INSIDE

Parks board declines Lily Point role

By Pat Grubb

The Point Roberts Taxpayers Association is going to have to look elsewhere for a lead agency to pursue the purchase of Lily Point as a park after the local parks board turned them down flat.

The association’s members had, at their annual meeting, decided to approach the Point Roberts Parks and Recreation District to take on the task of pursuing funding and oversee the purchase of the land.

In a letter to taxpayer chair Michael Rosser dated July 19 but approved by the board August 3, the board wrote, “Our parks board has insufficient resources to proceed with the kind of action you request. As your letter indicates, Whatcom County has long recognized the value of Lily Point and has held acquisition of that property as a high priority for a great number of years.”

The letter continued on by suggesting that the association should direct their request for acquisition to the Whatcom County parks department or state or national conservation groups. “Whatcom County has additional resources that this board does not, such as paid staff, with which to commit to a project of this magnitude. In our meeting, we also discussed the suggestion of you forming a Lily Point Preservation Organization to render the necessary manpower and funding necessary to advance this acquisition and preservation project,” the letter concluded.

At their regular monthly meeting August 3, board members discussed the effort that would be involved in pursuing the acquisition of Lily Point. “It all boils down to money,” said parks chair Irene Waters. “And time,” added board member Shelley Damewood.

As of August 22, the taxpayers association had not yet received the letter from the parks board. Asked in a telephone interview that same day if the association had a Plan B if they were turned down, Rosser replied, “We were responding to a request from our members to send a letter to the parks board and when we receive a response we’ll decide what next to do.”

In other parks district news, the board discussed the support given the department by the fire district in connection with the Verizon cell phone tower that has been proposed for unused park district-owned land adjacent to the garbage dump. The local fire commissioners had approved a letter stating the safety benefits they felt a local cell phone tower would provide the district and its residents. The meeting had started with comments from three individuals who wanted the board to know there was public support for the tower despite the recent objections of a few residents concerned about the possible health impact of radio waves.

The board also discussed the recently completed summer kids program, reporting that parents of participants had commented on how much fun had been had. “The summer program was wonderful. The crew was so, so good. I’m impressed on how kind these young boys and girls are to the kids,” said Waters. “I think everyone was just having a ball,” said board member Bev Griffiths.