The Editor:
We are Girl Scout Troop 45061 from Blaine. On April 18, we are donating Girl Scout cookies to the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Seattle for families while they wait for cancer treatment. We are encouraging others to donate items for the families as well. The wish list includes pantry goods, toiletries, baby supplies, household supplies and items for their guests, for example: tickets, gift cards, movie passes or DVDs. Please do not send any food that is near or beyond the expiration date or homemade and all items must be 16 oz. or less in size. To see more of the guidelines please go to the website rmhcseattle.org/donate/wishlist. We have boxes set up at Totally Chocolate, Banner Bank in Blaine and Kirk Dechert at Farmer’s Insurance in Ferndale. Please drop off donations before April 18. Please help out the families battling cancer. Thank you.
Girl Scout Troop 45061
Blaine
The Editor:
I noticed last weekend that garbage had been picked up in some areas in town and was told that it was cub scouts that were responsible. Correct me if I am wrong. Thank you boys. Your hard work has been noticed.
Leo Baldwin
Blaine
The Editor:
I am once again writing about the Blaine City Council and the pending development application for a contested development next to Semiahmoo, named Woodberry.
I again raise the question I asked before, how did this property get removed from the city’s previous master plans and into a place where we can be having these arguments about what is allowed.
Others are asking the question as well, and from what I read, the city council is ignoring answering them. They are not only not answering, but will not take public comment at the council meetings. It does raise some very serious concerns and should be explored at a minimum. Lack of transparency is a rot that will ruin our community.
It is always instructive in situations like this to use the simple rule of “follow the money.” The developer doesn’t feel he can make a profit unless he can achieve a certain density and relaxation of any other constraints on what has been built previously. So to do that he wants to go down-market with his development because he can’t compete with other products that are under stricter control.
So are we, residents of the Semiahmoo neighborhood of Blaine, expected to remain silent while our elected officials approve a disputed development under a very large cloud of suspicion, just to provide a developer with profit from an ill-conceived business plan?
Sounds like it’s time to throw some tea into Drayton Harbor.
The Semiahmoo Resort Association is raising money from interested citizens for a legal defense fund. I have contributed and urge more to get involved. It’s time to file an action against this council and the developer to have this stopped until we clearly have seen how this was removed and have our voices heard.
Jay Tyrrell
Blaine
The Editor:
Exiting the Blaine City Council meeting on March 25, which considered the proposed Woodberry development on Semiahmoo Parkway, I asked my wife if it was time to sell our Semiahmoo home. Apart from the merits, or lack thereof, of Woodberry, we have two take-aways from the council meeting. First, we are very blessed to have neighbors like councilwoman Mary Lou Steward, who represents us in city hall. Her remarkably detailed, astute and balanced analysis during the working session reassured us that we live in a community that deeply values what makes our area so special, and works to preserve its best qualities even as our city develops.
Our other impression, however, was that defending the aesthetics and ecology of Semiahmoo Parkway by representing those who voted for Dr. Steward was not welcomed, particularly by the city attorney. Intended or not (if unintended, the implications might even be more troublesome), his directives to both the council and audience conveyed the sense that any single party may present multiple points in favor of a development proposal, as long as each contains “new information.” On the other hand, a single opposing position – even if backed by thousands – can be made only once. Indeed, we listened to a strongly-stated admonishment against taking into account the opinions of neighbors or friends – i.e., voters who elect their representatives.
Indeed, we suspect Dr. Steward was confronted by red-faced bureaucratic indignation after stating her reservations about the Woodberry project, reservations that are likely shared by the vast majority of her constituency – and expose gross inconsistencies in the city’s own planning process.
The question I asked my wife was only an awkward attempt to lighten the dark mood cast by the meeting. But the question, periodically raised over the proverbial kitchen table, is also a reminder that we are not permanently attached to Blaine, Semiahmoo or even our beloved home. When we travel, which we do often, we always ask ourselves if we might find even better. Children, grandchildren and prior roots all beckon elsewhere.
In reality, we moved here because it is a place that offers the most phenomenal aesthetics and amenities we’ve ever found. Indeed, the only thing that would motivate us to leave Semiahmoo is if Semiahmoo, itself, were to deteriorate. After observing the demeanor of Blaine’s hired officials toward the citizenry, that’s always a possibility.
Bob Selby
Blaine
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