Barbara
Bailey
defeated democratic challenger Mark Norton 34,899 to 22,894.
Haugen, a Democrat, defeated Republican
April Lynn Axthelm 31,196 to 29,219, a difference of 1,977 votes, to
win
her fourth term as senator.
In other locally contested races,
Republican Mike Shelton outpolled Democrat Dean Enell 20,616 to 14,570
and will return to Coupeville for his fourth term as an Island County
Commissioner
On the federal level, Democratic
2nd Congressional District Rep. Rick Larsen beat Suzanne Sinclair, a
Republican,
in a 202,383 to 106,333 result for his widest margin of victory in
three
successful bids for the office.
With those races settled with the
certification of the vote Wednesday, the focus of auditor’s offices
across
the state now shifts to a recount of the state’s gubernatorial race.
With Republican Dino Rossi leading
Democrat Christine Gregoire by just 261 votes, a recount is required
under
state law. Likely affecting the outcome of the race to this point is
Libertarian
candidate Ruth Bennett, who picked up 63,346 votes.
While this race remains in question,
at least two local winners is ready to return to work.
“We’re pleased that I won, “ Haugen
said Thursday morning. She said she’s now preparing for when the
Legislature
reconvenes on Jan. 10, 2005.
“I’m focusing on transportation,”
Haugen said.
Haugen, who is slated for to be named
chair of the Senate transportation committee, said she plans to use the
clout she’s obtained over the years to push projects including a
Mukilteo
multimodal ferry terminal, helping Island Transit get more funding,
building
more Park and Rides in her district, and improving Highway 522 on
Camano
Island for the 19,000 drivers who use it daily.
Impact of governor recount
Freshly finished with her bid for
the U.S. House, Island County Auditor Sinclair said preparations for
the
vote recount began with a logic and accuracy test of the vote tally
system
on Friday. Island County’s canvassing board will convene this morning
at
8 a.m. to break the seals on the ballot containers and oversee the
combining
of batches of ballots from the county’s 65 voting precincts. All
meetings
during the recount are open to the public.
Because hourly employees are doing
the combining of the ballots on a weekend, Sinclair said those
employees
will receive overtime pay. She said the recount could cost the county
an
additional $500 in wages and take between three and four hours.
The tabulation for the recount will
take place Monday at 8 a.m. when the county canvassing board reconvenes.
Island County is important to candidate
Dino Rossi, who outpolled Gregoire here 19,992 to 16,888.
Good turnout
Whether Island County voters are
pleased with the outcome or not, voter participation in the county
ranked
as one of the highest in the state.
Of the 43,866 registered voters in
the county, 39,070 cast ballots in the election. According to the
Secretary
of State’s Web site, that is the second highest percentage in the state.
San Juan County finished with the
best turnout at 90.25 percent turnout. The state average was about 82
percent.
South Whidbey RECORD
Whidbey big player on state land
list
Nov. 17, 2004
By GAYLE SARAN
Six parcels of Whidbey Island forest
land totaling 385 acres are on their way to being protected from future
development.
Owned by the Department of Washington
Natural Resources, the six parcels are eligible for the state’s Trust
Land
Transfer, or TLT, if their transfer to other agencies is approved by
the
governor and the legislature for the 2005-07 biennium.
The TLT program allows the state
legislature to give lands once used for timber harvests that benefit
state
schools to local or state government for protection as parks, open
space
and wildlife habitat. The Whidbey parcels contain mature forest
and
range in size from a 205-acre tract in the upper Maxwelton watershed,
to
several 40-acre parcels northwest of Langley and a 20-acre property on
Wahl Road.
Statewide, only 25 properties, including
the six in Island County, made it onto the bienniums final TLT
list.
According to Evert Challstedt, TLT project director for the Department
of Natural Resources, his agency is seeking a total of $67 million in
transfer
money from the Legislature to fund the 25 parcels. The money will be
used
to buy new forestland productions.
“DNR is recommending that all the
parcels be funded,” Challstedt said.
One of the most significant properties
on this current list is the 200-acre Maxwelton Valley property which
includes
Maxwelton Creek, a mature forest and a trail. Under existing plans, if
the program is funded, the property would be transferred to the South
Whidbey
Park and Recreation District.
