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Will Judy Kontos be a Shelter Bay Community director tomorrow? Community leasehold members voted through 12:30 p.m. today “whether or not you approve the recall,” with “yes” a vote to remove her. Kontos was sanctioned and suspended Feb. 15 based on four code of conduct complaints filed against her in the fall. A special membership meeting was held April 12, starting at 11 a.m., recessing at 11:45 a.m. and reconvening at 5:30 p.m. The sole agenda item was Kontos recall for “four violations of rules and regulations of the associati...
Fewer homes sold in Skagit County in March, keeping the average median price high, $556,250 for the 105 homes that closed countywide. Anacortes remains the most expensive housing market in the county, by far: The 23 homes that closed had an average median price of $730,000. Sold home prices in the Burlington and Mount Vernon markets were also high, with $587,500 the average median price for the 20 homes that closed in the smaller city,. The 33 homes that closed in Mount Vernon had an average median price of $585,000. These three markets kept...
Thirty thousand doses of the pregnancy -ending drug mifepristone was purchased by the state under an order by Gov. Jay Inslee. The abortion-related drug is legal in the state of Washington to end pregnancy up to 10 weeks. The drug was approved for use by the Federal Food and Drug Administration 20 years ago and studies show the drug is safe to use. But, a federal judge in Texas is presiding over a case that challenges the FDA’s approval, and that could impact the ability of women in the state of Washington to have access to the drug, Inslee s...
A Skagit County Superior Court judge will rule Friday on a motion to continue Shelter Bay leaseholder and resident Jan Henrie’s civil complaint accusing five Shelter Bay Community board of directors of violating their statutory fiduciary duty and malfeasance. The lawsuit, filed March 15, Jan Henrie vs. Wendy Poulton, Elaine Dixon Monte Hicks, Joseph Hurley and Louise Kari, is on the April 14 civil motions docket. The case number is 23-2-00221-29. To participate remotely: zoom.us/my/skagitsuperior2; 253-215-8782; Meeting ID: 667 929 1013; P...
Recycling three typical 12 ounce aluminum beverage cans, to create an aluminum sheet for making a new can, saves about a kilowatt-hour of electricity compared to the electricity it would take to make a sheet from aluminum ore. Glass, steel, plastics, car batteries and paper recycling can also create energy savings. Waste materials that are recycled are not sent to landfills, and thus do not contribute to the use of land for landfills. Recyclable materials are typically mixed at the initial...
Employers would be prohibited from denying a person a job for their non-work-related cannabis use in a bill passed by the state Senate 28-21 and the House of Representatives 57-41. There is one difference between the two bills. The House legislations excludes people seeking positions as a first responder, corrections officer, a law enforcement agency or a fire department. Both bills exclude applicants in the aviation and aerospace industries because of federal transportation rules. Beyond those exemptions, Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5123...
The $40,187 reported in sales tax revenues to the La Conner Town Council for March by the state’s Department of Revenue is the second highest ever, only behind 2022’s record $44,210. It exceeds $40,000 for only the second time and is 20% above 2021, the third highest March report. The Special Use Fire Tax Revenues also dipped from 2022, by $314, 7.4%, below $4,000, barely, to $3,924, but still the second highest ever March total. Tourists still stayed overnight, creating record revenues for the Town’s hotel/motel tax, $8,083, the highest March...
While historic preservation is a major concern of the Town of La Conner Planning Commission and planning staff are intent on fending off any future character-changing developments that may arise. Adult businesses locating here is one. Town planner Michael Davolio and Assistant Planner Ajah Eills have repeatedly cited court decisions ruling those businesses can be regulated but only if specific parameters are on the books prior to permits being sought. Without regulation beforehand, adult business proposals must be treated the same as other ente...
Much worse than metaphorical slings and arrows are being fired on Shelter Bay social media community platforms, including their Next Door community. A handful of residents who have criticized sanctioned Shelter Bay Community Director Judy Kontos for her postings have called on the Weekly News to investigate, alleging she continues to violate association rules and regulations of confidentiality as a board member. They criticize as not true, as she told residents attending the April 2 town hall meeting - and as the Weekly News summarized in its...
Since COVID-19, the Zoom communications platform has been the next best thing to being there. And for Shelter Bay residents, it was even better than that Sunday night. Over 200 of the community’s homeowners logged onto a one-hour Zoom-only town hall addressing the April 12 recall election of Shelter Bay Board Director Judy Kontos. The start was delayed about 15 minutes to accommodate increased participant capacity, which drew more than twice the number of people who regularly attend monthly in-person meetings at the Shelter Bay clubhouse. It a...
March was a cold month in a cold winter. Seven nights it frosted, with four overnight lows below 30 degrees the first two weeks and the 28.1 degree month's low March 17. Snow was not measured locally. By all calculations it was cold. The 35 degrees average morning low was 2.9 degrees below the century average of 37.9. The average daily high of 51.4 was 0.8 degrees below the 52.2 century average. Those combined to have the 42.9 degree daily average peg at 1.9 degrees below the 44.8 degrees for the century. The high topped 50 degrees 18 times,...
Fidalgo Island — The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington issued a decision concluding the liability phase of trespass litigation filed by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community against BNSF Railway March 27, ruling that “BNSF willfully, consciously and knowingly exceeded” limitations in an easement to cross the Tribe’s land. Swinomish Chairman Steve Edwards stated in a press release that “the Tribe takes its agreements very seriously and it expects them to be honored and we are thankful that BNSF is being held to...
