Record South Whidbey
INSIDE: ACES!, Sports, A10
SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2012 | Vol. 88, No. 24 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
Marina’s first phase blessed by hearing examiner
QUICKER LIQUOR
By JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter
Justin Burnett / The Record
Freeland Liquor Store owner Ken Vaughan dusts bottles Thursday afternoon. He is preparing for some stiff competition if Payless Foods, located about 100 yards away, starts selling liquor. Payless has applied for a permit, as have The Goose Community Grocer and Star Store.
Whidbey grocery stores stock up as liquor law changes approach By NATHAN WHALEN Staff reporter
Booze will soon start flowing out of some of South Whidbey’s largest grocery stores in June, leaving the fate of traditional small liquor stores in question. Due to Initiative 1183, which voters approved in November, the state must get out of the liquor business by June. At that time, stores larger than 10,000 square feet can start selling hard alcohol in addition to the beer and wine they currently offer. At least nine Whidbey Island businesses have applied for licenses that will allow for the sale of spirits. On South Whidbey, those include the Star Store in Langley, Payless Foods in Freeland, the Goose Community Grocer in Bayview, and the smaller Bailey’s Corner Store near Cultus Bay. Others on the island include Albertson’s, Safeway, Saar’s Market Place, Walmart, and Walgreens in Oak Harbor, and Prairie Center Red Apple in Coupeville, according to information from the Washington State Liquor Control Board. “I didn’t want to be at a competitive disadvantage with other stores on the island,” said Gene Felton, owner of the Star Store in Langley, explaining the rationale for applying for a license. He expects to offer a modest selection of liquor in the store’s beer and wine section. Felton said he doesn’t want to directly compete with the existing liquor stores on Whidbey Island, but feels he must offer similar choices to other grocery stores. See liquor, A6
Nathan Whalen / The Record
Steve Heising of Whidbey Island Distillery has to change the way his small company sells its loganberry liqueur to meet new requirements brought on by the passage of Initiative 1183.
After years of planning, revision and discussion, it appears phase one of the Langley Marina project will float after all. Following a public hearing Thursday, Ted Hunter, the hearing examiner the city hired this past fall to make decisions on major development permits, said he would green light the Port of South Whidbey’s marina proposal in a written decision to be issued within 10 days. “I do that because you have a supportive crowd here tonight; nobody is objecting to it and you as applicants have done a lot of work in advance,” Hunter said. “The record is thick with the work that you’ve done.” “You’ve been, I think, very patient with federal agencies, and it seems to me the city is now in a very cooperative relationship in trying to get something done that will improve access to boating facilities in this particular marina,” he added. Port Commissioner Chris Jerome said he was pleased with the decision and is eager to see the project finally get moving. “I was fairly confident it would move ahead, but you never know,” Jerome said. There was no public presence or participation at the hearing, which the commissioner said he takes as a sign of support. “The people of Langley want this to happen, I believe,” Jerome said. Plans for a major renovation and expansion to the 38-slip facility have been ongoing since 2003. They picked up in earnest in 2007, when the port purchased a 400-foot floating breakwater and then, in later years, refined plans for a 125-slip marina. This latest plan, which port
‘I do that because you have a supportive crowd here tonight; nobody is objecting to it ...’ Ted Hunter, hearing examiner
officials emphasize is just the first phase of the larger plan, is estimated to cost about $2.5 million. It will mean the repositioning of the breakwater, the placement of an 80-foot gangway connecting it to the marina dock and the installation of supporting utilities. A new gangway and boarding floats will also be installed at the boat ramp. Decking on the old Hein wharf and creosote piles next to the boat ramp will be removed. Port officials say the primary benefits of phase one are that it will provide additional capacity and access to the marina. Transient moorage will be expanded and use of the breakwater will allow tour, passenger ferry and other large commercial vessels to tie up in Langley. Hunter’s decision, which is really just a recommendation to the state Department of Ecology, was a big hurdle in the permitting process, but final approval from the regulator agency is still required, as are some federal permits. Commissioner Curt Gordon said the port will not send the project out to bid this summer as planned. “We have a little bit of a cart/horse issue,” he said. However, Gordon said he’s optimistic things will move forward and that by February 2013, phase one will be complete. Port Manager Ed Field agreed. “I want to get this thing built,” he said.