The parcels are ranked according
to priority by DNR. The first two on the list are located in King
County.
The 200-acre Maxwelton Valley property is ranked 19th out of 25. The
only
Island County parcel ranked higher is High Point, 45 acres featuring
one
of the last stands of older mature trees including some old growth. The
Langley-area propety is deemed important for its wildlife habitat, its
proximity to more than 700 acres of nearby trail land, and for
protecting
local water quality. The property, along with 40 acres at Glendale
Creek
and 40 acres in an area called Sky West, are not accessible by county
road.
The other three properties — in Maxwelton
Valley, and on Brainers and Wahl Roads — are accessible by road.
The local TLT protection effort is being spearheaded by the
Whidbey-Camano
Land Trust, which is asking agencies, organizations and individuals to
write to DNR to encourage it to put an additional eight Whidbey Island
properties on the transfer list. The trust’s executive director
Pat
Powell said she hoped those eight parcels, totalling 115 acres and
featuring
4,000 feet of waterfront, would make the 2007-09 biennium list.
“The Land Trust will continue to
actively work with DNR, the Island County commissioners and the
community
over the next several years to gain protected status for these
properties
as well,” Powell said. If the properties are not protected, they
will eventually be logged and sold for development. The next step
in ensuring the Whidbey Island properties are included is for the
governor
to include full funding for the TLT program in his budget, and then for
the Legislature to appropriate the funding.
In a letter to Public Lands Commissioner
Doug Sutherland, the Board of Island County Commissioners requested
that
all of the remaining state school lands in Island County be transferred
for conservation purposes into “permanent fee-protected status for the
benefit of Island County residents and the countless visitors who enjoy
the rural character and wonderful natural features of our islands.”
In 2003, the 600-acre Goss Lake Woods,
and the 400-acres Carp Lake Woods on Camano were transferred to Island
County for conservation purposes. To date, more that 3,300 acres in
Island
County have been transferred for protected status under this program,
including
parts of Fort Ebey, South Whidbey and Deception pass State Parks.
Whidbey NEWS-TIMES
Nov. 17, 2004
It’s alive!
By Jessie Stensland
An oak tree expert hired by the
city of Oak Harbor to evaluate the landmark Garry oak at the post
office
says that chopping the tree down should be “a last resort.”
“I think a chainsaw is very low on
my list,” Darlene Southworth, professor emeritus in the biology
department
at Southern Oregon University, told members of the city’s ad hoc oak
tree
committee and others during a public meeting last week. She said
the stately old tree likely has a long life ahead of it. “The tree is
not
acting sick,” she said. “The biggest threats to it are chainsaws
and bulldozers.”
Yet while Southworth’s evaluation
makes it less likely that the tree will be cut, it doesn’t yet ensure
its
future. Especially when there are questions of safety and
liability.
After the professor completes her written report, the city’s ad hoc oak
committee — along with the city’s
legal department — will make a recommendation
to the city council, possibly before the end of the year, about what to
do with the tree. The final decision will be up to the council.
Southworth confirmed an arborist’s
assertion that a fungus has infected the tree, but she presented a much
more positive prediction for the tree’s future than the council had
heard
before. Council members previously voted to cut down the tree, but
changed
their minds in a last-minute, emergency meeting early this year in
order
to get a second opinion.
Southworth spent a couple of days
investigating the tree and looking at other Garry oaks in the city. She
concluded that the post office oak is doing well, even with the fungal
disease. “The tree doesn’t grow very fast. The fungus doesn’t grow grow
very fast,” Southworth said. “The question is whether the tree can grow
enough to outgrow the fungus.”
She said that it probably could.
She pointed out that the main indicators of health — amount of leaves,
number of acorns, evidence of branch die-back — all point to a healthy
tree. In fact, she said the tree may be older than the 300 to 350 years
that other tree scientists estimated it to be, which would make it the
oldest oak in the state.
Southworth was also critical of the
report from the city’s arborist, Robert Williams, which calls the tree
a safety risk because the fungal disease may cause it to fall and maim
someone. She made light of his hazard rating system, calling it
“capricious.”
She said one thing he missed was to compare the tree to others in the
city,
which she said would have given him a better picture of the tree’s
health.
