OPINION
The Journal of the San Juan Islands | SanJuanJournal.com
Editorial
Wednesday, December 26, 2012 — 7
As I See It
Trash disposal needn’t be a waste Brickworks think ‘outside the box’ to reduce proves it works Let’s disposal costs, improve recycling
As part of its end-of-year wrapup, the Journal awards Brickworks a No. 10 slot in the Top Ten stories of 2012, for its success this year, and its 2013 potential. Not only as a venue for music, art and food, but also as an institution that’s remaking Nichols Street into a busy shopping and dining area to complement First Street (North and South) and Spring Street as well. And a special tip of the Journal hat to the San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild, the force behind the Brickworks project, for its fundraising prowess and its skill at attracting volunteers to help remodel the building into what will surely become a community center for commercial, artistic and local organizational activities. We can even imagine classes being taught a-la Chatauqua, and politics being discussed and debated in community forums at the site. The Ag Guild and the Farmers’ Market have shown the county remarkable “imagenuity” and perseverance in getting the Brickworks project started and making the dreams and vision of island farmers come true. The plans for the building, including its all-important commercial kitchen for use by groups for annual dinners, community parties and fundraisers, look as if Friday Harbor will soon have a first-class, but not imposing or overwhelming, facility. Sure, there’s a lot of work yet to be accomplished and some sizeable debt that still needs to be repaid before the project is, shall we say, free and clear, and on solid ground. We’re encouraged by the Town of Friday Harbor’s recent allocation to Brickwors of $100,000 from its 2013 hotel/motel tax monies. That should help give the project a much-needed boost. The Brickworks is a good example of how civic, cultural and commercial interests can work together to carry out a project that works for everybody, even those that thought it was a waste of time and money. As islanders ruminate about future beneficial civic projects, we hope and trust they’ll remember Brickworks as a model not only for preseverance, but also for doing things right.
PUBLIC MEETINGS n Friday Harbor Town Council, Jan. 3, noon & 5:30 p.m., Town Council Chambers, 60 Second St., F.H. n Island Rec Commission, Jan. 3, 5 p.m., Island Rec office, 580 Guard Street. n Ferry Advisory Committee, Jan. 9, 8:30 a.m., large conference room, Legislative Building, 55 Second St., F.H. n San Juan County Council, Jan. 8, 9 a.m.,Council Chambers, Legislative Building, 55 Second St., F.H.. (meeting begins with swearing-in ceremony of new council members. n Port of Friday Harbor Commission, Jan. 9, 4 p.m., Ernie’s Cafe, 744 Airport Circle Drive. n SJ Island Fire Department Commission, Jan. 10, 3 p.m., Mullis St. fire station, 1011 Mullis St. n SJC Park & Recreation Commission, Jan. 17, 8:30 a.m., large conference room, Legislative Building, 55 Second St., F.H
By Gay Wilmerding (An open letter to the Friday Harbor Town Council)
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onsider Friday Harbor’s recycling and trash management. It costs the town $89 per ton to dispose of waste at Skagit County; it will cost an islander $373.75 per ton on San Juan Island, shortly. San Juan County’s 20 percent tax is nearly 70 percent of $89. Some cost difference pays for two elephants in the room: a million-plus for county purchase of the Beaverton Valley Road public works yard and a required storm water permit and upgrade for the town-owned transfer station. What will the latter cost? What portion of tax revenues will go to each? To private, for-profit companies? Two junk bond issues sold out on Lopez to finance startup of its solid waste district, approved by Lopez voters in November. Artist Kate Scott’s pipe whimsy of a Greek frieze, at a cost of around $25 for each certificate, echoes imagination inherent in the county fair’s Trashion Fashion show or Kevin Roth’s re-purposed junk sculpture. With a population almost equal to Lopez and a much greater density, what can Friday Harbor residents devise? We probably generate more trash per capita with the county seat, the ferry landing and being a visitor destination where business congregates. Better answers to the disposal dilemma rest on more information: what is the price paid per pound for aluminum, glass, paper, etc? Mainland cities often make a profit recycling to subsidize disposal. We own our own equipment and packer truck. Could a town firehouse bay be repurposed for recycling or trash collection? Going to shop, people could place a bag in a compactor and pay $1 per Kings-size bag of trash. Or, place recycling into separate bins. A box already exists for utility payments. An honor system works at the library, for Island Stage Left and for many local farms. A few cheaters are less objection-
Contributed art
Lopez artist Kate Scott created the ‘ junk bond’, above, for the fundraising drive for the newly established Lopez Island solid waste district.
able than midnight dumpers. Make it easy and people will come. Having paid to empty a dumpster every two weeks, monitoring is key. Neighbors and town sub-contractors used 4-plex facilities. Reorganizing with support of tenants, who directly benefited from lower fees, reduced trash to one can per week, and four per month for recycling. Aluminum is high-graded for Consignment Treasures and dropped opposite The Marketplace; paper is used for kindling; and, worms compost some household waste. Last year, the town removed trash for $167 per ton. Figures vary with the biggest variable of $20-$40 per hour for wage and benefits. Mileage to Skagit and the ferry fare are included. Friday Harbor might make a modest profit recycling or hauling waste. At minimum, calculate and compare business markups for private management. Solid waste is an essential public service; town policy shapes economics. Please maximize employment and dollars spent on island while minimizing costs and maximizing benefits for town residents. — Editor’s note: Gay Wilmerding is a Friday Harbor resident and works in town as well.
“There was no excess in their gardens because they shared everything. There was no trash or garbage in their homes because they had a use for everything. They took responsibility for their lives and for whatever, whoever else needed them.” —Toni Morrison, “Home”
Priorities misplaced in background checks Are attorneys that much more of a threat to public safety than firearms?
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By Nicholas Power
guess I should be flattered in the way that Bruce Lee might have been if the urban legend were true that he had to register his hands as “lethal weapons”. But this is not urban legend, the state of Washington evidently sees my practice of law as much more potentially dangerous than my ownership of a semi-automatic carbine. I just applied a few weeks ago for admission to the Washington Bar Association. I had to supply three character references, two of whom had to have been already licensed to practice law. I had to provide any and all details of any mental illness which might impair my ability to practice. I had to supply the bar association with my residency location for the past five years, and supply witnesses who could support this. In addition, I was required to pay a $300 dollar fee for a third party to perform a background check and sign a notarized form indemnifying all parties from liability for damages that might have occurred from their investigation. Furthermore, I had to have the Supreme Court of the state of Illinois furnish a letter stating that I had been a member of the Illinois bar since 1997, and that I had no disciplinary actions against me subsequently. I did not really think much of this at the time. I grumbled my grumble of resignation the same way I grumble when
its time to fill out tax returns in April. I am not an anti-gun zealot. I shot competitively at my Missouri public junior high school (can you imagine) using Olympic-style singleshot bolt action .22s. In fact, I recently bought a semiautomatic carbine brand new, across the counter of a sporting goods store. In sharp contrast to my application to practice law, Contributed photo I gave the gun salesman a Nick Power credit card, my driver’s license and filled out a one-page form where I attested to my selfdiagnosis that I wasn't nuts. The salesman then disappeared to the back, made a two -minute long phone call to some government office somewhere, which I suppose then “ran” my name and social security number and did not turn up anything glaring. Five minutes later I was in the parking lot with a semi-automatic, and with 500 rounds of ammunition. I am all for responsible gun ownership — but I am also for responsible gun procurement laws. It is time to accept the fact that the gun lobby has made the government complicit in frustrating the latter. — Editor’s note: A San Juan Island resident since 2008, Nick Power has been an attorney, economic researcher, consultant and developer.