The right call
No fires, please
Tim Lewis is state boys basketball ref of the year
Burn bans, campfire prohibitions imposed
Methow Valley News
STORY Page A8
STORY Page A5
PUBLISHED WEEKLY SINCE 1903
TWISP, WASHINGTON
VOL. 119 NO. 16
WWW.METHOWVALLEYNEWS.COM
August 17, 2022
$1
Housing Trust to build 11 affordable homes in Twisp Konrads offered property in favorable deal BY MARCY STAMPER
Eleven affordable homes – from one through four bedrooms – will be built next year in Twisp by the Methow Housing Trust (MHT), thanks to a recent
below-market sale to the trust by Hank and Judy Konrad, owners of Hank’s Harvest Foods. The sale of 12 “shovel-ready” lots on Riverside Avenue near the Twisp Public Works headquarters closed last week, MHT Executive Director Danica Ready said. Because of the nature of the utility infrastructure, the lots will accommodate 11 homes. The sale is the final step in a
partnership MHT and the Konrads have been working toward for almost a year, Ready said. “Hank came to me last summer, after a Housing Solutions Network meeting, with an invitation to sell MHT land appropriate for building additional affordable single-family homes on. After doing some basic due diligence on the land, we decided it was a no-brainer,” Ready said. Priced well below market
value, the Konrad property was affordable — the housing trust purchased the property for 55% of the appraised value, Ready said. Knowing that the Konrads intend to put the proceeds from the sale toward another affordable-housing project made it a more meaningful partnership for the whole community, she said. The property was especially attractive because it already has all infrastructure and water and
sewer hook-ups, meaning MHT can start construction next year, with the expectation that people can move in in 2024, Ready said. Many of their employees are struggling to find affordable housing near Twisp, Hank Konrad said. Some drive from Pateros or Lost River and, while he helps pay for fuel, he promised himself he would do something more tangible to address the valley’s housing problem,
Konrad said. The Konrads bought the Riverside Avenue parcels several years ago with the intention of building affordable homes there. But when construction costs increased, the project was put on hold. Konrad knew MHT was interested in the property. “I felt I had enough things going,” he said
See HOUSING, A2
Coalition aims to dim valley’s light pollution C6 eyes site near
Leavenworth for biochar production
Winthrop project part of goals
Search for Methow Valley options didn’t pan out
BY OLIVIA PALMER
As residents of the Methow Valley take in spectacular starry nights this summer, the Methow Dark Sky Coalition continues to work little by little to make the town of Winthrop a dark sky community. According to the International Dark Sky Association, an international dark sky community is a city or town that “adopts quality outdoor lighting ordinances and undertakes efforts to educate residents about the importance of dark skies.” Kyrie Jardin, president of the Methow Dark Sky Coalition, said the organization is currently focused on work surrounding light ordinances, community education and monitoring to reduce light pollution and preserve the Methow Valley’s dark skies. Jardin said the mission to become a dark sky community emerged a few years ago, when Bonneville Power Administration made LED lights available to customers of the Okanogan County Electric Co-op. The new lights, which were brighter and bluer than Winthrop’s existing ones, quickly spurred complaints from neighbors. This response was a catalyst for conversations about preserving Winthrop’s dark skies, as well as the town’s adoption of new lighting ordinances in 2021.
Lighting limits
One initial step for the Methow Dark Sky Coalition was installing cylindrical baffles over the streetlights in
BY MARCY STAMPER
Photos courtesy of Kyrie Jardin
Tuck Stebbins and Troy Triplett installed new baffles on the parking lot lights at Methow Valley Thriftway and Winthrop Ace Hardware.
Before the new baffles were installed ... downtown Winthrop. These baffles limit light pollution by directing light straight down, rather than out. More recently, the coalition installed baffles at Winthrop’s Thriftway grocery and Ace Hardware in the spring. The baffles were made by metal artist and fabricator Barry
... and after.
