INSIDE

Less talk, more action

By Meg Olson

Voters’ association president Tom Hollett might have gotten heckled through most of the group’s annual general meeting, but they liked him enough off the stage to re-elect him president for another year.

“You’re not going to run off at the mouth when I go to a meeting,” newly elected board member Eleanor Gendron shook her finger at Hollett. “You’re going to have an agenda and stick to it.”

Despite some rambling, the March 13 meeting covered a lot of ground in under three hours, from cluster housing to phone service.

“We’re going to again start trying to get Point Roberts local phone service to the county,” said county council member Barbara Brenner, who attended as a guest speaker with fellow council member Seth Fleetwood. “You don’t have anywhere you can call without paying. It’s your right. Something’s got to change here but be patient. It took 15 years for people living 15 minutes outside Bellingham to not have to pay when they called the county courthouse.” Brenner said she was writing to the state utilities commission asking that they put pressure on Whidbey Telephone Company to provide the service, and the community needed to push for the service if they wanted it.

Hollett said the newly elected board would tackle the issue at their next meeting. “We want to promote this and get as many people as we can to our April 8 meeting,” he said. “Everyone who has a phone is impacted.”
Code enforcement was again a big issue for association members, and Hollett asked if a part time enforcement officer couldn’t be assigned to the Point. “You have two deputies up here and they should be able to be cross-trained as enforcement officers,” Brenner suggested. “If it’s a crime, it’s a crime.”

As promised when Hollett and his slate took control of the association board at last year’s annual meeting, he brought issues now being worked on by the board and future possibilities up for membership approval. “The membership drives the ship and that’s the tone of the rest of this meeting,” he said. While voter education programs and community-wide events planning efforts got the thumbs up, most members in attendance wanted the board to steer clear of political hot potatoes like the makeup of the economic development committee and sewers.

Hollett said the association had asked for more representation on the economic development council (EDC) board, which is now made up of single representatives from local agencies and organizations and several local developers. “We were told no,” he said. Hollett said the organization was too heavily weighted on the side of business and developers and didn’t take common citizens concerns into account. “Do you want us to work to get that organization reorganized? You can’t even go! It’s not open to the public! At least it’s important to tell the county government who they speak for because they always tell people they speak for the people of Point Roberts.”

Hollett found little support for his concerns. “I don’t think it’s correct we should ask to play with them if they don’t want to play,” said Ruby White. “The people they make representations to should consider the source.”
George Wright, who had represented the association on the EDC but decided not to run for his board position again, said how the group was weighted didn’t make any difference. “It’s a non-voting consensus group,” he said. “If my argument is strong, I make my point.” Funded and mediated by the Port of Bellingham, the EDCs mandate is to work on implementing the goals of the strategic economic development plan for the Point commissioned by the port.

As to what position the association should take on sewers, the membership voted for none. A motion by John Lesow to endorse a sewer for the commercial core and not for the whole Point failed 13 to 8. “The decision whether or not to have sewers needs to be based on an analysis of cost and feasibility, which is underway,” said Arthur Wilkowski. “What are we discussing this for tonight?” White asked. “When the study is done and we have more information, then lets discuss it.”

“For the voters association to work on educating voters is productive. To take a solid position is not,” Wilkowski said. “The voters association established a policy at the last meeting that we would not take a position until all the voters were polled,” White added. “Put it on the ballot on election day and let the people decide,” Gendron said..

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