January 2020
IN THIS
ISSUE
www.AllPointBulletin.com
Bay Medical taken over by SuperTrack, page 5
School district looks for replacement levy, page 7
ECRWSS PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 14
FREE
Race Week registration coming up, page 9
Point Roberts, WA 98281 Postal Patron Local
s The 11 Point Roberts primary school students performing in this year’s holiday concert on December 11 were vastly outnumbered by the standing room-only crowd of parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles and aunts, friends and neighbors who packed the community center. The theme of this year’s presentation was Winter Woodland Friends. Photo by Pat Grubb
2019
year in
REVIEW
A Look Back at the Year That Just Was
By Meg Olson January • With approval from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) for a revised tariff, Cando Recycling and Disposal prepared to implement the mandatory curbside collection pro-
gram approved earlier by Whatcom County Council. • Manual recounts for two legislative districts handed victory to incumbents Doug Ericksen and Luanne Van Werven. • Failing due to lack of support from the Whatcom County executive and county parks department to build a lighthouse at Lighthouse Marine Park, the Point Roberts
Lighthouse Society was dissolved and donated their raised funds, close to $12,000, to the local historical society. • Bill Meursing resigned from his position on the fire district board of commissioners after 15 years on the board, most of them as chair. February • With the government shutdown im-
Water district hikes rates for 2020 and beyond By
Meg Olson
Customers who have the biggest impact on the water supply will shoulder a bigger slice of the cost under a new rate structure adopted by the Point Roberts water district. “It is desirable to differentiate between base rate fees for residential customers with substantially different impacts on the system,” states the resolution establishing the new rates, approved unanimously by
commissioners at the district board’s December 10 meeting. In addition to incremental across-theboard increases to the base rate over the next five years, the resolution establishes a “high impact customer charge” of $15 for users with very high overall use or high peak usage. “The criteria for high impact is a little convoluted but that is unavoidable when you have customers with zero use (computers cannot process division by zero),”
said Ashley Emery with Peninsula Financial Consulting, who explained the recent review of water rates. “The first criteria is, did the residence use 3,500 or more cubic feet in any billing period during the last year? If this occurred, then their peaking factor doesn’t matter because statistically they are a significant high water user and therefore high impact.” If a residence used less than 3,500 cubic feet in a billing cycle, then they are clas(See Water, page 2)
pacting numerous federal employees in the community, local residents stepped in to lend a hand, donating food and gas cards. • Chwynyn Vaughan and Holly Robinson were appointed to the Point Roberts (See YIR, page 3)
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Inside
Classifieds ......................................... 16 Coming Up ....................................... 15 Crossings ............................................ 2 Library Picks .................................... 18 Opinion ............................................... 4 Seniors ............................................. 18 Sheriff ............................................... 18