Perhaps it’s time for
a summation of where your Association stands in terms of problems demanding
immediate concern.
With buildout of Cordata Park (not, yet its official name)
scheduled to begin in 2009, there is no road access. Our challenge is to find a way to fund a
partial buildout of Horton Rd. in order that access is made available to our park. Without it, the park remains decidedly short
of what we want. A meeting with a Public
Works representative late last month disclosed that Horton’s very damp
development to Aldrich Rd. is considered both very expensive and “not presently
on the list for early construction.” Public Works says it will meet shortly with Parks & Recreation to
discuss a possible solution.
Our objection is strong. We finally have a park, a plan and a budget to get started. We find the possibility of the entire project
being stopped for years totally unacceptable. Should our objections be met by words of discouragement, other avenues
of entreaty will be explored.
We have concerns about
“big box” stores such as Costco and Wal-Mart leaving Bellingham. We feel they should be able to expand to meet
their growing needs. Each departure
means the loss of a major member of the tax base and citizens will be
underserved.
Beset by Neighborhood traffic problems, we continue to
wonder about not only a never released traffic study underwritten by Trillium Corp.
but, also, the possibility of a second one whose details might impact upon
problem solutions. Our concerns focus
upon the intersection of Cordata and Stuart where pedestrian and driving
challenges have found the WTA threatening elimination of Stuart Rd. from the #24 bus route.
The bottom line of the Stuart & Parkway situation is that the traffic count (currently 9,300 daily) is not yet heavy enough to warrant a roundabout. Further, the City does not want to put in stop signs on Cordata because that slows the flow of traffic. That leaves, according to Public Works, the possibility of a yellow blinking light for pedestrian crossing of the Parkway.
We seek a dialog regarding our Neighborhood Plan. With the Plan not scheduled to work this year
following last year’s many signs of encouragement, we have met with the
Planning Department twice during recent months with promises of further
meetings. Those looking for a word to
describe such disappointments could easily conclude: stonewalling.
The very real threat by
Costco to leave Bellingham will be our exciting program at the September general
meeting of the Guide Meridian/Cordata Neighborhood Association. Speaker at the Tuesday, September 9 session,
to be held at Birchwood Presbyterian Church, 400 Meadowbrook Ct., will be Costco
Warehouse Manager Carter Witham. Born in
Seattle, Witham has been with the firm 22 years after being hired in
Portland. He moved to Bellingham two
years ago after stints in such communities as Bend and Medford, OR and
Vancouver, WA. He and his wife live in
South Bellingham with two children. Come
to this highly important 7 p.m. meeting to gain added insight into Costco’s
threat to move to Ferndale and why your association is in favor of keeping big
box stores here.
Costco is one of several large retailers who have expressed
interest in building near Slater Rd.at I-5. Owner of the
land is Ralph Black, co-owner of Alliance Properties and twice a speaker at our
general meetings. The essence of the
problem for Costco is that the Bellingham City Council has banned big box
stores from making major expansions while Ferndale officials have given initial
approval to annex Alliance Properties acreage.
Deadline Dash….Whatcom
Plaza, being constructed across from Whatcom Community College at the Kellogg
St. roundabout, will consist of three buildings—two of one story and one of two
stories. Principle service will be for
the college and its students with the inevitable coffee shop all but a certainty. Bet it won’t be a Starbucks….That proposed joint management structure of
a combined Bellingham and Whatcom County
direction of Lake Whatcom may not require a director. The announcement by County Executive Pete
Kremen comes a few months after the acceptance of Mayor Dan Pike’s suggestion
that a building housing decision makers and costing more than $6 million
building was not necessary. It’s remarkable
how savings can be achieved--particularly when the economy is in a swoon…. Speaking
of money, how about that grand gesture by the City Council to accept a $200,000
mistake in favor of a Blaine construction firm?....”Poppa” Andrews turns 96
August 30. If you don’t know Poppa, you
should. He’s that delightful man who
walks Ted, his seven year-old Greater Swiss Mountain dog, twice daily from his
Heronwood home where he lives with son Ben Andrews and Ben’s wife Dee. Happy birthday,
when it rolls around, Poppa….The Parks and Recreation Department will vote on a
name for out park on August 13 and forward it to the City Council. Odds-on favorite is Cordata Park. The transfer of an adjoining 7.5 acres will
be voted upon by the County Council on September 9….The written word took
another beating with the August 1 closing of The Newsstand on Magnolia. Owner Ira Stohl was force out of business
when his main supplier refused to bring periodicals numbering 3,400 to
market. That’s a remarkable number for a
city the size of Bellingham. A tip-off
on Stohl’s character was his placement of free publications at the front of his
shop. The Newsstand joins the recently
folded Whatcom Independent in the
communications industry graveyard here….Due diligence by co-founder Julie Guy has
revealed that heaters will definitely be installed at the Cordata WTA Station
due for completion in November.
More next time,
Bob Sanders
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