Letters to The Editor: October 7-13, 2021

Posted

The Editor:

I know that some proponents of the Birch Bay Library were disappointed that the historic Vogt house could not become the library. Zervas Architects, community members and library staff tried various layouts with additions onto the existing structure. It became obvious that it was impractical to use a building that couldn’t support the weight of books, would not meet current building requirements, and was not positioned on the property appropriately.

The beautiful design that resulted from the process honors the pioneering Vogt family, provides all the services of a modern library, includes a community meeting space, and will serve Birch Bay for many years with lower building costs and lower ongoing expenses than would have been the case with the original house. 

Birch Bay is larger than Blaine in both area (21.2 vs. 8.62 square miles) and population (9,323 vs. 5,313). With the Birch Bay Vogt Community Library replacing the weekly bookmobile, we will have a full service library like smaller Whatcom County cities.

We greatly appreciate that the Whatcom County Library System purchased the Vogt property. 

Friends of Birch Bay Library has raised about $150,000 through private donations, fundraisers and a $100,000 contribution from BP. 

In 2019, state representatives Luanne Van Werven (R) and Sharon Shewmake (D) cosponsored a $2 million state appropriation for a Birch Bay library. We don’t want to jeopardize that amount by delaying this project. 

We need to establish a Library Capital Facilities Area (LCFA) to fund the remainder of the costs. An 11-cent per $1,000 levy (assessed value which is less than market value) will do that. I calculated that The C Shop properties will be paying less than $50 per year. That cost will decline over time as more construction occurs in Birch Bay. 

That means that for the cost of a meal out or a newspaper or magazine subscription per year, we can have a beautiful well-functioning library including 165 feet of public waterfront.

Please join us in voting “yes” for Proposition 14 the Birch Bay Library Capital Facilities Area.

Patricia Alesse

Birch Bay

The Editor:

My wife and I moved to Blaine one month ago. We were immediately impressed with the friendliness of all the people we met. This was further illustrated when we discovered a serious crack at the base of a large alder tree that was leaning toward our house. 

Noticing it was on city property, we called the city of Blaine to see if they could help us with the problem. Within an hour of our call, Pat Fremont and Jason Snow stopped by to assess the situation. 

They acknowledged the tree was a danger to the house and was on city property. By mid-day, a bucket truck was at our house. With skill and precision, two individuals wielding a chainsaw entered the bucket and were carefully cutting the tree down from the top. It was a tedious and precarious project. 

The tree threatening damage to our new home was down within one hour. Since the work was done at the end of a workday, some of the cleanup was left to the next day. Early the next morning Kenny and Austin showed up to finish the job. Our property was left in great order.

This crew of six individuals are a testament to the city of Blaine. Friendliness, hard work and pride was shown by all members. My wife and I sincerely appreciate these impressive city employees; we applaud you! 

We made the right decision choosing Blaine. 

Gary Pflueger

Blaine

The Editor:

We have the chance this fall to vote for a truly outstanding Blaine City Council candidate: Kerena Higgins, running in Ward 1.

We have a number of issues in this area known as “east Blaine,” including lack of city services, speeding on H Street Road and continuing rampant development without the necessary supporting infrastructure.

Higgins is a balanced, hard-working and dedicated professional who, for many years, has served as Washington state assistant attorney general. 

As Blaine inevitably grows, we need bright, effective and capable leadership. Higgins will ably provide that as an outstanding addition to the council and well deserves to earn your vote.

Jack Kintner and Jackie Braverman

Blaine

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