January 11 - 17, 2024
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Man arrested for bail jumping on rape trial, page 3
BBWARM to hold meeting on proposed rate increases
Port of Bellingham finalizes public access plan, page 3
Birch Bay meditation instructors, page 9
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Tanksley sworn in as Whatcom County Sheriff
By Nolan Baker
(See BBWARM, page 3)
s Former Blaine police chief Donnell Tanksley, c., was ceremonially sworn in as Whatcom County Sheriff on January 8. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Sharonda Amamilo, l., administered the oath of office, and Tanksley’s wife, Jessie, pinned his badge.
Photo courtesy Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office
2023 year in
REVIEW
Looking back at a year that was ....
(This is the second of a two-part Year in Review. January-June was published in the January 4 issue of The Northern Light.) July • The Washington State Department of Agriculture asked the public to participate in its citizen science trapping program for the northern giant hornets, also known as “murder hornets.” • Fare Thee Well food trailer, serving gourmet dogs, opened behind The Vault Wine Bar and Bistro. • Blaine High School students competed at the Technology Student Association national competition in Louisville, Kentucky. • Blaine’s Old Fashioned Fourth of July parade brought thousands to downtown Blaine, while people celebrated Independence Day into the night on the Birch Bay shoreline. Volunteers from the annual July 5 Birch Bay cleanup filled three 30-yard Sanitary Service Company drop boxes with trash. • The historic Birch Bay sign, once on Peace Portal Drive near Bell Road, was moved to The Beach at Birch Bay bar. • Blaine Harbor Music Festival put on a week of world-class concerts around Blaine. • Blaine City Council voted 5-2 during its July 10 meeting to uphold its decision to enact a six-month emergency moratorium on processing manufactured home park building
permit applications. Over 20 people spoke during a public hearing before the vote. • Blaine City Council unanimously approved city staff to research downtown zoning changes that could increase building height restrictions and decrease parking requirements. The decision came after developers voiced frustration that current zoning limited their ability to achieve a satisfactory return on investment. • Blaine school district released a draft budget for the 2023/24 school year that would spend nearly $3.5 million less than last school year and reduce the district’s anticipated end of year deficit to $2.1 million. • Whatcom County Council voted 5-0 to place a local sales and use tax of 0.2 percent, or 20 cents for every $100, on the November general election ballot to fund construction of a new county jail and support services. • The Washington Supreme Court upheld an appellate court decision that could require Petrogas Pacific LLC to pay $15 million in taxes to Whatcom County. • Ragnar Northwest Passage racers set out from Peace Arch Historical State Park for the 200-mile, 12-leg running relay race that finished on south Whidbey Island. • The city of Blaine was on track to use only $150,000 in reserve funds, instead of $950,000, after four staff members left and
sales tax revenue improved. • Susan Sullivan was appointed as new postmaster for the U.S. Post Office in Custer. • Canoes from Nooksack Indian Tribe, First Nations in Canada and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community landed in Birch Bay on July 22 in a stop on the Paddle to Muckleshoot Canoe Journey. This was the first time the canoe journey returned since the pandemic. • A high-speed stolen vehicle pursuit (See YIR, page 5)
INSIDE
The Birch Bay Watershed and Aquatic Resource Management (BBWARM) District announced it is seeking public input regarding an ongoing rate study and the possibility of the district increasing service charge fees for the first time in its history. A preliminary meeting to inform residents about the study, and to hear feedback from the community is scheduled for Wednesday, January 17 at 6 p.m. at 5280 Northwest Drive in Bellingham. The meeting will also hold remote viewing, and can be joined via Zoom at bit.ly/3Sb5nh0. BBWARM, which advises the Whatcom County Public Works Department on Birch Bay’s watershed, was formed in 2007 as a subzone of the Whatcom County Flood Control Zone District (FCZD) to manage stormwater in Birch Bay. The first service charges were enacted in 2008, and have gone unchanged for over 15 years, but could be going up due to infrastructure needs, the district wrote in a statement released January 3. “Due to the long list of stormwater improvement projects needed in Birch Bay and rising construction costs, it has become clear that a rate study, and likely a service charge increase, is warranted,” the district wrote in the statement. Some of the specific infrastructure improvements were laid out in the FCZD’s six-year water resources improvement plan, which estimates which projects – and how much money – is needed across the county. Birch Bay currently has 10 projects on the list, ranging from $220,000 to $2.85 million in total expenditures by 2029. For Birch Bay, the most expensive projects are estimated to be stormwater improvements at Richmond Park and Roger’s Slough, each projected to cost over $2 million in expenditures by 2029. Currently, the BBWARM service charge depends on the amount of developed land on a given property, and whether the property is zoned for single-family residences, duplexes or higher-density properties like apartments, condominiums or commercial and industrial businesses. Properties without impervious surfaces (no concrete foundations, rooftops, parking lots or gravel driveways) are not charged a stormwater fee. State law does not consider the service charge as a tax, but rather as a user fee, and thus does not require a vote, according to its website. It also allows the district to charge public properties, churches and public schools that all use the stormwater service. The service charge, which currently raises roughly $740,000 annually, amounts to roughly $75 per year for a single-family residence. The rate of growth in Birch Bay
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . 11, 12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 7 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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