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Residents of the Channel Drive neighborhood north of La Conner submitted a petition with more than 100 signatures of voters who want to withdraw from Fire District 13. Dave Buchan, Dennis Milliken and Martin Howard delivered the petition to Elections Supervisor Dave Cunningham in the Skagit County Auditors office on Monday. The Elections Department has 10 days to check the signatures and make sure the petition is in order. In March, the county rejected a petition with 90 signatures seeking the same result – detachment from Fire District...
After last month’s public outcry over the proposed de-velopment and expansion of the old Lighthouse Inn building in La Conner, the owner has come back with a scaled-back plan. The old structure had been sitting mostly vacant since 2010 and was deteriorating on La Conner’s waterfront. Last year California businessman Michael Girdner bought the property for $385,000 and has been working to refurbish it and turn it into The Galleria, with retail shops, apartments and office space. On Aug. 2 a cro...
A member of an invasive crab species that indirectly threatens our delicious Dungeness variety and preys on clams and oysters was found at Westcott Bay on San Juan Island last week. Volunteer monitors caught a European green crab, which doesn’t belong in our waters, but seems determined to homestead here anyway. A team of volunteers from Washington Sea Grant caught the three-inch adult male as part of the Crab Team’s regular monitoring program. European green crabs are native to the eastern Atl...
Republican Bill Bryant, who hopes to unseat Democratic Governor Jay Inslee in the November 8 election, said the unfair tax situation in La Conner shows “either incompetence or disinterest,” by agencies working under the current governor. The Washington Department of Revenue crafted a property tax policy that hit La Conner hard when homes were taken off the county’s tax rolls and a $1.8 million tax burden was shifted to the remaining taxpayers. Some residents shouldered tax increases of thousands of dollars. It happened, Bryant claims, becau...
The Washington Department of Revenue says it asked the state’s 39 county assessors for comment as it crafted the property tax policy that hit La Conner residents so hard. When homes were taken off the county’s tax rolls, a $1.8 million tax burden was shifted to the remaining taxpayers, some of whom saw their property tax bills jump by thousands of dollars. The state’s documentation of the process as it developed its response to the so-called Great Wolf Lodge decision shows assessors were never called in for meetings with state officials. But t...
Attorneys working for tribes, including some employed by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, helped write a Washington State Department of Revenue’s guidance document that had a profound effect on local taxpayers. Last year the Skagit County Assessor’s Office removed 931 La Conner area parcels from the county property tax rolls, which caused the tax burden to shift to the remaining taxpayers. Property taxes went up by more than 20 percent for many La Conner families – some saw their bills jump by thousands of dollars. Research by thi...
A hearing examiner will decide next whether a California developer can go ahead with plans to develop the old “Lighthouse” building on La Conner’s South First Street. The structure has been sitting mostly vacant since 2010, when Palmers Restaurant closed and the building went back to the bank. California businessman Michael Girdner bought the century old building last year for $385,000. This year the building is being repaired and renovated as the first phase of its development. Event...
As expected, the La Conner School Board adopted the school district’s $10,232,197 budget for the upcoming 2016-2017 school year with little fanfare. Only a handful of people turned out for a public hearing on the spending plan, which had been crafted after a series of public workshops involving community members during the spring. School board President Rick Thompson, who celebrated his final meeting at the dais on Monday, noted that in his 22 years on the board he had never seen so many meetings held to prepare a budget. Also on Monday, La C...
The La Conner School Board has scheduled a study session for 5:30 p.m. Monday on the draft of the district’s 2016-2017 school year budget. For people who would like to look it over, the draft budget, which shows projected revenues of about $10.1 million in the district’s operating fund, has been posted on the school district’s website, http://lcsd.wednet.edu. After a proposed levy totaling nearly $1.5 million failed in February, the district held a series of public workshops on the budget, figuring places to trim. Voters approved a $995,...
Monday’s meeting of the La Conner School Board was the last time Superintendent Tim Bruce sat at the dais with the board members. Before the meeting’s end, he surrendered his chair and School Board President Rick Thompson administered the oath of office to Peg Seeling, who took over for Bruce. Just before he joined the audience, one of Bruce’s last tasks was to sign the district’s contract with Northwest Leadership Associates, the firm that will conduct a search for a new superin...
La Conner’s iconic Rainbow Bridge has spanned the channel since 1957 and approaches its 60-year anniversary. Its last coat of brilliant orange paint was applied in 2003 and has since become faded, has begun growing moss and is collecting graffiti in some sections and bird droppings in others. But a bridge’s function is not judged by its appearance. Less than 1 percent of the bridge’s paint has worn off, so even though it’s not pretty, the faded paint is still protecting the structure, say the experts. Forrest Jones, who is the lead bridge...
Putting miles on her shoes and smiles on local faces, Tara Linder is on patrol in La Conner. As La Conner’s new code enforcement officer, “I’m here for health and safety,” she said, “not to hurt somebody’s day.” Just don’t park in a fire lane or illegally take up a handicap spot, and you’ll enjoy meeting her when you see her on her rounds. Linder says she’ll always try to get people to move their vehicles before issuing a parking ticket — at least on the first warning. “People don’t alway...
