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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
May 12 - 18, 2022
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Haynie Opry bids farewell, page 5
Petrogas denies expansion allegations, page 6
Baseball advances as soccer season ends, page 7
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Birch Bay Beach Peace Arch sculpture exhibit on display now Park upgrades expected to be finished by fall By Hannah Cross
(See Park, page 13)
s International Peace Arch Association began celebrating the 25th annual sculpture exhibition on May 1. “Phoenix” by Coquitlam artist Serge Mozhnevsky is one of the many outdoor sculptures that visitors can view at Peace Arch Historic Park. More photos on page 10. Photo by Hannah Cross
City council parks discussion turns to yelling By Grace McCarthy Blaine City Council was set to vote on defining the role of the city’s parks and cemetery board during its last meeting but conversation was sidetracked by discussions on the parks maintenance budget and a yelling councilmember who ignored fellow councilmembers’ pleas to calm down. City council was requested to vote on revising language in Blaine’s municipal code, which serves as the city’s governing document, during the May 9 council meeting.
Most of the proposed revisions were uncontroversial changes to clarify procedures and remove outdated references such as the Blaine fire department. However, proposed revisions to the park and cemetery board’s role caused heated debate during the meeting. Councilmember Mike Hill, who has voiced his dissatisfaction with city maintenance, had an outburst on the city’s governance and upkeep. After public comment and concern among councilmembers, council unanimously voted 6-0, with councilmember Rhyan Lopez absent, to table voting on
State labor council: BPA power agreement for Ferndale smelter could soon be decided By Grace McCarthy After nearly a year of Intalco power negotiations, a state union representative close to the discussions said Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) could have a decision as soon as a week for the aluminum smelter’s potential buyer. However, a BPA spokesperson says conversations remain in a preliminary phase. “We are making progress but we’re not
there yet,” Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) president Larry Brown told The Northern Light. “I think we should know in the next week or two.” However, a BPA spokesperson said only basic conversations had been held since Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC, a New York City based private-equity firm seeking to purchase the smelter, reached out to the federal agency in July 2021. WSLC, which represents the interests
of local smelter workers and other state union members, is assisting Blue Wolf secure a BPA power contract. Despite other challenges, many supporters of restarting the idled Ferndale smelter have considered the BPA power contract the last major obstacle to restarting the facility. Blue Wolf would purchase Alcoa’s plant once it secured enough power to restart the facil(See Intalco, page 10)
ordinance 22-2982 revising the municipal code. City staff recommended changes to the park and cemetery board that would lessen the board’s involvement in maintaining and managing city parks and, alternatively, put more focus on facility development. The board’s budget involvement would also be reduced. The board would no longer help budget operations funds, which the city manager’s memo on the municipal code revisions said was because city staff (See Parks, page 2)
INSIDE
Improvements to Birch Bay Beach Park were slated to be finished by June but unforeseen delays have pushed this projected completion to fall. Conservation Futures Program Funding paid for the development of a 4.1-acre waterfront community park at 7954 Birch Bay Drive. Whatcom County Council approved funding for initial park improvements in March 2021. Park improvements include installation of a concrete sidewalk at the park entrance, replacing fencing that borders Birch Bay Drive, removal of the deteriorating asphalt paving, renovating lawn areas, installing park signage and perimeter landscaping. Whatcom County Parks and Recreation director Mike McFarlane said he had hoped to be further ahead in this project. “The delays are primarily with timing, contracts and materials,” he said. “We also had to delay the project after the flooding in the fall last year and had to focus our efforts on flood damage recovery in neighboring areas.” McFarlane said they planned to start removing hazardous materials and putting up fencing structures. “Whatcom County Public Works will work with us to make sure the asphalt on our pathways match the walking pathways that already exist beside the bay.” He also said since landscaping will have better results when done in the fall, the park will open to the public shortly after that last step is completed. Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 director Ted Morris said the park will be a good asset to the community. “It will be good to have an accessible community park in the center of Birch Bay,” he said. Morris said Birch Bay State Park has been the only large day-use park in the area for a while. He also said the new park
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