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TOWN OF LA CONNER NOTICE OF APPLICATION/NOTICE OF HEARING PRELIMINARY MITIGATED DETERMINATION OF NON-SIGNIFICANCE (PMDNS) Date: September 12, 2023 Application File #: LU23-30CU-IV, LU23-31SEPA Applicant: La Conner Maritime Services Owner: Port of Skagit Town Contact Person: Michael Davolio AICP, Planning Director; P.O. Box 400, La Conner, WA 98257; 360-466-3125 Project Description: New 8,000 sq ft pre-engineered metal building for maintenance and repair of boats. The project is in an area identified as 100 year flood plain. The parcel is...
Mark your calendars for a gourmet, connoisseur and fun weekend celebrating Skagit Valley grown, caught, brewed and prepared food and drinks Sept. 29 and 30. Genuine Skagit Valley is offering its first ever Tidewater Boil Friday evening at the La Conner Marina. Return on Saturday for the Skagit Farm to Pint Fest. You will meet Blake Vanfield, director of Genuine Skagit Valley and the event’s sort-of executive chef. She is all but bubbling over with excitement for the complex coming together of people, their skills, talents and the foods and drin...
There's no doubt Marna Hanneman has the resume to be La Conner's next mayor. Having served nearly a decade on the La Conner Planning Commission, a key advisory panel focused on land use and historic preservation, Hanneman comes with relevant academic and professional credentials. She holds a degree in business administration from the University of Maryland and has enjoyed wide-ranging careers in marketing, property management and insurance. And not to be overlooked is her long managerial stint...
Four members of the U.S. House of Representatives visited the Port of Skagit Aug. 8 to learn more about Skagit Regional Airport and projects supported by federal grant dollars. Representative Rick Larsen (D-Everett) coordinated the visit, which included four members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and several staff. Rep. Larsen, as ranking member of the committee, was joined by Committee Chairman Sam Graves of Missouri, Rep. Julia Brownley and Rep. Mark Desaulnier, both of California. The visit to Skagit Regional Airpor...
Town officials remain focused on mitigation of flood conditions ahead of king tide season in the fall. La Conner Town Council members last week endorsed recommendations proposed by Public Works Director Brian Lease for immediate short-term saltwater flood protection remedies along the town’s waterfront. Lease had earlier shared with the emergency management commission a priority purchase list for materials and equipment – ecology blocks, sandbags, a sandbagging machine and forklift. “I’d like to have sandbags filled and on pallets by Oct. 1,...
Gary Ladd was bare headed on Thursday, though figuratively he was wearing two hats that morning. A Skagit County Fire District 13 officer, he also serves as an officer of Skagit Bay Search & Rescue – and he spoke for the latter during the fire district’s monthly commissioners meeting at the Snee Oosh Road station. The SBSR leadership proposed to Commissioners Bruce Shellhamer, John Doyle and J.J. Wilbur that the fire district partner with the search and rescue group on emergency calls. SBSR is currently aligned with the Skagit County She...
To keep history alive, it must be tended like a garden. On Saturday, July 29, community members gathered at Northern State Hospital in Sedro-Woolley to nurture memories of family members of patients and staff. About 300 people came to Public History Day at the grounds to share artifacts and stories and learn from experts about the hospital, which closed 50 years ago. "Personal stories are the most powerful," said Sharon Howe, the research librarian at the Sedro-Woolley Museum, one of the...
La Conner Chamber of Commerce's 23rd annual Classic Boat and Car Show on Aug. 5 at the Port of Skagit Marina attracted about 125 automobiles of all makes, models and eras, along with nine boats on the water or on trailers. Chamber of Commerce Director Mark Hulst said show participants started lining up to secure their display spots as early as 5:45 a.m. and came from as far away as Anchorage, Alaska. Spectators marveled over the variety of automobiles and boats. "We saw folks from all over the...
SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR SKAGIT COUNTY No. 23-4-00387-29 PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS (RCW 11.40.030) In the Matter of the Estate of Gunnar Pedersen, Deceased The personal representative named below has been appointed as personal representative of this estate. Any person having claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the personal representative or the personal...
Focused on the future, Town officials have taken the long view to address La Conner’s most pressing needs. Town leaders highlighted a handful of top-tier issues in a 5-year strategic plan crafted during an all-day retreat July 24 in Mount Vernon. Priorities include a mandated upgrade of the wastewater treatment plant, robust investments in fire protection and safety, providing public access on South First Street to Caledonia, securing a permanent home for the public works department, developing long-term flood mitigation measures, replacing agi...
Because it’s never too soon to prepare for the future, La Conner Town Council invested an hour in a special session last week studying factors and strategies that could define La Conner decades from now. The 60-minute hybrid meeting, which featured online commentary from Seattle-based consultants, was a down payment of sorts ahead of a daylong July 24 council retreat. The topics discussed and identified as either community strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threats (SWOT) – some of which overlapped into more than one category – were...
At times shrouded in mystery after its closure in the early 1970s, Northern State Hospital and its unique history will be revisited during a July 29 public program at the former mental health facility's campus four miles northeast of Sedro-Woolley. The daylong event (10 a.m.-4 p.m.) invites those attending to share memories, scan photos, take self-guided tours and listen to stories and reminiscences of former employes and family members of Northern State. The program, billed as a "public history...
The Town of La Conner’ s emergency management commission will start meeting monthly after half a year of bi-weekly sessions. It has made some progress and is settling into a routine. The town council and mayor moved quickly to form the commission after December’s Swinomish Channel flooding got their attention. Maybe emergencies are required to form commissions and plan solutions to past problems. Will it take a flood of homeless people floating into taking up residency in Pioneer Park to engage town leaders to move toward significant developmen...
