Blaine City Council roundup ...

The latest from the January 22 Blaine City Council meeting.

Blaine City Council’s public comment session was rife with tension, a common occurrence since a group calling itself ‘Save Blaine’ began attending meetings.

Donna Newman kicked off the public comment by playing a recording of “the Professor,” an anonymous speaker who spoke in a robotic, monotone voice. (In a subsequent interview with Newman, The Northern Light requested an interview with “the Professor” through Newman, but Newman only immediately agreed to questions sent by email). Despite having previously identified herself by name at an earlier council meeting, Newman now identifies herself as “Madame Watchdog.”

Among various allegations, “the Professor” accused city manager Mike Harmon of having conducted a “fraudulent” water quality test at his home in The Ridge at Harbor Hills following complaints from some residents who claimed there was poor water quality in the new development. “The Professor” claimed Harmon failed to disclose that he tested at his house, instead of using a random sample, and “fraudulently convinced the state government that there is nothing to investigate.”

The Northern Light obtained a copy of the January 5 water quality test results from the city of Blaine which shows the water had met the required standards.

Harmon later responded to the allegations and pointed out the city performs water quality tests in water mains but not inside residences because it’s not responsible for the piping from the service line and the interior plumbing. However, in this case, the city wanted to address the allegations the group was making to the state departments of ecology and health.

“I’m happy to report that we did an investigative sampling of the water at the tap and we were well within all of the federal and state guidelines for water quality,” Harmon said. “I can assure you that my wife, son, daughter and I drink that water, and if we had an issue up there, we’d be fixing it.”

Newman expressed frustration when mayor Mary Lou Steward declined to let Newman give her own public comment after the recorded comments saying she was allowed to go up for public comment for both herself and “the Professor” at a previous meeting. Interim Blaine police chief Michael Munden told Newman there was a new rule sheet next to the comment sign-up sheet.

Two other members of the Save Blaine group, who identified themselves as Luke Skywalker and Tina Erwin, made similar allegations during the public comment.

Appointments

Council unanimously approved the following appointments:

Donald Kruse to the Blaine Planning Commission for a term ending December 2027. Kruse is a salmon biologist for the Lummi Nation and has been a planning commissioner since last September.

Raymond Maxon to the Blaine Tourism Advisory Committee. Maxon is the manager at Ace Hardware in Blaine. 

Edward (Ted) Metz and Sandie Miller to the newly formed Blaine Public Works and Parks Advisory Board. Metz has previously served on the Blaine Public Works Advisory Committee and Semiahmoo Resort Association maintenance and landscape committee. Miller is the chief financial officer at Whatcom Law Group.

Downtown parking study

Despite some reservations, council voted 5-2 to approve the city to approve a contract with Kirkland-based Transpo Group to conduct a downtown parking study for no more than $25,000. The parking study would help council and planning commission evaluate whether the city should reduce its parking requirements for new building projects, which developers have told council is needed.

In July, the city’s ad hoc downtown advisory committee recommended the city reduce its residential parking requirements by half and consider a municipal parking garage. The committee also recommended increased building heights as long as developers paid for extra public amenities. 

The parking study will look at one weekday and a Saturday to gauge how many parking spaces are being used, create an online survey for downtown business owners, and research parking requirements in cities comparable to Blaine. 

“We will have some data as opposed to this anecdotal information, which is ‘we seem to have this parking problem’ or ‘maybe we don’t,” said Alex Wenger, director of the Community Development Services department. “It just depends on people’s opinions so we need some data.”

Councilmember Richard May questioned whether another company could conduct the study for less than the Transpo quote.

Councilmember Mike Hill, who has owned the Hill’s Chevron on Peace Portal Drive for over 30 years, said he’s never seen a parking problem, adding that Blaine had more people visiting in the ’90s and didn’t experience parking problems.

“I think it’s been studied, over studied, and looked at. We’re going to study a study again and nothing’s going to get done,” Hill said.

Councilmember Sonia Hurt asked how the study would include people other than businesses, and Wenger responded that the survey was intended to gauge how many employees needed parking but the survey could potentially open to a larger audience. Wenger said people could contact him or attend planning commission meetings. Upon completion, Transpo will present its findings to the planning commission and city council.

The parking study will also provide information for the city’s comprehensive plan, Wenger said.