Year in Review: City of Blaine

The city of Blaine provides a wide range of services to about 5,400 residents living on the shores and hills around Drayton Harbor. This article only begins to describe what happens in a year, but we feel honored to be trusted by the citizens in the work that we do. We hope that 2019 was a good year for everyone and that 2020 will be even better. We said goodbye to six retirees and welcomed new employees. All of our departments continue to change with the transitions in staff that result from retirements in the baby boomer generation.

Communication continues to be a priority for us. In January we published our first newsletter in several years. With input from residents, customers, employees and city council, the city published a new website in 2019. We’ve become more active on Facebook generally, and Facebook and Instagram users may have noticed an increased presence from the Blaine Police Department. This year the department ramped up their online presence to help the community feel more informed and connected.

The Blaine police had three new hires this year. Officer Keith Olson, officer Bryan Beaulieu and police chief Donnell “Tank” Tanksley joined the team. In our endeavor to provide outstanding public safety, training continues to be an area of focus for the Blaine Police Department. Some highlights include: officer Keith Olson’s completion of a 40-hour crisis intervention officer certification course; three staff attending the public information officer – law enforcement certification course; and officers being trained in Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement to better learn how to observe, identify and articulate signs of drug and alcohol impairment. School resource officer Cooper completed a police bicycle certification course, and office specialist Mikkelson attended the Washington state evidence technician certification course.

The public works department has been engaged in an ongoing reorganization process. Ever-changing work demands and technology, as well as senior staff retirements, have triggered an evaluation of departmental operations. Some positions have been created and others eliminated, while responsibilities have shifted in an effort to provide better service and more value to the citizens of Blaine. Evolution of a workplace is a slow and careful process, and we expect progress to continue in 2020.

Some major infrastructure projects completed this year were the electric and sewer extensions to the east Blaine area, H Street sidewalk improvements near the school campus, Hughes Avenue improvements and the Peace Portal Trail extension. Lots of ongoing maintenance was conducted on your streets, water lines, wells, sewer lines and wastewater systems.

2019 was a year of exciting changes and growth for our Community Development Services Department (CDS). Stacie Pratschner joined the department as the new community development services director in February. CDS said goodbye to two employees, and transitioned an existing employee into the new economic development and tourism coordinator position. CDS welcomed a new planner I and planner II in December.

CDS has processed applications for retail and residential development throughout the city, and we continue to see activity in our commercial and industrial areas as new manufacturing businesses choose to locate in Blaine. CDS achieved voluntary compliance with over 30 properties cited with Notices of Violation. In 2019, years of code enforcement effort culminated in the demolition of a derelict building at 665 Peace Portal Drive in the city’s downtown, removing a long-standing eyesore. The department also facilitated the adoption of the Multi-Family Tax Exemption to spur the development of denser housing in the downtown core, and the Blaine Tourism Advisory Committee (BTAC) awarded over $120,000 in grant money to local citizens and non-profits to fund activities and events that will increase tourism to the city.

New permit software enabled CDS to start providing online permitting for mechanical, plumbing, re-roof and home occupation permits. The department updated the building code in order to streamline permitting by providing additional building permit exemptions and better code organization.

Our finance department implemented new budget planning software for 2020 budget development and reporting. The department continued to maintain efficient and effective core department services, such as utility billing, accounts payable, cashiering, accounts receivable, payroll and financial reporting. The finance department hired one new employee to replace another who retired.

Due to some well-crafted applications, the city received grants for Peace Portal Community Trail Phase 3, Bell Road/Peace Portal Intersection Lane Improvements and an ADA access transition plan; all of this will be completed in the next few years. After the severe winter storm event of December 2018, the city applied for, and received, FEMA recovery funds in excess of $3 million. Additionally, the city received an $800,000 grant from the Whatcom Economic Development Initiative Fund to help with the Gateway Regional Stormwater Pond project.

In spring 2019, the city council passed a business and occupation tax (B&O tax) impacting manufacturers, wholesalers and certain service providers. The city council is dedicated to keeping their word in regard to how B&O funds are spent. In that effort, the 2020 budget includes projected revenue from the tax allocated for 911 call center contracting, ongoing wages for a 2019 police officer hire, four replacement police vehicles, economic development funding and park maintenance funding.

Finally, we are proud to have received two significant recognitions in 2019. The governor’s Smart Communities Award was granted by governor Inslee for exceptional implementation of a comprehensive plan based on the city’s Strategic Economic Initiative program. Second, the Washington Association of Building Officials (WABO) recognized the city with their 2019 Jurisdictional Outreach Award for our building division’s work with contractor outreach and online permitting.