March 2022
IN THIS
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PRCAC looking to fill two seats, page 5
People of the Point, page 7
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A history of Nielson’s Building Center, page 8
ECRWSS PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 14 Point Roberts, WA 98281 Postal Patron Local
Chamber seeks Headed north ... revival of worker program By Meg Olson The Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce is working to revive a discontinued visa program so that once the border fully opens again local businesses have access to adequate workers. “When our border reopens, we will require 100-plus service industry workers here and we do not have them,” chamber president Brian Calder wrote in a memo to state attorney general Bob Ferguson. “We will be unable to attract them from Bellingham, some 50 miles and two international borders away.” From 1984 to 2010, Point Roberts businesses could apply for a temporary worker visa for unskilled labor at the local border, usually receiving the visa in a matter of weeks. During the busy summer months restaurants, bars, the golf course and the marina depended on this process to hire Canadian summer help. “When the sun comes out we need workers and we need them now,” said Kyle German, then the manager of the golf course, following the 2010 announcement by the Department of Homeland Security that the Point Roberts policy was being rescinded and that local businesses would need to follow the same rules going forward as any other business in the U.S. Those rules require a certification from the U.S. Department of Labor that U.S. workers are not available to do the work, a costly and lengthy process. The memo establishing the service policy for part-time service workers for Point Roberts in 1984 stated that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which operated the port, had been notified by the state department of labor and industries that they can no longer issue labor certifications for Point Roberts workers “due to unique circumstances, including the isolation of Point Roberts from other United States communities.” As a result, the INS dropped the labor certification requirement and established locally appropriate rules for visas and their processing. When the Department of Homeland Se(See Workers, page 3)
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s On February 24, the sun rose behind Mt. Baker for the first time in 2022, as it continues its northward journey towards the vernal equinox that takes place at 8:32 a.m. March 20. On that day, the sun will rise directly west of Point Roberts and both night and day will last 12 hours each. The peak at the far left is Mt. Shuksan which abuts the Mt. Baker Ski Area. Photo by Pat Grubb
County proposes drainage study of Point Roberts B y P a t G r u bb At the direction of Whatcom County County Council, the county public works department is preparing to conduct a drainage assessment of the Point Roberts watershed. Council acted upon the request of the Point Roberts Community Advisory Committee (PRCAC) who had received appeals from swamped residents during unprecedented rain events last November. According to the Birch Bay Water and Sewer District which tracks precipitation at its office in Birch Bay, rainfall in November 2021 totaled 15.14 inches versus 4.9 inches, the average rainfall in the past 11 years. In one 48 hour period, the region received 6 inches of rain – the district considers an inch of rain in 24 hours to be a
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significant event. County engineer Jim Karcher and stormwater specialist Kraig Olason appeared by Zoom at PRCAC’s regular meeting on February 17. The two outlined the steps that would need to be taken in order to hire a consultant, solicit bids and gain approval from county council. Karcher estimated that the project would cost $150,000 for the consultant’s drainage assessment/inventory, another $50,000 for county staff time another $60,000-$80,000 for off-site stormwater analysis. All but the off-site analysis would be paid using Point Roberts’ gas tax monies, Karcher said. Asked if that was an allowable use of the gas tax, Karcher replied that it had been given the OK by the county’s (See Drainage, page 3)
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Inside
Church ............................................. 14 Classifieds ......................................... 12 Coming Up ....................................... 11 Crossings .......................................... 13 Garden............................................... 10 Obituaries ......................................... 14 Sheriffss ............................................ 13 Tides ................................................. 13
