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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
September 12 - 18, 2019
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Register for disaster training course, page 7
TV critic hosting free film discussion series, page 10
Westman Marine site slated for clean-up, page 13
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Invasive crab species detected in Drayton Harbor By Jami Makan
(See Green crab, page 7)
s Whatcom County executive Jack Louws pours sand on the beach at Birch Bay during the groundbreaking ceremony for the long-awaited Birch Bay berm project on September 6. The project went out to bid last week and construction could start as early as November. From l., Jon Hutchings, Whatcom County public works director; Roland Middleton, Whatcom County public works special projects manager; Mike Peetoom, Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce president; Jack Louws, Whatcom County executive; Kathy Berg, project advocate; and Tim Thiessen, Birch Bay Bible Community Church pastor.
Photo by Chuck Kinzer/CKimageart.com
City of Blaine, Family Care Network reach property deal By Jami Makan The city of Blaine and Family Care Network (FCN) have reached an agreement for the purchase of about 2.5 acres of property currently owned by the city and located on the Gateway property, formerly the site of the Blaine Municipal Airport. FCN intends to build a new medical center on the property, including an outpatient family medicine clinic, a medical laboratory and an urgent care center open to FCN and non-FCN patients. At the September 9 city council meeting, councilmembers voted unanimously to authorize city manager Michael Jones to sign a purchase and sale agreement on behalf of the city. Although he was not present at the meeting, FCN president and CEO Rodney Anderson delivered a message to councilmembers thanking them. “I am pleased to report that FCN has agreed to terms and will be signing the purchase and sale agreement within the week,”
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Anderson said in prepared remarks delivered by an associate. “We have begun working with two local architects on site layout/ building design and are excited to keep the ball moving forward on this project.” According to the agreement, FCN is buying the land for $3.10 per square foot, bringing the total purchase price to an estimated $337,590. The size and dimensions are subject to site planning and final agreement between the buyer and seller. In addition, a hold back agreement allows for up to 10 percent of the purchase price to be returned to the buyer as a rebate, if two performance standards are met: receipt of an occupancy permit within 24 months of closing, and creation of at least one full-time job for every 500 square feet of building floor area. If both measures are achieved, the effective purchase price would be $2.79 per square foot. FCN’s proposal originally involved property at the north end of the site adjacent to H Street, SR-543 and Grant Avenue. Nego-
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tiations changed the location to a middle portion of the site, just north of the area sold last year to Boblett Properties LLC for construction of a restaurant, convenience store and vehicle fueling center. The proposed parcel would extend from SR-543 to Grant Avenue.
INSIDE
An invasive crab species has been detected in Drayton Harbor, worrying experts who are concerned about the potential impact to marine ecosystems in the region. In August, Margarette Grant and Margaret Santamaria found the shell of an invasive European green crab while walking along the beach in east Drayton Harbor, between Dakota Creek and California Creek. They were conducting a survey for a citizen science project, the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), when they discovered the shell of a 50-millimeter male European green crab mixed into the seaweed wrack that had washed up on the beach. “It was like ‘uh-oh’ – that pit in your stomach,” said Grant. The European green crab is a small shore crab whose native distribution is in the northeast Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea, ranging along coasts from northern Africa to Norway and Iceland. The recent arrival of the green crab on America’s west coast has alarmed experts, because the species has the potential to significantly alter any ecosystem it invades. The green crab could threaten Dungeness crab, oyster and clam fisheries in the Pacific Northwest. This is because the green crab feeds on many organisms, including clams, oysters, mussels, marine worms and small crustaceans. It can also prey on native juvenile crabs and shellfish. “It will eat anything that it can get its claws around,” said Emily Grason, a marine ecologist with Washington Sea Grant at the University of Washington. “It could be other species of native crab, and it could also be things like eelgrass beds. There’s research that the green crabs will dig them up, damaging the habitat for juvenile salmon.” According to Grason, there have been six detections of European green crab in Whatcom County this year. Three live crab were found in a trap in Chuckanut Bay in July, and the remains of one were found in Squalicum Harbor in Bellingham in May. There was the August discovery of a shell in east Drayton Harbor by Grant and Santamaria, and more recently, on September 1, Grant spotted another shell when she was walking along the beach to the west
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