The Federal Railroad Administration has confirmed KUOW reporting that a safety device meant to keep trains from plunging into Puget Sound knocked a train off the tracks and onto the Swinomish Reservation early Thursday morning. The short, seven-car BNSF Railway train was approaching a swinging bridge over the Swinomish Channel after leaving an oil refinery in Anacortes. The bridge swings open to let boats through the Swinomish Channel, a shallow, 11-mile long arm of Puget Sound that connects Padilla Bay to Skagit Bay. Devices called...
Should the Town of La Conner’s new Emergency Management Commission have five or six members? Town Council tabled adding a sixth person last week. An alternate might be added, though. Resident Linda Talman nudged officials toward that compromise position during a lengthy discussion. Mayor Ramon Hayes proposed adding a sixth voting member after Jamie Throgmorton applied. Her background makes her an asset to the commission. Town Administrator Scott Thomas was tasked with drafting a resolution modifying membership. Former council member Bill S...
Embattled Shelter Bay Community Director Judy Kontos is on the offensive, petitioning since mid-March to have residents recall the five members of the board’s executive committee. The board sanctioned Kontos in February after an ethics committee investigation Kontos believed was patently unfair. The petitions against board President Wendy Poulton, Vice President Joseph Hurley, Treasurer Louise Kari, Secretary Monte Hicks and Secretary pro tem Elaine Dixon read the same: “In accordance with Shelter Bay Community, Inc. Article V, Section 2, we...
Five Shelter Bay Community board of directors will get their day in Skagit County Superior Court April 14, but until then are restrained from taking any action on the organization’s master lease with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community or destroying any financial records. In a hearing Friday, March 31, Judge Laura Riquelme found “good cause to grant some requests, essentially temporary restraints” against the board’s executive committee: Wendy Poulton, Elaine Dixon Monte Hicks, Joseph1 Hurley and Louise Kari. Leasehold resident Jan Henrie...
Shelter Bay residents face a weekend of board conflicts aired. Friday morning five Shelter Bay Community board of directors are in Skagit County Superior Court. Plaintiff’s Jan Henrie’s civil complaint accuses them of malfeasance and violating their statutory fiduciary duty. The lawsuit filed March 15, Jan Henrie vs. Wendy Poulton, Elaine Dixon Monte Hicks, Joseph1 Hurley and Louise Kari, has a March 31 hearing. Cases start at 9:30 a.m. The case number is 23-2-00221-29 The board filed a liability insurance claim and again has Seattle att...
One of the biggest expenses of new home construction in locations more than a few hundred yards away from existing energy infrastructure is the cost of connecting electricity and gas. Electric power distribution wires can cost up to a million dollars a mile for underground service and up to $100,000 a mile for above-ground. New gas lines use less expensive materials, but still require mobilization of construction equipment and installation labor. Upstream of the vicinity of the new building(s),...
History and mystery abound in equal measure at the Limedock Building on North First Street. The La Conner Planning Commission, upon recommendation of Town planner Michael Davolio, opted last Tuesday to take no immediate action on a proposed conversion of second floor office space into two new residential units at the aged – if not officially historic – waterfront structure. The plan includes external work: the addition of two gabled dormers on the roof and a ground level coffee shop as a gateway to the building’s commercial ventures. But quest...
The high tide of last week’s Town of La Conner Planning Commission meeting on future sea level rise came when Assistant Planner Ajah Eills calmed the waters– make that, concerns– raised by troubling data gleaned from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “By 2070, if we do nothing,” Eills initially cautioned while sharing statistics, “the town will be underwater.” She then offered solace. “These are kind of scary numbers to look at,” she said, “but that’s without mitigation, w...
The officers of the Shelter Bay Community board of directors are called back to Skagit County Superior Court March 31 on a civil complaint that accuses them of breach of fiduciary duty. It alleges malfeasance and failure in their actions and conduct as directors for passing the “invalid budget in violation of both the bylaws of SBC Inc. and the Revised Code of Washington” for 2023. It also alleges that the board "failed to mail the budget to its members as required," so it was never properly ratified and that the board’s following of this...
A rare positive impact of the severe saltwater flooding that swamped La Conner in December was the flood of well qualified applicants seeking appointment to the Town’s new emergency management commission. Mayor Ramon Hayes last week nominated five applicants. The Town Council confirmed them during the panel’s March 14 session. They bring extensive histories of public service, meteorology, climatology and engineering. “What a great lineup, this is exciting,” Councilmember Mary Wohleb said following a unanimous vote that empaneled Bill Stokes,...
SWINOMISH RESERVATION -The "active cleanup of the diesel spill caused by the early Thursday morning derailment of two BNSF locomotives" was ending early Saturday afternoon, Bill Dunbar, U.S. EPA public affairs staff reported. He gave estimates that approximately 2,100 cubic yards of contaminated soil and 4,300 gallons of groundwater were removed from the site, with fewer than 50 gallons of diesel fuel in the groundwater. No diesel reached the shoreline, and no impacts to fish or wildlife have...
Over half of the energy used in residential and commercial buildings goes to heating and cooling the air to keep occupants comfortable. Most of the time, cooling is achieved by using electricity to run a vapor-compression “air-source” heat pump that transfers heat into or from the outside air. Heating is achieved by running the heat pump in the opposite direction, or by using a resistance heater. Alternatively, burning fuel, whether in a fireplace, or via a propane or gas-fueled furnace, pro...