Ferdi Businger

Focus On What Works

I moved to Guemes Island 33 years ago. No sooner had I built a small shack to live in and a roadside vegetable stand to sell my produce before I became embroiled in a bitter dispute over the county's plans to replace the ferry (the Almar) with a bigger boat. Old-timers called me a greenhorn and told me "you can't stop progress." Thirty years, a bigger ferry, a store, several hundred new residents and now extended ferry hours later, and I'll admit I was a bit naive. So after many years of seeing islanders fight one real or perceived threat to the island's natural and social environment after another, I have some observations to share:

First of all, not all "progress" it turns out is bad. While I agree with most island residents that extended ferry hours will have a detrimental affect on the island community, other changes have been positive. The well run Anderson's General Store has proven itself to be a community asset, as its early proponents promised it would be. And many of those who make up the previously feared hoards of new residents have become our friends and have helped to revitalize this community. And lets face it, even extended ferry hours have a few pluses. Which brings me to my second observation:

We need to pick our fights more carefully, focusing on an effective seventh generation strategy to protect what it is we love about Guemes Island. The problem with trying to stop growth by restricting access or services is it doesn't work. We may be able dodge the extended-ferry-hours bullet this time, but ten years from now the tide of public opinion may well turn in favor of later weekday ferry hours as the island's demographics continue to change. The same can be said for zoning restrictions. These are stop-gap measures, written in sand, that at best slow growth. The only value these efforts have in the long run is if we use them to buy time to pursue the one avenue that holds promise for the future of Guemes - land conservation.

There is absolutely no more powerful tool for preserving the rural character of Guemes Island than voluntary private land conservation. It is permanent. It restricts future population growth. And it doesn't depend on the whims and self-serving actions of some county commissioners in Mt. Vernon. In fact, its the best way to do an end run around their increase-the-tax-base schemes. Organizations such as The San Juan Preservation Trust and the Skagit Land Trust make possible the donation of conservation easements that will be monitored and protected long after we're gone. These non-profit organizations provide a service that wasn't readily available to old-timers in 1973. Thousands of acres of land and shoreline have been preserved in Skagit and San Juan Counties thanks to these two organizations and the generosity of property owners and donors.

Fortunately, Guemes Island is still blessed with a large amount of open space and farm land. Here several hundred acres have already been protected with conservation easements or are owned in fee by The San Juan Preservation Trust. The remainder exists in a relatively unspoiled state due to the careful stewardship of a handful of landowners. I believe that anyone who is serious about preserving the island's rural character needs to take a hard look at voluntary land conservation. I believe the island needs a committee that focuses entirely on this one goal. The feasibility of establishing a revolving land acquisition (or development rights acquisition) fund needs to be explored. If islanders are sufficiently shaken out of their complacency by the prospect of becoming another Mercer Island, then perhaps the means can be found to preserve some large areas of the island in a pro-active manner, in other words, with the consent and cooperation of landowners.

Guemes Island one hundred years from now: will it be recognizable to a time traveler from 2006? I predict that no other factor will play a larger role in an affirmative answer to this question than how much land islanders protect from careless development in the next ten years through voluntary conservation.

Ferdi Businger

Tim Rosenhan

Paraguay Has Better Government

“So what’s it like to live in Skagit County?” my friends ask me. “Politically it’s like Paraguay, but with more tulips, fir trees, and whales.” It’s a weak joke, but the Skagit County Commissioners keep contributing material to the analogy. After the recent decision to extend Guemes ferry hours I now think Paraguay has better government.

Here is the essence of the ferry hour extension ruling:

We wrap ourselves in the following sophistry, whereas:

Access to Guemes Island cannot be restricted by the ferry

The ferry belongs to all of Skagit County, not just to those on Guemes

And whereas:

No group off the island (other than Ted Anderson’s sister) has actually publicly expressed any desire for later ferry runs

The County parks on Guemes Island close at dusk and most beaches are privately owned

Perhaps a total of 100 people who moved to island with the understanding that the last weekday ferry was 6:00 p.m. now find the situation intolerable to their lifestyle

The recent voter survey of Guemes voters showed 75% percent opposed to later ferry runs

Losses on the existing ferry operation over the last five years have been more than $1 million per year, with projected losses to the year 2020 totaling $20 million.

Estimates by County Engineer, Steve Flude, indicate that labor costs alone for the extension will add $304,000 more in losses per year, with no allocation for wear and tear or fuel costs for the added runs

No studies have been done of the impacts of the later runs on stimulating population on Guemes with its attendant effects, including impacts to the sole source aquifer, other environmental impacts, and impacts to the traffic and parking in the affected Anacortes neighborhoods

No consideration is made for the conclusions of the ongoing Guemes Island Subarea Plan, nor any consideration of the recommendations by the ongoing AIA Guemes Sustainability Study

No public hearings have been held whatsoever on the ferry hour extension

The hour extension will be tested for two years, but without any criteria at all setup in advance by which to measure the success or failure of the extension

Non-standard accountancy will continue to be used where no distinction is made between capital outlays, operational costs, and maintenance expenses, except as needed to justify fare increases or to explain the profitability of running the ferry at night

Therefore let it be resolved that:

In an absolute vacuum of true knowledge, but with full faith, we will extend ferry hours for all of Skagit County, burdening both taxpayers and fare payers for the costs thereof.

Not so long ago in South America this sort of government performance would be corrected by a firing squad.

Tim Rosenhan