August 17 - 23, 2023
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Power outage closes border crossing, page 3
Recreational crabbing delayed, page 6
Art studio tours to return August 26-27, page 7
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Manufactured Dockside Bar opens in Blaine Harbor home park code amendments revisited in city council By Grace McCarthy
(See Council, page 15)
s Christine Johnson, co-owner of Alaska Wild Fish and Chips Co., stands inside the new Dockside Bar, which serves beer out of a renovated shipping container in Blaine Harbor. Johnson and her husband, Steve, opened Dockside on August 4 to offer beer and cider to accompany Alaska Wild’s fare. The bar and Alaska Wild will close for the season on Sunday, September 24. Photo by Madisun Tobisch
Scientists monitor juvenile European green crab populations in Drayton Harbor Virtual citizen scientist training to be held Wednesday, August 23 By Grace McCarthy Scientists are keeping a close eye on Drayton Harbor waters after discovering a sizable population of juvenile European green crabs, indicating growth of the highly invasive species. In 2022, scientists found 313 European green crabs, about half of which were juveniles, said Allie Simpson, ecosystem project coordinator for the Northwest Straits Commission. Many of the juvenile crabs were found in a small creek between Dakota and California creeks last September
and October. The crabs are considered one of the world’s worst invasive species and are known to destroy salmon habitats, such as eelgrass, and are a threat to shellfish and aquaculture industries. Scientists have found just over 100 crabs in Drayton Harbor since this year’s trapping season began in the spring, Simpson said. Slightly more crabs have been caught compared to this time last year. Emily Grason, crab team program lead at Washington Sea Grant, said the warm fall last year allowed scientists to capture
Council tables vote on additional Plover funds By Madisun Tobisch Blaine City Council voted 5-0 to postpone voting on an additional $58,000 to finish the restoration and maintenance of the historic Plover passenger ferry on August 14. Council plans to revisit the topic at the September 11 meeting. After 79 years of dwelling in Drayton Harbor, the required repairs to get the Plover back to making trips from Blaine Harbor to Semiahmoo Spit proved to be more costly than estimated, according to a
request for council action prepared by city staff. City manager Michael Harmon advised city council to postpone voting to allow him to meet with Plover captain Richard Sturgill and go over specific items in the contract. Blaine’s 2023 annual budget allocated $30,000 in capital funding for an initial contract with Drayton Harbor Maritime, the nonprofit that oversees the Plover’s maintenance and operations. Last September, the U.S. Coast Guard found deficien-
cies in multiple areas of the ferry, such as soft spots in the post and planks, during the Plover’s bi-annual out-of-the-water inspection. Several community members gave impassioned input on the cultural significance of the Plover during the public comment session of the city council meeting. “The Plover, everywhere it goes, is a shield for Blaine,” Ron Snyder said. “It sells Blaine wherever it goes, and I’m ask(See Plover, page 5)
crabs later than usual. “In some cases, sites in Whatcom and Skagit were reporting the highest capture rates during the final capture efforts of the year,” Grason said. “Many groups weren’t ready to stop trapping because there were clearly crabs out there. You want to see the decline in capture rates before pulling your traps out of the water.” Those juvenile crabs made up the lion’s share of captured green crabs when trapping resumed after winter, Grason said. (See Crabs, page 6)
INSIDE
In a roller coaster of decisions surrounding a proposed text amendment that would clarify city code on manufactured home parks in east Blaine, both the prospective developers and Blaine City Council are revisiting their proposals. City council voted during its August 14 meeting to put off a decision on how it would proceed with a text amendment it initiated earlier this summer to resolve conflicting city codes on manufactured home parks. Councilmembers voiced they wanted to wait on the vote, likely until the September 11 meeting, partly because councilmembers Garth Baldwin and Richard May were absent. Other councilmembers asked for more time to explore their options and potentially hold a study session or talk to planning commissioners. The council vote came after east Blaine developer Skip Jansen’s attorney submitted an August 3 letter providing notice they would reinstate a text amendment that Jansen had withdrawn in early May. The letter asked that Jansen’s amendment, which harmonized the code inconsistencies to allow for manufactured home parks, be processed as a replacement or in coordination with council’s proposal. “The code amendment that Mr. Jansen has will move forward to the planning commission anyway,” mayor Mary Lou Steward said after council’s vote. “It just means city council isn’t resolving its issues with the code.” The tumultuous debate on allowing large manufactured home parks in east Blaine began in fall 2021, when Jansen and his wife, Katie, submitted their amendment. While planning a development in their upcoming East Harbor Hills subdivision, the pair had discovered inconsistencies between the city’s underlying zoning code and the code for planned unit devel-
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