May 2019
IN THIS
ISSUE
www.AllPointBulletin.com
PRCAC tells the county how it feels, page 7
People of the Point, page 9
ECRWSS PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 14
FREE
Get rid of hazardous waste, page 17
Point Roberts, WA 98281 Postal Patron Local
Cleaning up after the Easter Bunny ... Get ready for the asphaltic emulsion of the Point B y P a t G r u bb
(See Roadwork, page 5)
s Little bunnies were on the hunt for Easter Eggs on Sunday, April 21 down at Kiniski’s Reef Tavern on Gulf Road.
It’s up to us, according to county executive Jack Louws By Meg Olson Addressing the Point Roberts community for likely the last time before he leaves his position as county executive after eight years on the job, Jack Louws kept coming back to the same message: It’s up to you. “Be vocal and come together with a collaborative vision of what you would like for your home, your area of the county,” Louws told those attending the April 4 meeting of the Point Roberts Registered
Voters Association. Whether the topic was economic development planning, zoning changes, bike paths, planting trees or how gas tax dollars should be spent: “It’s a community decision.” However, when it came to the primary topic on the minds of many who attended the meeting – Lighthouse Marine Park maintenance and the recent decision to eliminate the dock on the heels of the elimination of a large portion of the boardwalk – Louws was not talking about
community vision anymore. It was about dollars and Louws is conservative when it comes to spending. When he took office, he said, the general fund ending fund balance was $9 million while today it stands at $17 million. “The dock situation was a difficult decision to make,” Louws said, but the $50,000 the state and the county were ready to commit to repairing the thrice (See County, page 2)
School district budget likely includes teacher layoffs board of directors typically passes a final budget at its August meeting. The audience at the April 15 budget work session was comprised mostly of school staff. Any staffing cuts will impact students; changes to kitchen staff could mean less items on the menu and a line longer than the lunch period; fewer teachers mean bigger classes; losing intervention specialist and learning support staff mean less support for students at risk of (See Layoffs, page 6)
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The Blaine school district is projecting a $1.1 million budget shortfall next year and is planning a budget for the 2019-2020 school year that could mean laying off up to six teachers. The prospects remain fluid, as state lawmakers continue to work on a budget that will affect the district’s finances, but the district is contractually obligated to notify teachers of possible layoffs by May 15.
“We have to continue moving forward with this process and assume the worst case scenario,” Blaine school district superintendent Ron Spanjer said at the beginning of an April 15 budget work session. Complicating things further, the state legislative session isn’t scheduled to end until April 28 and lawmakers haven’t adjourned on schedule since 2009; the 2015 and 2017 state legislative sessions both extended into July. The Blaine school district
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By Oliver Lazenby
Photo by Louise Mugar
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Beginning next month, residents and visitors can expect traffic control delays, lower speed limits and loose rocks on roadways as the county road department applies what they call an asphaltic emulsion on the majority of roads in Point Roberts. Asphaltic emulsion, or chip seal, as locals say, will be applied on 23 miles of the Point’s 37 miles of public roads. Major roads that are scheduled to be chip-sealed include Tyee Drive, Gulf Road, APA Road, Johnson Road, Benson Road, Marine Drive, Simundson Drive and South Beach Road. Work is scheduled to begin in May when asphalt trucks will be laying a thin layer of asphalt on four miles of selected roads while the chip-sealing will take place from June through late July. Roads that have shoulders such as Tyee Drive, Gulf Road and others will have the chip-sealing only in the traffic lane, leaving the shoulders smooth for pedestrians and cyclists. Roads without paved shoulders will be chip-sealed entirely; any dirt shoulders will not be covered, according to Joe Rutan of Whatcom County public works department. That would be considered new construction, he said, and would be considered a capital works project that would trigger new regulations involving drainage and other issues. Users of wheeled modes of transportation should expect loose rocks for about two weeks after the application of the chipseal. Cyclists and motorcyclists in particular should be cautious while navigating the Point during this period to avoid wiping out while cornering. Asked why pure pavement roads such as Gulf Road, Tyee Drive and parts of Marine Drive, APA Road and Simundson Drive needed to be covered with chip-seal as opposed to straight asphalt, Rutan said that’s the way the county maintains its roads.