The Fourth of July was just fantastic! We had so many people contribute their time and efforts I can’t possibly name them all, but I will say our marina maintenance staff and dockhands were everywhere all the time and I could not have been more pleased with how they represented the Port of Skagit. We see all types of travelers passing through the La Conner Marina and RV Park. One example is an RV couple who is trying to be out for an entire month. They want to see if they enjoy actually l...
Nothing in life is perfect, but the annual July Fourth Parade in La Conner Tuesday came close. The weather, which more than once has been wet and chilly here on Independence Day – hence, the local adage that summer starts on July 5 – was sunny and warm for an eclectic blend of patriotic-clad entrants and spectators lining the length of First Street for the 20-minute celebration. So good was the parade honoring America’s 247th birthday and formal separation from Great Britain that those resid...
Sunday, June 25 10:29 a.m.: What noise? – Report of subjects playing loud music outside, disrupting the neighborhood. Deputies did not hear anything. Beaver Marsh Rd., Greater La Conner. 10:29 a.m.: What truck? – Report of a stolen truck from the street in front of the residence. Caller stated the truck had been there the night before and was now gone. Described as a spare vehicle that the keys were left in and the windows were most likely down. Vehicle was signed stolen and has not been recovered. Road. St, La Conner. 7:4 p.m.: Closer loo...
Summer is going to “bee” busy at the library. Summer reading is now in full swing, and we have fun weekly events coming up all summer long. Our theme this year is “All Together Now;” the honeybee is our mascot – because they work together as a team to keep their hives humming. If you haven”t signed up yet, stop by the library to pick up a summer reading packet and a calendar to see all the exciting events we have coming up. If you have already signed up, keep buzzing through those books so you can turn in your completed packet for a prize. Here...
The guest docks have been slammed this week. We have been docking boats and fielding reservations left and right. And yet, even as the summer rush is upon us we generally still have space available during the week. Boaters who are not tied to the weekend have their choice of moorings. We have had a lot of people asking about crab season opening, with audible disappointment when we tell them we are not the ones who set the season. Talking with these people has made me realize once again what a...
La Conner will again act locally while thinking nationally on July 4. The town is site once more of Independence Day festivities with something for everyone – from a holiday parade to food and beverages to live music to a fireworks display over Swinomish Channel. The fun starts with the always popular 12 p.m. parade down First Street. Parade staging is set for 11 a.m. on State Street, in front of the Port of Skagit’s La Conner Marina south basin parking area. The parade traditionally draws an array of motorized, non-motorized and even fam...
La Conner based Tomco Marine Group, builders of American Tugs, was bought by the Kadey-Krogen Group of Stuart Florida May 18. The 36 employees at American Tugs' 28,000-square-foot facility on Pearle Jenson Way will continue to build boats there, said General Manager Troy Olason Friday. The company is still recruiting after hiring eight employees this year, he said. It builds five models ranging from 36 feet- to 48 feet that sell for $595,000 to $1.7 million and has delivered more than 250...
Now it is the La Conner Town Council’s turn to decide how best to regulate adult businesses should one or more try to locate here. Fortunately, the panel has received some grown-up advice. The La Conner Planning Commission last week unanimously approved forwarding to the Council a detailed and highly restrictive framework developed with Planning Director Michael Davolio and Assistant Planner Ajah Eills based on court rulings issued in First Amendment and freedom of expression cases. The plan limits to industrial zones on the town’s north and...
The Swinomish Tax Authority used the same levy rate for 2023, 2022 and 2021: $11.98 per thousand. But, the assessed value of homes in Shelter Bay and Pull & Be Damned increased from $196,279,100 to $206,399,050 over the past year. The Swinomish government aims to collect $2,440,832 in taxes from Shelter Bay, Pull & Be Damned and Thousand Trails. Three taxing districts will receive contributions from the Swinomish. These are: Fire District 13 at $400,000 for operations and maintenance, plus $90,000 impact fees from the casino, plus a medical...
The wheels of justice are said to grind slowly. But when it comes to planning for future local transportation needs, Town of La Conner officials, relatively speaking, are putting the pedal to the metal. Two years after the transportation section of the comprehensive plan was updated, Planning Director Michael Davolio, Assistant Planner Ajah Eills and planning commissioners are looking at parking in revisiting that element of the land use plan. Davolio conducted an inventory of available parking spaces on First Street and found there are 307...
April is National Poetry Month and Pelican Bay Books in Anacortes has a full line up of poets coming every Saturday, along with music and some local student poets. Start time is 7 p.m. and lasts through about 8:30 p.m. The line up: April 8th: Alice Derry and Kate Reavey are crossing over from Port Townsend on the ferry, both reading from new books. April 15th: Claudia Castro Luna, Kathleen Flenniken, both former Washington poet laureates, and the wonderful Susan Rich, all coming up from Seattle. They participated in last October’s Skagit R...
Maybe the 50 or so people attending the Climate Resilience conversation Sunday at the Anacortes Senior Center did not provide $7,500 worth of advice for changing the trajectory Skagit County residents – and everyone – are facing as the climate changes. But facilitator Dave Peterson made that unscientific estimate at the meeting’s end. The University of Washington forestry professor is with the Skagit Climate Science Consortium, scientists working with local people to assess, plan and adapt to climate related impacts. “Where do we go from here?...
