May 2022
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County to award seawall repair bid, page 6
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Circle of Care thinks big, page 7
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Big Gig fiber optic install enters new stages B y P a t G r u bb Whidbey Telecom is gearing up to begin its latest fiber optic construction. Work begins the week of May 9 and will extend through the summer, weather permitting. The project is being partially financed through grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a grant program called Reconnect 2. The work area was approved by USDA and county permits have been issued. Following this construction phase, the company hopes to begin work on a Community Connect stage, a grant program that is administered by the state of Washington. Due to the different sources of funding, each project has to be kept separate from the others. Stage 1 will involve trenching and installing fiber optic lines from Benson Road down Tyee Drive to APA Road. Stage 2 will take the lines from APA Road around the western end of the marina to Edwards Drive. Stage 3 will then carry the lines westward to Lighthouse Marine Park. There will be flaggers conducting traffic control as construction continues. According to marketing and communications director Martha Ford, Whidbey Telecom will contact homeowners to schedule home installation as soon as the Big Gig fiber network is available for their home. She adds that the company is also looking to hire new workers. “We’re excited to be able to make these infrastructure improvements to help keep Point Roberts connected,” she said.
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s The crews are hard at work getting the Bald Eagle Golf Club in Point Roberts ready to invite eager golfers back this summer to the best-drained golf course in the Lower Mainland. From l., general manager Tracy Evans, maintenance manager Rick Hoole and owner Coco Luo offer a thumbs up. Photo by Pat Grubb
County seeks public STR input B y P a t G r u bb Whatcom County Council will hold an advisory public hearing at 6 p.m. May 10 to gather public comments on proposed amendments to Title 20 zoning to regulate short-term vacation rentals (STRs). The purpose of the advisory hearing is to gauge public interest in whether such regulations are needed or supported by the public. Council first took up the issue of STRs in 2014 after receiving complaints from neighbors abutting STRs. Under Whatcom County Code, vacation rentals are allowed wherever single-family dwellings are permitted. Council has discussed the issue
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in committees 12 times so far beginning September 16, 2014 through March 8, 2022. Staff provided a range of regulatory schemes ranging from permitted outright as single-family dwellings, permitted with performance standards, permitted in specified locations, permitted with registration through prohibition. In more recent council planning and development committee meetings, interest was expressed in the process of registering STRs. Staff has offered one solution in the form of a software vendor, Granicus, which offers Host Compliance. The software au-
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Church ............................................. 14 Classifieds ......................................... 16 Coming Up ....................................... 17 Crossings .......................................... 18 Garden................................................. 8 Obituary ........................................... 18 Opinion ............................................... 4 Sheriffs ............................................. 18 Tides ................................................. 13