Stromberger, and installed with a lift provided by Triple T Roofing. Jardin said light pollution, particularly blue light, disrupts night vision in both humans and animals. He believes that although light is necessary, it should only be used when,
where, and to the extent it’s needed. “Everything in the world has grown up with a diurnal rhythm of light and dark, winter and summer, dry and wet. And I think when you have lights on
See LIGHT, A2
After an in-depth search for a facility in the Methow Valley for biochar production, C6 Forest to Farm has found what it says is an ideal processing site in Plain, west of Leavenworth. C6, the Methow Valley–based nonprofit that has been developing plans to make biochar from logging slash and small trees removed in forest-restoration projects, has spent months evaluating properties. The Plain facility would accommodate their pilot project and have the potential for increasing production, C6 board chair Gina McCoy said. C6 had hoped to set up shop in the Methow, to use biomass from area forests and create local jobs. They evaluated every option in the valley but, with few industrial sites in the Methow — the only industrial zoning is in the towns, where C6 would need a variance — and the high cost of property, C6 cast its net wider, McCoy said. The Plain property, near Coles Corner, “checked all the boxes,” she said. The C6 board unanimously supported the location and C6 is currently in discussions with the property owner about a lease. If planning goes smoothly, C6 could be up and running in Plain in a year, at the earliest, C6 Executive Director Tom McCoy said. T he sit e a l ready ha s a
100,000-square-foot steel-frame building, which C6 would share with a composting business that’s setting up operations there. C6 needs between 8,000 and 20,000 square feet for pyrolysis, the indoor phase of biochar processing. The entire site is 80 acres, with a paved log deck and outdoor storage areas. The building is already equipped with electric infrastructure and fire-suppression equipment, which should significantly reduce capital costs, C6 said. The potential for working with the composting company would enhance the value of biochar, since combining biochar and compost early in the process — rather than simply adding both to soil — reduces composting time and increases nutrients, Tom McCoy said. In addition to using the building for pyrolysis, C6 would use outdoor space for unloading trucks, sorting material, grinding trees into smaller pieces, and drying, Tom McCoy said. They would also need space to package and handle the biochar once it’s been produced. Pyrolysis heats biomass beyond typical combustion temperatures in a nearly oxygen-free environment, which prevents the material from burning and eliminates the volatile compounds, according to C6. When added to soil, it helps retain moisture and nutrients and reduces composting time. Once it’s in the soil, the biochar will sequester biomass from the wood it’s processed from for hundreds of thousands
See BIOCHAR, A3
Okanogan County issues stop work order for Twisp River property Officials from Okanogan County and the Washington Department of Ecology will investigate whether clearing vegetation and other activities on a riverfront property on Twisp River Road violates county or state shoreline and floodplain protection laws. The county posted a “stop work/possible violation” notice on the property on July 28, after receiving numerous complaints during the past six month from residents of Twisp River Road. Several people who contacted the county said it appeared a sawmill operation had been set up on the property, which is about 6 miles up Twisp River Road. The stop work/possible violation
notice states that “clearing of the vegetation conservation, floodplain and shoreline environment may have been done on your parcel without the proper environmental and permit review. Per Okanogan County Code 14.15.120 Shoreline Master Program, vegetation removal is only allowed in narrow circumstances and would require a permit application.” The notice was posted on the property after a letter dated June 29 to the property owner, listed as Marjorie Park in county tax records, was returned as undeliverable to an address in Forks, Washington, said Rocky Robbins, a planner in the Okanogan County planning department. Robbins said officials from the county and Ecology plan to visit the property to investigate possible violations of shoreline and floodplain regulations. “No permits have been obtained for any current
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Neighbors complained about activity on site BY ANN MCCREARY
Submitted photo
Twisp River Road residents have complained to the county about a variety of activities on a riverfront parcel that are apparently occurring without any permits. ADDRESS LABEL
Very hot
Very hot
Clearing, very hot
Very hot, with clouds
Very hot, sunshine
WEATHER DATA BASED ON ACCUWEATHER.COM FORECAST FOR T WISP
Sunshine, hot
activity” on the property, Robbins said in an email. “There is floodplain on the property. Further investigation is needed to determine if violations have occurred in the floodplain,” Robbins’ email said.
Many complaints
Since spring, several Twisp River residents have sent emails and made phone calls to the county planning department expressing concern about activities on the property. Their emails described cutting trees and vegetation near Twisp River, grading earth and digging large holes, and what some described as a “commercial portable saw mill.” The emails were obtained by a resident through a Freedom of Information Act request and provided to the Methow Valley News.
See STOP, A3
INSIDE ... OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A8 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 HARTS PASS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 COMMUNITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A9 VALLEY LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A10