A total of $215,000 for Birch Bay recreation support projects is included in the master plan approved by the Northwest Park & Rec District at a meeting Tuesday evening, May 12. The breakdown:
Upgrade the gym at Bay Horizon Park, $35,000 Sports fields, $140,000 Children's play structures, $40,000
Of course there is no certainty. This is simply a plan, and information that expensive wetland restoration would be required for the area at Bay Horizon where ball fields were expected puts a damper on that hope. (Ted Morse, district president, said he is looking for alternative sites.) Nonetheless, this is good news. See the whole plan at www.nwprd2.org
Commissioners of the district have been frugal. Most of the levy money that came to the rejuvenated district with approval of a levy has been saved. Treasurer Dorothy Robertson has some $275,000 on hand, About $300,000 more will come from this year's property taxes. (The impressive 50-page plan, a necessity in seeking state and federal grants, was created for only $20,000, a bargain considering the number of community meetings conducted by the consultants.)
As expected, the commissioners voted to forego another levy request this year. In light of current economic climate, this is a “prudent decision," said Commissioner Terry Johnson (pictured here) in making the motion. All five commissioners voted yes. Another achievement by the district is a portfolio of classes that will be available. Those at the meeting were shown a mock-up for a Summer Activities Guide, a catalog of 27 opportunities for children and adults taught by qualified local experts this summer. The catalog will be included in the Northern Light this Thursday, the 28th.
Most of the work in qualifying teachers and assembling the information was done by Linda Roorda, the district's secretary, who is paid for only 20 hours a week. Putting this package together for the first time is a tremendous achievement.
Stakeholders who could make a community park possible for BirchBay on the CampHorizonPark property may be coming together:
·WhatcomCounty has budgeted money and is seeking bids to demolish obsolete buildings on the property;
·The Lions Camp Horizon Foundation that operates a summer program for individuals with special needs is sprucing up the buildings with new roofs and painting;
·The NorthwestParks and Recreation District 2, rejuvenated by the levy approved two years ago, is completing its master plan that includes a children’s playground at the park.
Last Saturday, May 9, “Friends of BayHorizonPark,” a small band of activists that has gained the recognition of the county, invited the community to “ComePlanBirchBay's CommunityPark.” The prime mover of the Friends is Alan Friedlob, who earned a PhD in health science and was a commissioned officer on the staff of the Surgeon General. (For European vacations, he is able to fly on military aircraft.) The Northern Light publicized the event and volunteers distributed flyers to area businesses and some nearby residents.
The primary reason for the meeting was for folks to express their wishes to Rod Lamb, a county planner and landscape architect, and Lynne Givler, his colleague, who is responsible for building demolition.
Participants, most of whom expressed the need for recreation facilities for youth, got a cold shower of reality:
·While the county has money for demolition, site planning and a few amenities such as gates in the fences that now keep neighbors out, there is not much else. Lamb, who is preparing the site plan, reported that significant wetlands will require expensive mitigation;
·The Lions Foundation, which is supported by 64 clubs in Northwest Washington and Southwest British Columbia, is protective of its rights based on a 25-year lease dating from 1988.
Don Webster, the president, is a sweet guy who obviously took his congeniality pills before coming to the meeting. He expressed concern about traffic that could cause accidents and the effect of visitors on the special needs campers who range in age from eight to 80. Pointedly, he noted that the Foundation is spending $100,000 on improvements to the buildings this year and 50 volunteers – twice the number of community people at Saturday's meeting – have put in 6,000 hours of labor. And he offered to rent the facilities, such as the gymnasium, to the community. At the end of the meeting, after participants had seen restrooms in buildings that looked like they could be opened when needed, he warned that there are now no public facilities;
·When we campaigned and voted for the Park & Rec District 2 levy, we talked about playgrounds and ball fields at CampHorizon that would augment the Pipeline fields, which, under the control of the Blaine School District, close at the end of the school year. At Saturday's meeting, Ted Morris, president of the Park and Rec District 2 commissioners, said he is looking for an alternative location for ball fields.(Pictured are a few existing swings, and, in the background, an old tire jungle. Also, a short distance away, the Loft Lane homes have their own colorful play set.)
While the some-time libertarians who write this blog respect contracts, the rule of law, etc., it seems niggardly that an organization whose motto is “We Serve” would tie up a natural community resource for 11 months of the year. For example, if a group of young men wants to play basketball in the gym on Monday and Thursday nights from December through March – should they need to pay rent to the Lions? Wouldn't modest dues to cover light and heat be enough? Similarly, do the Lions need to keep toilets out of reach if Friends are willing to pay for upkeep?
On another side of this issue, the nearby residents need to decide if they want to do what is necessary to establish and maintain a community park. They will need to contribute and solicit money to develop the ball fields and playgrounds; they can't expect the money to fall out of the County Council. And they need to volunteer to help build and maintain those facilities.
Scott Dobson, who represents the D. B. Johnson homeowners in Bay Crest, says, “It is relatively easy to build something, it is a lot harder to maintain it.”
The Friends and the county plan three more public meetings.
Our mission is two-fold: 1) To be a reliable source of information about significant issues facing Birch Bay, and 2) To provide credible opinions about these issues.
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Our intent is to be recognized for working to achieve our mission and to establish a place where others can provide information and comment. Local entities are the bedrock of democracy requiring citizen participation and government transparency.
Ruth Higgins, who grew up in Coquitlam, BC, first worked in the U.S. in Bellingham at St. Lukes Hospital, now part of PeaceHealth. Her career progressed to the Veterans Administration and positions in quality measurement in Pennsylvania, Utah and Missouri. When she met Al in 1992, she headed quality management at the University of Utah Hospital. Moving to San Francisco, she became manager of quality, risk management and safety at Chinese Hospital.
Al Krause grew up in Western Pennsylvania, where he was an All-American sports editor of his college’s weekly newspaper and worked for two summers at a daily newspaper before joining the Army Security Agency. After 10 years with a major advertising agency in Philadelphia and two years as an advertising manager in San Francisco, he started his own public relations firm.
In 2003, old enough to collect Social Security, but too young to “retire”, we moved to Birch Bay and re-started our joint writing career.
Birch Bay is one of the fastest growing communities in Washington. Growth brings issues–Should we incorporate? Will growth pay for itself?–not fully covered by traditional media. Thus this blog.
