September 2015
IN THIS
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Water use gets northern exposure, page 8
Dock out for the year, page 8
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Parks board Sun, sand and water – what more do we need? working on comprehensive plan B y P a t G r u bb Looking to the future, the Point Roberts Park and Recreation District board of commissioners has created a sub-committee to begin work on a comprehensive plan. Commissioners Mary Edgley and Linda Hughes will start working on a mission statement outlining short and long term goals of the district. “I think the comprehensive plan has to be at least as long as the levy term and it has to feed into the next levy request which is not until 2017,” said board chair Mark Robbins, adding, “We have the advantage of having five commissioners so it’s perfectly legal to have a sub-committee of two commissioners start work” on the plan. Speaking from the audience, local resident Ron Hughes told the board “You really need to reach out to the community to ask what everyone thinks the parks should be doing. And then there’ll be lots of stuff that’s unrealistic, lots of minor stuff but then you can chop it down and a budget will come out of it and you can use it for marketing the levy.” Speaking earlier in the regular meeting held August 10, Edgley sought to clarify the board’s position regarding its commitment to the proposed new library to be built next door in the old Julius fire station. “I’d like to go back to the minutes,” she said. “I don’t think anyone ever said that we are not interested in supporting the library as we agreed to in the memorandum of understanding,” between the parks district and the county library system. “The only issue is, how to we do that and should or should not that money come out of our operating budget,” she said, addressing the district’s commitment to making up any shortfall between the cost of the building and the money that has been raised so far. Edgley told fellow commissioners that (See Parks, page 7)
s A young family and faithful companion enjoy an afternoon at the beach in Point Roberts on August 5.
Group waits for routine character plan review B y P a t G r u bb An updated and revised Point Roberts character plan is very close to being unveiled to the public, according to Annelle Norman. Addressing the Point Roberts Community Advisory Committee (PRCAC) on August 11, she gave the group an overview of the document, saying it would be ready in the near future. A member of the sub-committee formed by PRCAC to review and update the plan
for the first time since it was adopted, Norman reported that her committee had been meeting for more than a year. Norman said they had requested county planning and development staff review the revised plan from a technical point of view and “when that process is complete, we will be able to forward the plan to the committee [PRCAC].” She added “While it is up to your discretion, I feel strongly that the public should have the opportunity to review the final draft.”
New county parks ranger assigned to Point Roberts By Meg Olson The Whatcom County Parks and Recreation department has assigned a new ranger to Point Roberts who brings a regular presence and a sturdy skill set to local parks. “I’m a fresh set of eyes,” said Aaron Johnson, who took up the newly created position July 9 and moved to the Point with his fiancée Melissa and dog Leroy in mid-August. Johnson, 32, spent the first 10 years of his life in Australia and the next 10 in
Photo by Meg Olson
New Hampshire, joining the U.S. Navy at 20 years old. He was stationed in Everett with the Abraham Lincoln and served for four years with two deployments, one in southeast Asia and another in the Gulf region. “One of the things that really drove me to get into recreation was the guys saying there was nothing to do,” Johnson said. As he discovered the Pacific Northwest he said he was amazed at the incredible natural resources. “A short drive away there’s everything,” he said. “I thought ‘I
need to get these guys out there!’” After his discharge Johnson went to Western Washington University, graduating in 2010 with a degree in outdoor recreation. He went to work as the manager of the Jim Creek Recreation Area near Arlington, a military facility that includes a campground, an RV park, a lodge, a challenge course, a lake, a disc golf course, hiking and biking trails and other amenities. An avid outdoor enthusiast, Johnson (See Ranger, page 7)
However, in an email to PRCAC members, assistant county planning and development director Mark Personius advised the group that planning staff were in the thick of updating the county’s comprehensive plan and wouldn’t be able to perform a final review until near the end of the year. He promised to assign a staff member to begin the review in the fall and to initiate staff meetings with PRCAC. According to Norman, the plan has been (See PRCAC, page 6)
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Church ............................................. 20 Classifieds ......................................... 21 Coming Up ....................................... 16 Crossings ............................................ 7 Opinion ............................................... 4 Seniors ............................................. 18 Tides ................................................. 14