INSIDE

Board considers spending priorities

With the prospect of their budget increasing by a third if the county approves a proposed cellular telephone on parks department land, the parks board is considering how to spend it.

“I’d like to replace some of the money we’ve spent on lawyers over this,” said parks chair Irene Waters.

Once a conditional use permit for the project is in process Waters said she expects the parks district will begin to receive $1,000 a month from the cellular telephone provider, which the local parks department will start putting away in a capital improvements fund.

‘We’d like to add on to this building but that’s a long way off,” Water said. The Whatcom County library system has been working with the parks department on the possibility of expanding the local library, adding an area for youth.

As part of the capital planning process Waters said the parks district would also look at the possibility of grant funding for trails or to expand the existing kayak program. “There are some grant workshops we should be looking into,” she said.

Waters said revenue from rentals of space in the community center is almost insignificant and is part of the district’s operations and maintenance budget. “It’s mainly to cover if we need to clean up after someone,” she said, adding the facilities were available for free to community groups unless it was a money-making activity. ‘If you make money, we make money. Otherwise I feel it’s paid for by taxpayers dollars and it’s there for the taxpayers.”