Fire District 13 is ready to start transporting patients to area hospitals with its new ambulance. Chief Roy Horn said the district was anticipating a go-ahead from the Skagit County Commissioners next week to get the program rolling. UPDATE: The approval came Monday to start it up with a six-month pilot program. Horn said that initially the ambulance will respond to calls only within the District 13 boundaries, but it will be available to be dispatched anywhere in the county if it is needed. “I envision us to eventually assist in La Conner a...
La Conner officials are mulling a plan to install a charging station for electric vehicles in town. Right now the idea is to put one at the small First Street parking lot between the boardwalk gazebo and the Pier 7 building. Presently, that lot has three spaces for handicap access only. An idea that surfaced at the last Town Council meeting was to move two of those spots to on-street parking, and install a two-outlet charging station there. Town Public Works Director Brian Lease presented the council with options for a dual port charger, a sing...
After two terrible fishing seasons and with this year expected to be even worse, the Swinomish Fish Company has shut down. Brian Genge, manager of the facility that produces the popular Native Catch brand of canned salmon, said, “We have stopped operations for this period, because there are no expected big fisheries this year.” Still, the closure of the plant, owned and operated by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, is not expected to be permanent, he said. The tribe expects to work with other businesses to have their fish processed at its...
The La Conner School Board on Monday voted to accept a slate of proposed budget cuts put forth by the group that has been meeting in budget workshops since April. District Business Manager Bonnie Haley told the board that the group actually exceeded the district’s goal of $500,000 in savings by more than $40,000 and that items could be added back in. Still, “I’m loathe to tinker with the recommendations,” said board member Brad Smith. “My druthers would be to keep the recommendations intact and act on it.” Board member John Thulen agreed, tho...
At Monday’s La Conner School Board meeting, two women with decades-long ties to the district walked in and sat down without letting on they had a big plan. When it came time for public comments, retired school counselor Maureen Harlan and retired board member Gretchen McCauley began lauding the accomplishments of district Superintendent Tim Bruce, who after 26 years, is leaving to take a post as a university professor. Then came their request: “Name the school auditorium the Dr. Tim Bruce Auditorium,” Harlan said. Bruce should be honor...
La Conner will wait until next year to repair the elevator in Maple Hall. After about 23 years of service, the elevator gave up the ghost about six months ago, after one kiddie ride too many. Town Administrator John Doyle said the control panel is worn out. Maple Hall is frequently rented out for weddings and other events, and the elevator has occasionally been a source of entertainment for inadequately supervised children, “using it as a ride running it up and down,” Doyle said. Most of Maple Hall’s amenities, including the restrooms and k...
The La Conner School Board on Monday adopted a resolution to cut the equivalent of 2.7 full-time certificated positions to save a total of $330,000. At the same time, the district must fill the equivalent of 3.363 full-time teaching positions which have come open due to resignations and retirements. Thus, a teacher whose job is being eliminated at the high school can apply for one of the positions open at the elementary school, said the district’s Business Manager Bonnie Haley. Certificated positions being cut include the administrative post pr...
Local drivers should avoid Highway 20 this weekend, and boaters should steer clear of Padilla and Fidalgo bays, as county officials are expecting long delays and congestion with thousands of protestors expected to converge on March’s Point. “Break Free PNW” has organized a three-day event centered on the refineries on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Besides the protest against fossil fuels by a gazillion kayakers, other groups are expected to join in. On Saturday the official protest schedule includes an Indigenous Day of Action, aimed at prote...
La Conner’s iconic Rainbow Bridge underwent a thorough examination, and since the bridge docs didn’t notify the county of any serious problems, it looks like the ageing structure will get another clean bill of health. Skagit County’s Transportation Program Section Manager Forrest Jones, who is also the lead bridge inspector for the county, said he expects detailed inspection results in the next week or so. Traffic backed up for a few hours on Wednesday on the county-owned bridge across the S...
La Conner School District’s months-long wrangling over workmanship with the contractor hired to build the new middle school has finally landed in court. Since last summer, at the district’s monthly board meet-ings, project manager Bryan Young has been bringing up various “punch list” items that he was working to get Babbit Neuman Construction Company to address. The upshot is that the school district has still not accepted the new La Conner Middle School building, which opened Sept. 2, as a completed project. That’s because the district...
The Washington State Auditor’s office reported on Monday that it issued two “findings” against La Conner School District after examining some financial records. While most of the areas checked in the district’s yearly audit had no problems, the auditor issued findings — which are formal, documented criticisms — over two errors the district had caught and remedied long before the audit was conducted. The auditor’s office found that the district over-reported children on tribal land in its application for federal impact aid and that...
One thing was very obvious to the people attending the La Conner School District budget workshops — the school staff has been working very hard to find places the district can cut costs. Monday’s was the fourth in the seven-workshop series and like the others was attended mostly by school employees and a few taxpayers with no school ties. School Superintendent Tim Bruce told the group that nearly 80 percent of the school budget goes toward teacher and staff pay. “Think about keeping a quality teacher in every classroom,” he said. Shoul...
The 30 or so community members participating in the La Conner School District’s crash course in school finance started listing things to slice out of the budget during Monday’s session. The district is asking voters to approve a one-year levy of $995,000. Ballots, in voters’ hands right now, will be counted on April 26. In February, voters rejected two levies totaling about $1.5 million. The scaled-down version being put before them now, will require the district to find $500,000 in savings, even if it passes. Should it fail, another $1 milli...