Also, Southworth — who’s studied
Garry oaks for decades — said she’s never heard of a “resistograph,”
which
is the tool Williams used to examine the tree and largely based his
evaluation
on those results. On the other hand, Southworth agreed with
Williams
that the city can take steps to lessen the chances of someone being
injured
by a falling limb. She suggested getting rid of two to four parking
spots
which sit
under the tree’s canopy in the post
office parking lot and on the street, and putting in more flower beds
instead.
Southworth and members of the public
works department dug a hole into the flower beds and found a
proliferation
of oak roots, which she said is a very good sign. Southworth also
said the city could make the environment as healthy as possible for the
tree, which may help it outgrow the fungal problem. She said as much
blacktop
as possible should be pulled up from underneath it and replaced with
either
mulch beds, or if that’s not possible, some type of pervious surface.
In addition, Southworth explained
that the leaves that fall off the oak tree should be left in place and
allowed the rot because they are extremely beneficial to the tree’s
health.
In fact, Councilwoman Sheilah Crider, who has led the effort to save
the
tree, is calling for residents to donate oak leaves, or even the soil
from
around oak trees, to the city so they can be spread underneath the tree.
She hopes that Southworth’s investigation
will lead to permanent protection of the tree. “The vast hope is
that this tree will stand for another 100 years,” she said, “which is
really
very realistic.”
You can reach Jessie Stensland
at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or 675-6611.
Nov 13 2004
FERRY FUTURE DRAWS QUESTIONS
By STEPHEN MERCER, South Whidbey
RECORD
Fed up with long ferry lines in
Mukilteo, about 50 South Whidbey residents attended a meeting Wednesday
to learn about planned upgrades to the Mukilteo ferry terminal.
At Clinton Progressive Hall, attendees
mingled with state ferry and Department of Transportation officials for
about two hours to talk about a planned Mukilteo multimodal ferry
terminal.
Scheduled for completion in 2010, the terminal will feature a new ferry
dock with two slips, more holding areas for vehicles and an overhead
pedestrian
ramp that leads from the ferry passenger deck to a Sound Transit rail
and
bus station. All the features are intended to improve traffic flow and
pedestrian safety in Mukilteo.
At the meeting, large cards were
also placed about the room describing the history, plans and goals of
the
project. Papers were left on a large table in the middle of the room
for
written comments, as well. The comments are part of the environmental
review
process for the new terminal.
The Clinton-Mukilteo ferry route
is heavily used by South Whidbey residents and visitors each year as
the
main transportation on and off Whidbey Island. During peak season,
motorists
often wait in line for hours in the summer every day. After the
meeting,
reaction was mixed to the new terminal, which would allow the ferry
system
to have three ferries on the run. Currently, two ferries make the run.
Several residents supported the terminal
and the improved access it would give to bus and train services.
“My feeling is that this is going to make Mukilteo better,” said John
Hannam,
a Clinton resident who often commutes on the ferry. Others,
though,
said that an increased volume of traffic will make an already dangerous
situation for pedestrians worse and more planning is needed.
“My major complain is they are only
looking at the one side,” said Clinton resident Bob Effertz.
Larry
Webster, another Clinton resident, said the speed of vehicles leaving
the
ferry discourage pedestrians from walking across Highway 525.
Effertz, Webster and Phil Moore are
all members of the non-partisan Clinton community forum, which
discusses
issues relevant to Clinton. They said road medians, crosswalks, more
speed
limit signs, lowering the highway, and even a tunnel under the highway,
should be considered for pedestrian safety before adding a third ferry.
“The challenge is to accommodate
ferry traffic and maintain the character of the Clinton community,”
Webster
said.
Rather than building the terminal,
said Clinton resident Ken McLaughlin, the ferry system should build
two-level
roadway at the terminals and modify the ferries to accommodate them.
The
change would allow vehicles and pedestrians to enter and exit on a
two-level
roadway. An upper roadway would meet with an upper ramp on ferry boats.
Vehicles on the lower level would disembark at the same time.
He said the present system, which
has been in place since ferries began carrying vehicles in the Puget
Sound
region, causes unnecessary delays and safety problems for pedestrians.
Some drivers are delayed for several minutes while the ferries
unload.
With a two-ramp system, McLaughlin said, it would take ferries 10
minutes
to complete the 2.8-mile Mukilteo to Clinton and load and unload. The
route
now takes approximately 20 minutes.
