March 3 - 9, 2022
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Where to get an antigen test for travel, page 3
City council brainstorms future of Blaine police station
BHS sports on the road to state, page 7
Masks mandate now lifted March 12, page 8
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
The Northern Light awarded business of the year
By Grace McCarthy
(See Station, page 2)
s Blaine Chamber of Commerce awarded The Northern Light as Business of the Year during its 2022 annual general meeting at Loomis Trail Golf Course on February 24. From l.; Gary Lee, advertising sales representative; Ian Haupt, reporter; Louise Mugar, co-publisher and advertising director; Pat Grubb, publisher and managing editor; Grace McCarthy, editor; Ruth Lauman, creative services; and Molly Ernst, advertising sales representative. Not photographed are Doug De Visser, creative services; Jeanie Luna, office manager; and Aly McGee, writer. Read more on page 4. Photo by Kathy Sitker
Expect hike in city’s utility rates this month By Grace McCarthy City of Blaine residents operating on a tight budget may want to be more careful taking long showers this month. Starting in March, city utilities will increase 17.5 percent for water usage. Rates will also increase 5 percent for sewer and 3.5 percent for both electric and stormwater. This means about a $12 increase, from $215 to $227, for a typical household’s total utilities each month, city finance director Daniel Heverling said. Apart from water, the other utilities are more in line with typical increases, which is about 3 percent, he said. The increased water fees are needed to help the city catch up on years of not increasing water utility rates to keep up with inflation. From 2011 to 2021, the city was
recommended to increase its water utility rate about 5.8 percent annually to keep up with water capital fixes and about a 2.5 percent annual inflation rate, which would have meant 3 to 5 percent increases each year, Heverling said. Instead, Blaine City Council didn’t start adopting increases until 2017, which only amounted to 10.7 percent from 2017 to 2020. And then didn’t approve a rate increase for 2021. “Now the problem has snowballed,” Heverling said. “It compounds because it was adopted on these smaller amounts.” The city’s consultant, FCS Group, recommended a 17.5 percent water utility increase through 2025, he said, and other utilities would likely need to be increased as well but in smaller amounts such as 2.5 percent for sewer. Council raised the rates for other utilities in the past decade, like sewer, but ad-
U.S. Supreme Court hears Bob Boule case By Ian Haupt The U.S. Supreme Court heard opening arguments March 2 in Smuggler’s Inn owner Bob Boule’s case against a U.S. Border Patrol agent who allegedly assaulted Boule when questioning him about a person who was staying at the inn. The case could expand the court’s Bivens precedent to claims filed against border patrol agents under the Fourth and First amendments. The Bivens doctrine
shields federal agents from legal liability when the actions in question occur during their work. On March 2, each side of Egbert v. Boule gave their opening arguments to the court. The court will be back in session Monday, March 21. Boule filed a lawsuit against border patrol agent Erik Egbert for harassment after the agent suspected Boule of smuggling a Turkish immigrant through the U.S./Canada border in 2014. After Boule reported Egbert to his superiors fol-
lowing the incident, the agent reported Boule to the IRS and other government agencies. Boule argues such actions were in retaliation against him. The lawsuit claims Egbert was in violation of the First and Fourth amendments, when he used excessive force while confronting Boule. Boule pleaded guilty in B.C. Superior Court in August 2021 to helping people cross into Canada from his bed-and(See Boule, page 3)
opted a higher increase than recommended from 2011 to 2021. Heverling said not increasing the fees wouldn’t mean the city’s utility infrastructure would immediately fall apart without the increases, but residents could start seeing the sewer bubbling and more water pipes needing to be fixed. Utility fees are segregated, meaning the water bill will only pay for water utility maintenance and the sewer bill will only pay for sewer maintenance. Utility bills pay for utility maintenance across the city, including parts of east Blaine infrastructure. The sewer fee goes toward paying off the remaining $17 million in bonds and loans for the Lighthouse Point Water Reclamation facility on Marine Drive, expected to be paid off by the (See Utilities, page 3)
INSIDE
Blaine City Council and staff brainstormed during its February 28 workstudy session what they would like to see for the future of the Blaine police station, bringing up ideas such as the station being relocated to east Blaine and being housed in the same building as the court. Right now, the Blaine police station is housed in a retrofitted 1960s building at the corner of H and 3rd streets. Its evidence storage was previously housed in the old city hall, adjacent to the station, but was moved to temperature-controlled shipping containers behind the station last summer as plans to demolish city hall progressed. The previous city council had asked the city to give one-third of the old city hall property for the police station to expand, while retaining the other two-thirds for potential future use of the city. But with three new city council members who started on the seven-person council in January, city manager Michael Jones decided to give council the option to review plans for the future police station during its February 28 work-study session. The session ended with council asking city staff to look into potential options for the Blaine police station. The city will still demolish the old city hall, regardless of any plans for the Blaine police station. Jones said in a follow-up interview that the city’s large project volume and being short staffed in public works delayed the demolishment, planned for last summer, but it will likely be torn down this summer. Jones said the city could build a new police station, but council would have to decide how much of taxpayers’ money it would want to spend. He also said it was up to city council if they wanted to create a 10-year plan for the station, or create a station that would be used past the city’s 20-year planning period. One option discussed included creating
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