January 17 - 23, 2019
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Martin Kuuskmann slated to perform in Bellingham, page 3
Boys basketball beats Sedro-Woolley, page 6
Birch Bay Drive repair to wait until summer or later, page 8
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
City rejects offer from Chewters Chocolates Asks the company to revise its plan B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e
(See Chewters, page 9)
s The Seattle Mariners made a stop at the Blaine Boys and Girls Club on January 10. Kids had the chance to visit with pitchers Nick Rumbelow, l., and Dan Altavilla, r. See more photos on page 7. Photo by Ben Van Houten
School board to face hard decision on January 28 By Oliver Lazenby The ideal grandstand seems to remain just out of reach for the Blaine school district; at a January 9 special meeting, school board members heard from Zervas Architects that due to ever-escalating building costs, the district probably wouldn’t get the high school grandstand it wants without going over budget. The grandstand is the first project the school district is tackling with money from a capital levy passed in April 2018.
The district budgeted $3.146 million in levy funds for a grandstand with seats for 1,800–1,900 people and a building underneath with restrooms, a concession stand, storage and other amenities. The current high school grandstand seats about 1,200 people and has code issues. Sharon Robinson, principal of Zervas Architects, presented an updated plan with seating for 1,600 rather than 1,900 and other cost saving measures such as a wood structure rather than aluminum. Zervas Architects created the scaled-back
Arts & Jazz returns in Blaine for 22nd annual auction By Gwen Roley Dorita Gray said she loves putting together Blaine’s Arts & Jazz event each year because it brings the community together during the dark winter months. “It’s a time for people to come out of their winter hibernation and support each other at a fun event,” she said. The Arts & Jazz auction will take place at 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 2 at Blaine Middle School. Hosted by the Blaine Fine Arts Association, the event will include two silent auctions and a live auction with all
proceeds going to fine arts programs offered at the Blaine school district. Items up for auction will include donations from local businesses and individuals. The deadline to have donated items cataloged for the auction is Monday, January 21 and donations must be picked up before February 1. Some of the money raised from the auctions will go toward scholarships for students who are interested in the arts, while the rest will go toward funding field trips and equipment. “The school district can only fund so much, donations mean a lot,” said Danielle
Dickinson, representing the Blaine Fine Arts Association. In years past, Arts & Jazz typically raised approximately $3,000 to fund Blaine arts students’ scholarships, said Gray who chairs the auction. Last year they were able to raise over $8,700, some of which will be used by high school art teacher Brian Smith for an educational trip to Europe with art students. “This year I feel as though the auction has finally become what we set out to make it in the first place,” Gray said. “The event of the (See Arts and Jazz, page 8)
design after getting a cost estimate from its contractors, Robinson said. “We were fortunate to have our contractor do that bid for us, but the numbers weren’t what we wanted to hear,” she said. “That’s why we made the really hard decision to scale back.” Board members directed Zervas Architects to pursue options to add more seating to the plan. The biggest attendance at a football game in 2018 was 948 paying (See School, page 10)
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4
INSIDE
Keen on reserving space for the right project, Blaine City Council declined a $1.6 million offer from Chewters Chocolates to purchase 7 acres of the Gateway Parcel bordering H Street and recommended the company propose an alternative plan on 5 acres. Chewters Chocolates Inc. and its affiliate ChocXO Chocolatier LLC presented a letter of intent to the city in November. Blaine City Council voted unanimously to table consideration of the contract, citing a need for more information. The company, which operates out of locations in Irvine, California and Delta, B.C., proposed to relocate its 10,000-squarefoot Irvine facility to Blaine. CEO Richard Foley and VP of manufacturing Wade Pugh said they would invest a total of $15.6 million to purchase the land, construct a manufacturing facility and install machinery on a portion of it, leaving room for future expansion. The company intended to incorporate a retail and tourism component, similar to the Tillamook Creamery in Oregon. Despite having enthusiasm for the proposal, Blaine City Council voted 4–0 on January 14 to reject the offer. City councilmembers are instead recommending Chewters Chocolates propose an alternative plan that includes a retail and tourism component on 5 acres at the south end of the original offer, allowing the city to retain 2 acres at the north end. “Chewters proposal would develop a chocolate factory, visitor center and retail outlet,” read a report by city manager Michael Jones. “However, approximately half the site would remain undeveloped for an unspecified period of time,” which concerned city councilmembers from the start. Ultimately, the report states that the city
Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Coming Up . . . . . 14
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