VASHON FASHION Designers show what they’re made of at new show. Page 10
NEWS | Constantine proposes car tab fee to help roads. [3] BUSINESS | Nirvana reopens [4] Friday with new menu. SPORTS | Vashon rowers get [18] off to a strong start.
UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP An Island couple takes the reins at Vashon Market. Page 5
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012
Commission postpones decision on Center nomination
Vol. 57, No. 40
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
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A NEW SHOP IN BURTON OFFERS ART FOR THE HOME
By NATALIE JOHNSON Staff Writer
By LESLIE BROWN Staff Writer
A hearing to get Center declared a historic district drew a standing-room-only crowd of Islanders Thursday night, many of whom said they feared the designation could impede Vashon Allied Arts’ plans for a new performing arts center at the storied intersection. Others said it was unnecessary, contending landowners have already demonstrated an ability to care for their historic buildings and that a designation would stand in the way of their rights as property owners. “What you want us to preserve is what the property owners have already preserved,” Jim Stewart, the coffee magnate who owns the Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie building, told the King County Landmarks Commission. “Vashon Islanders are different,” he added to applause. “It’s not like the rest of King County.” Jeanne Dougherty, another Islander, said the designation nomination lacked community support and “kind of stinks of a monkey wrench thrown at VAA.” “We all love Center. We all love historic buildings. We all drive past it a couple times a day,” she said. “The point is how this is being done.” The spirited, two-and-a-half hour gathering before six members of the nine-member panel ended with the commission saying it would continue the hearing in two months. The commission also announced that it would turn to the county prosecutor for a legal interpretation of the code that governs historic designations, after a lawyer hired by VAA said she believed the commissioners were failing to apply it correctly. “We’d like to postpone our decision SEE HISTORIC DISTRICT, 17
District 19 proposes new well for schools
Natalie Johnson/Staff Photo
Kassana Holden, shown with her dog Lucky, plans to open her new business, Bergamot Studio and Bergamot Home, at the Masonic Temple in Burton during Friday night’s art walk. The gallery combines her textile design studio and her small retail shop, where she’ll feature her textile products, paper goods, furnishings, lamps and decor. The store also opens with artwork by Mary Margaret Briggs. See page 14 for a story.
Water District 19 hopes to dig a well on the Vashon School District campus, a move that would give the school district a break on its high water bills and free up water the agency could then issue to those on its lengthy waiting list. Steve Haworth, president of the Water District 19 board, said the shallow well proposed for the northeast corner of the campus near McMurray Middle School would pose no risk of inflating customer rates as past projects have. Haworth presented the proposal at Thursday’s Vashon School Board meeting. “We think it’s a win for you — we think it’s a win for us,” Haworth told the five-person board. The school board will discuss the proposal at its Oct. 11 meeting and might vote on it as early as Oct. 25. Under the proposal, the water district would cover 75 percent of the cost of the new well — estimated at $250,000 to $400,000 — and the school district would cover 25 percent, up to $75,000. In return the school district, the SEE WELL, 23
Park district seeks help as it faces future with fewer funds By LESLIE BROWN Staff Writer
The board governing the Vashon Park District plans to turn to the community for suggestions and support in figuring out how to address its ongoing financial difficulties, a budget picture that is likely to get bleaker in 2013. At a well-attended meeting last week, board Chair Bill Ameling said the district will see a significant reduction in its budget next year due to lower property values — a drop in levy revenue from $1.3 million to $960,000. As a result, he said, “The park district can-
not be all things to all people, like it was. … We have to find a way to share this burden.” Later in the meeting, he added: “This park district started on $34,000, and everyone was happy. I’m sure we can make everyone happy with $960,000.” Exactly how the commission will engage Vashon’s many park users, however, was not decided at Tuesday’s meeting. Commissioner David Hackett suggested public hearings, while Ameling wanted to have the five commissioners meet with various park-related organizations — from sports clubs to — to see where they might be able to help off-set
the district’s declining revenue. Others in the audience said little discussion should occur until the park district’s financial picture and annual budget become clearer. “You can’t make any decisions if you don’t have the numbers,” Linda Coldiron, a community member, said after the commission acknowledged it didn’t know how much it would save if it closed the skate park for the remainder of the year. “It’s not sufficiently precise.” The back-and-forth came in the midst of a SEE PARK DISTRICT, 23