Guest Opinion | About that dirt on Shaw

||| FROM ALEX MACLEOD |||

One way to view voters’ overwhelming rejection of the recent property-tax levy lid lift sought by the County Council is a lack of confidence in the council’s ability to wisely manage our tax dollars.

The council, as we know, is trying to find ways to make up for a $3.5-$4 million shortfall in next year’s budget. At the same time, it is sitting on an ill-advised $1 million purchase of Shaw land including a residence, guest house and hot tub it wants zoned industrial for Public Works’ use.

There are a number of significant problems with this. Number One is Public Works has had land on Shaw that for 40 years has been more than adequate to stage its once-every-four-years (or so) chip sealing of a portion of Shaw’s 12 miles of county roads.

Public Works first tried to sell the new need on the basis that dirt taken from roadside and ditches is toxic and no longer could be distributed to interested island landowners for fill.

When that proved not to be true, the narrative changed. The home and guest house on the property could be used for county employee housing, a popular — though at $1 million, expensive — idea. However, the county code, in plain language, prohibits residential use on industrial-zoned property.

Along the way, some islanders challenged Public Works’ State Environmental Protection Act filing, required for the land-use change to industrial. The county’s own hearings examiner concluded the filing was wholly inadequate and sent it back,
where it likely will take a year and a couple hundred thousand dollars to do right.

Despite all this, the council is intending, once again, to pass another Essential Public Facility ordinance to change the zoning to industrial. This will replace an earlier one essentially invalidated by the hearings examiner. A public hearing on its
proposal its scheduled next month — at the same time it’s trying to find enough other programs to cut to balance its 2027 budget.

What the council should do, instead, is table the EPF ordinance, sell the residential prop erty, return the million dollars to the county’s account while avoiding further investment in it. And it also should order Public Works to remove the huge pile of road spoils it has dumped next to Shaw’s community center in time for the island’s July Fourth celebration.

The spoils were collected a few months ago even though no chip-sealing is scheduled until summer 2027. It is difficult to view this in-your-face dirt pile as anything other than retribution for local opposition to its costly plan, and it’s hardly the way government should treat the public.

The only current council member not involved in the origins of this misbegotten undertaking is Orcas’ Justin Paulsen. This
might be a good time to contact Justin and ask him to help the rest of the council take a fresh look at this, especially given the county’s budget problems.