Project Manager Nicole McIntosh said
there are no plans for changes to the Clinton terminal, which had its
dock
replaced over the past five years. When asked about the dual level
roadway
idea, she said it would be too expensive to modernize all the ferries.
What does the project bring
Lori Simmons said she liked the idea
because of the link-up with the Sound Transit train will allow her easy
access to Seattle Mariners baseball games and Seattle Seahawks football
games. She said she also hopes the train will eventually go to Sea-Tac
Airport.
Robert Aldrich said he supports a
multimodal ferry terminal because the population growth on Whidbey
Island
and number of tourists who now access it make the project inevitable.
Unfortunately,
Aldrich said, it will give more people, business and industry access to
South Whidbey, which he described as a semi-retired farming community.
Judging from input, the ferries’
McIntosh said the new Mukilteo terminal will probably be built on a
4-acre
site partially on the water. She said more vehicles will be able to
park
in holding area than is currently possible. Accessible from the
Mukilteo
Speedway, a road to the ferry would be built parallel to the railroad
tracks.
A more direct route to the terminal through an area called Japanese
Gulch
has also been discussed.
Early plans show the terminal being
built at a former military fuel depot located about a half mile east of
the present terminal. Approximately $132 million has been set
aside
by the state for the project. Most of the funding comes from a 5-cent
per
gallon gas tax approved last year.
Oct 20 2004
EIS comments in hand, county
planners work at Freeland changes
By GAYLE SARAN, South Whidbey RECORD
Freeland resident Mitch Streicher
is concerned about the zoning of the area known as Freeland
Hill. The 10-acre parcel of forested
hillside behind the library is zoned for one house per five
acres. But if Freeland is designated
a non-municipal urban growth area, or NMUGA, the number
could increase to four to six homes
per acre, or a total of 40 to 60 units.
That’s something Streicher and a
number of his neighbors on Pleasant View Lane don’t want to
happen.
Streicher said residents on Pleasant
View would be severely impacted by traffic from the hill. He
said with that many houses per acre
it could become a site for multi-family units.
“Pleasant View is a cul de sac now
with no through access or sidewalks,” he said.
Streicher recently sent these comments
and concerns to the Island County Planning
Department for inclusion in an environmental
impact statement, or EIS.
In addition to traffic volumes and
congestion, comments from other Freeland area residents
related to population density, water
quality and runoff and concern for wetlands and wildlife
habitat.
During the month-long comment period
which ended Oct. 7, the planning department received
a total of 20 written comments from
citizens and two from state government about issues
affecting growth and development
in the Freeland area.
Called the scoping process, the comment
period allowed Freeland residents to give Island
County their thoughts on the EIS,
which is currently being crafted by planners.
According to Adam Flamiatos, a planner
with Island County, these comments will give tell the
planning department which issues
are important to Freeland residents to ensure inclusion in
the EIS. This EIS is not related
to any specific project, such as the proposed sewer
development in Freeland’s downtown
area.
“This does not stop environmental
review,” he said. “It is not a free ticket for development.”
County planners are currently working
on a draft EIS, which will be made available for a 30-day
comment period and presented to
the public during at least two public meetings. At the same
time, the Freeland Comprehensive
Plan will be open for comment.
During the recent scoping process,
other public comments addressed the health of area
wetlands and protection of wildlife
habitat. In addition, Flamiatos said the governor’s office
wants information about water runoff
especially as it relates to Puget Sound included in this
EIS.
Following the comment period in November
on the draft EIS, planners will have two options: To
issue the final draft or craft a
supplement based on the comments and complexities of public
concerns.
There will be public hearings on
the draft EIS and the Freeland Comprehensive plan when they
go to the Island County Planning
Commission in early 2005.
Flamiatos, says the hope is to present
the final plans to the Board of Island County
Commissioners sometime during spring
2005.
In May 2004, the Freeland Sub Area
Planning Commission forwarded the comprehensive plan
and comments to county planners
with the recommendation that Freeland be designated a
non-municipal urban growth area,
or NMUGA. The planning commission will make its own
recommendation to county commissioners
on whether Freeland should have a NMUGA
designation. Ultimately, it will
be the commissioners who make the final decision.
