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The countdown is on for 10-9-1 – as in Oct. 9, First Street shifts to one-way southbound traffic. The official deadline for changing the downtown traffic pattern, which includes the block of Commercial Street in front of Maple Hall, was announced at the Aug. 27 La Conner Town Council meeting. "We don't want this date to be a surprise," Town Assistant Planner Ajah Eills said. "We're going to do a big information campaign in September, getting the word out on kiosks, at the library, and h...
Most electric vehicle (EV) charging takes place at home. But, what if you’re not home? Suppose that Jenelle and I decide to go to Portland, Ore., with a detour to Multnomah Falls, for a weekend of scenic hiking and sneaker shopping, capped off with a couple of Portland’s giant donuts. It’s a 260-mile trip from La Conner to Multnomah Falls, plus 30 more miles into Portland, plus some driving around to Big Sneaker stores and the donut shop, before heading to a hotel. Then, there’ll probabl...
The Aug. 21 editorial stated that the Town of La Conner bought the Jenson property for $169,000 and that it is landlocked. The purchase price was $60,000. There is access by a 15-foot wide easement from S. Fourth Street. The editor regrets these mistakes....
TOWN OF LA CONNER NOTICE OF SUMMARY ORDINANCE 1250 Notice is hereby given that the Town Council of the Town of La Conner, Washington, passed Ordinance No. 1250 at the August 27, 2024 Town Council meeting. A summary of Ordinance No. 1250 is as follows: An Ordinance amending Titles 5 of the La Conner’s Uniform Development Code Complete copies of Ordinance No. 1250 are available at La Conner Town Hall, P.O. Box 400, La Conner, WA 98257 Dated this 29th Day of August, 2024 /s/ ____________ Maria DeGoede, Town Clerk Published in the La Conner W...
HEADS UP The La Conner wastewater treatment plant will close at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 6 to septage hauling, yard waste dumping and compost pickup. The plant is expected to be closed most of the day. NOT TO BE MISSED Saturday with the Mayor, it’s open mic. Come and talk with Mayor Marna Hanneman at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7 at the La Conner Swinomish Library. Join local poet Susan Rich for a short introduction to writing poetry about visual art, 4-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Museum of Northwest Art. Get inspired surrounded by art and o...
The couple planning to open a martial arts studio and fitness club on Maple Avenue at Washington Street didn’t face much of a fight when the project went before Town Hearing Examiner David Lowell last week. Tracy and April Emmanuelson-Barnett received overwhelming support during a well-attended one-hour public hearing on their application for a permit to revamp the former COA building on Maple Avenue. It has been vacant for two years after having been operated as restaurants since the 1970s, a non-conforming use in a residential zone. Lowell s...
There are two candidates for Skagit County Commissioner, District 1, Ron Wesen and Rylee Fleury. I support neither, but I wish to know who will be representing the affairs of this county for the next term. Unfortunately Fleury is vague on professional experience, education and community service in the voters’ pamphlet and his personal statement sounds like it was written by someone else for him. He has a billboard on Hwy 20 as well as many yard signs and a large box truck plastered with large campaign signage on its sides. These cost a lot o...
I met with the mayor and the administrator of La Conner on Aug. 21. The purpose of the meeting was to see if the Town was going to contest the amount of money the Town of La Conner paid to the City of Anacortes for water for 2021 and 2022. The answer was “no.” The agreement between the town and the city calls for arbitration if there is a disagreement, but the mayor and the administrator found no problem, no need to sit down with the mayor of Anacortes. This, in spite of the fact that Anacortes, by my calculation, owes us $46,858 for 2021 and...
Dredging in the Swinomish Channel will begin Sept. 9 and continue until mid-February, says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Last dredged in 2018, the 11-mile long, 100-feet wide, 12-feet deep federal navigation channel is dredged every four to six years because “navigation through the channel is essential for commerce in the area,” said Sara Young, executive director of the Port of Skagit. Most of the work during the round-the-clock, six-days-a-week project will take place at the entrances of the channel. At the south end, the Skagit Rive...
HEADS UP The La Conner wastewater treatment plant will close at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 6, to septage hauling, yard waste dumping and compost pickup. The plant is expected to be closed most of the day. NOT TO BE MISSED Join local poet Susan Rich for a short introduction to writing poetry about visual art, 4-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Museum of Northwest Art. Get inspired by art in MoNA’s galleries and other poets writing around you. You will have the opportunity to have your work published on MoNA’s website and to read it at the Poetry Ope...
A Woodinville contractor made fast work mid-month of demolishing a La Conner home gutted in a June fire. Greater Seattle Construction needed just two days, Aug.14-15, to knock down a North Fifth Street house destroyed in a June 19 blaze that sent plumes of black smoke wafting over town and produced noxious fumes that lingered in the neighborhood for weeks. Nearby residents, some of whom said their houses sustained smoke damage and others impacted by the foul-smelling air, lobbied town officials...
12 issues printed since July 5, 2017. 17 weeks to paper’s final issue Yesterday afternoon, at a hearing before the Town of La Conner ‘s hearing examiner, the case of granting a conditional use permit for a health club to open at the former COA restaurant on Maple Avenue was heard. The land is zoned residential. The restaurant operated with a conditional permit. Once the building was vacant for six months the zoning reverted to residential. Several residents oppose the permit application, saying workforce housing is needed in La Conner and an...
Music to one's ears can be mere noise to another's. To find harmony between the two, the La Conner Town Council discussed potential noise control at its Aug. 13 Maple Hall meeting, especially those related to the La Conner Live Sunday concerts amplified music in Gilkey Square. Administrator Scott Thomas raised the topic in his written report in the council packet. "As has been the case for several years, Gilkey Square has been frequently used for musical performances," Thomas began. "I am aware...
