Gas tax increase tabled

New Members, Officers Confirmed

At its Feb. 19 meeting, the Point Roberts Community Advisory Committee welcomed new at-large member Rhys-Thorvald Hansen and Taxpayers Association representative Jeff Christopher. Officers were re-elected for the coming year, with Alison Calder as chair, Bill Zidel as vice chair and Brian Hunter as secretary.

Seabright Beach Access

Discussion continued over Seabright beach access and the deteriorating stairs that once connected the property to the shoreline. The stairs partially collapsed in December 2024 and remain only half intact. Although the stairs were initially believed by some to be required under the development’s conditional use permit, Calder said that after reviewing the hearing examiner’s decision and speaking with county Planning and Development Services and Tyler Schroeder of the Port of Bellingham, “the word ‘stairs’ does not appear” in the approval documents, only “trail” or “path.”

Calder said rebuilding stairs on the unstable bluff would be unsafe. 

“There is not an engineer in this world that would look at that cliff and say that we can rebuild stairs into it … it’s a landslide hazard,” she said.

Zidel described the remaining structure as “a lawsuit waiting to happen” and “an attractive nuisance,” and members discussed sending a letter to the property management company requesting that the damaged stairs be removed before summer.

Gas Tax Put on Hold

The committee also revisited a proposal to ask the county to add a ballot measure that would raise the Transportation Benefit District (TBD) gas tax from one cent to two cents per gallon. 

Mark Robbins, President of the Point Roberts Taxpayers Association, said the increase could generate roughly $50,000 annually, up from about $28,000 at the current rate, and would have “a negligible effect” on consumers, “a quarter cent per liter” if passed along.

Calder proposed delaying the tax increase until next year after community engagement and project planning.  

“Why would we raise the tax when we’re actually not spending the money?” she said.  

The committee ultimately voted to incorporate the proposed increase into a broader funding strategy and revisit the issue next year, effectively putting the ballot request on hold. The board formed a steering committee to manage the $1.2 million TBD fund, with Jeff Christopher and Rhys-Thorvald Hansen as co-chairs.