TOWN OF LA CONNER PUBLIC NOTICE FOR LODGING TAX FUNDING The Town of La Conner is accepting requests for Hotel/Motel tax distributions for budget year 2025. The 2025 Lodging Tax Fund Request for Proposal may be found on the Town website under the Finance Department at www.townoflaconner.org. All requests must be received (no postmarks) at La Conner Town Hall, 204 Douglas, PO Box 400, La Conner, WA 98257 by 3:30 p.m. on September 9, 2024. Please address any questions to Maria DeGoede, Finance Director, at [email protected]...
NOT TO BE MISSED Annual Summer Concert. Hear the Skagit Community Band at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, for its annual summer concert at Gilkey Square in La Conner. As always, the concert is free. Bring lawn chairs and sun screen. Animal, landscape and rural travel photography by travel photographer Terry Divyak is on display at Caravan Gallery, 619 S. First Street, La Conner. Open daily. LIBRARIES La Conner Swinomish Library. 520 Morris St., La Conner. 360-466-3352. www.lclib.lib.wa.us. Open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday....
An off-the-charts record: The $73,968 Town of La Conner sales tax revenue is the highest single month collection ever, for any month of any year. It is $18,789, 34.1%, higher than the July 2023 collection, which set a record last year. Records were similarly set for the special use fire tax, at $7,302. It is also its highest ever monthly total and $1,908, 35.4%, more than July 2023. The $24,180 hotel-motel tax collection is 47.1% above last year and sets a July record. These are May collections. The state’s Department of Resources reports on a...
The Town of La Conner Public Works Department is continuing their annual fire hydrant flushing and valve checking in August, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. If your water is discolored, run cold-water until it clears. If the water does not clear, call Chris Smith at 360-929-1004 or Chip Sherman at 360-840-3684 for assistance....
Skagit Valley arts and cultural nonprofit organizations can request funding from the Town of La Conner Hotel/Motel tax fund for 2025. In 2023 5The La Conner Town Council granted $34,650 to nine community organizations and another $90,000 to the La Conner Chamber of Commerce. Over $217,450 was allocated for internal, Town projects, primarily Maple Hall improvements, the Morris and First street restrooms and landscaping. Last year hotel/motel tax revenues were $195,784. The 2024 budget projects $1...
The first memory from the La Conner United Methodist Church memorial garden project isn’t what anyone had in mind. Town of La Conner staff last week requested that work by volunteers in the garden cease while an arborist reviews potential damage by a backhoe to the root system of a large Norwegian spruce tree. Neighbors voiced their fears that the tree’s health was compromised and now poses a threat to nearby properties and the historic church building at Second and Benton during the public comment segment of the Aug. 6 planning commission mee...
New hire, familiar face. John Tanaka, who was its assistant chief a decade ago, is returning to Skagit County Fire District 13 near La Conner as a paid consultant to help develop long-range plans for expanded services. Tanaka's resume is filled with fire service experience. Along with his stint with District 13, Tanaka has been a fire captain in Everett, a fire response lecturer and instructor, a consultant to several other departments and consulted on a project to rebuild statewide...
NOT TO BE MISSED Annual Summer Concert Hear the Skagit Community Band Saturday Aug. 24 at 2 p.m. for its annual Summer Concert at Gilkey Square in La Conner. As always, the concert is free. Bring lawn chairs and sun screen. Animal, landscape and rural travel photography by travel photographer Terry Divyak on display at Caravan Gallery, 619 1st Street, La Conner. Open daily. LIBRARIES La Conner Swinomish Library. 520 Morris St., La Conner. 360-466-3352. www.lclib.lib.wa.us. Open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Storytime...
Not all roads lead to La Conner, but enough do to support the full fleet of vintage cars, trucks and trailered boats that rolled into town last Saturday. There were over 125 entries in the 24th annual La Conner Classic Boat and Car Show in the La Conner Marina's south basin parking lot, drawing throngs of admirers on a picture postcard bright sunny summer day. Conditions were ideal for folks to merge onto Memory Lane and listen to golden oldies over the event's outdoor sound system while time...
My name is April Emanuelson-Barnett. I am working on my doctorate in natural medicine and work at Thrive Direct Health Care as a certified functional nutrition coach. I plan to continue to offer my expertise there, in the clinical setting and offer the fitness and fresh food side of health at La Conner Wellness and MMA. My husband, Tracy Barnett, is a retired paramedic. He did rescue work for over 24 years and has taught martial arts and self-defense for 23 years. Our SBA (Small Business Administration) lenders love our idea of turning the old...
Local permits and Washington’s Growth Management Act Last week I wrote a citizen’s view column about the proposal for 214 Maple Avenue (the old COA) and promised that I would write more this week about the condition that is hardest to understand: (e) The proposal, through findings, satisfies the goals and policies of La Conner’s comprehensive plan and floodplain ordinance and the state Shoreline Management Act. I will address the Comp Plan only here. Long ago the Washington State Legislature passed the Growth Management Act The GMA estab...
The new director of Pacific Northwest Quilt Museum and Fiber Arts Museum has an academic and professional history rooted in the southeast but is fast becoming a key part of the fabric of La Conner. It helps that she has a familiar sounding name. Carla Funk, for nearly a decade the director of university museums at Florida Institute of Technology and then a curator in North Carolina, is succeeding Amy Green, who retired in July. Funk is not knowingly related to Skagit County's pioneer Funk...