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2013 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2012
VOL. 18, NO. 21
Kwarsick’s Storm repairs Coupeville career unclear By Justin Burnett Staff Reporter
Langley Mayor Larry Kwarsick admitted to falsifying public records in a court of law and a judge found him guilty of the crime, but elected officials in Coupeville are reserving judgement. Mayor Nancy Conard confirmed the town council has made no decisions yet about whether or not to continue Kwarsick’s employment as town planner, a position he has held for nearly 10 years. She has, however, requested copies of all court records and said she plans to examine them personally, and with the town’s legal counsel, Snohomish-based Weed, Graafstra and Benson, before bringing them to council members for review. “At some point in the near future, we will be meeting with the town council to discuss what we may do,” Conard said. Along with being mayor of Langley, Kwarsick has been Coupeville’s town planner since late 2003. It’s a part-time contracted position that pays $4,500 a month — $54,000 a year – with no benefits. Kwarsick also owns and operates a private planning firm, Sound Planning Services. Attempts to reach him for this story were not successful. Last week Island County Superior Court Judge Vickie Churchill sentenced Kwarsick to 15 days in jail and ordered him to pay a $2,500 fine after he plead guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of falsifying a city record. Prior to being elected mayor of Langley last year, Kwarsick worked as the city’s planning director in 2011. Shortly after taking the job, he altered permit requirements for his daughters home but backdated them to appear as if they had been created by his predecessors. A plea deal worked out between Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks and Kwarsick’s attorney, Charles Arndt of Coupeville, recommended no jail time but that he pay a $2,500 fine. Churchill supported the fine but rejected the request for no jail time. The situation became more complicated Thursday when, in response to an outpouring of support by the Langley City Council and members of the community, Kwarsick announced in an email to the South Whidbey Record that he would not be stepping down as mayor. See Job, page 2
Nathan Whalen photo
An employee from Anacortes-based Northwest Docks helps move one of the fuel piers normally attached to the Coupeville Wharf from the water and onto a trailer Friday near the Coupeville boat launch. The Port of Coupeville is paying the dock company to repair the floats that were damaged by a recent storm.
Severe storm wallops wharf floats By Nathan Whalen Staff Reporter
A severe storm that hit Whidbey Island left Port of Coupeville officials scrambling to find someone to make repairs to a fuel float. The high tides and high-speed winds that marked the Dec. 17 storm caused the brackets on one of the two 40-foot, concrete fuel floats at the Coupeville Wharf to fail. Port staff was able to secure the float before it drifted away. Jim Patton, executive director for the Port of Coupeville, said the float was taken to Captain Coupe Park near the town’s wastewater treatment facility, where it could be pulled from the water. A work crew from Northwest Docks, a trailer and a crane, pulled the 13-ton float from the water Friday. It will be towed to Anacortes for repairs. Jim Guy, owner of Northwest Docks — the company the Port of Coupeville hired to make the repairs, noted it was a difficult time of the year to complete such repairs.
The windy condition makes it difficult for crews to work and the moisture makes it impossible for the epoxy to cure. Patton said he doesn’t yet know how long it will take for repairs to be made because of the holiday season. The fuel floats have failed several times in recent years, and they had been beached near the port office until repairs were made. The damage this time was more extensive. “These brackets are so far gone that they have to get ripped off and new ones put on again,” Patton said as a crane lifted the float out of the water.
The Dec. 17 storm battered low-lying areas of Whidbey Island that caused flooding in some areas of Island County. A renter of a West Beach Road home lost his possessions when the bulkhead protecting it failed and waves severely damaged the structure. Patton said winds reached 40 knots and the tides were 13 feet. The emergency repairs come weeks before the port will start looking for a company to construct and install replacement floats. Patton said the current floats have to be replaced because Penn Cove Shellfish uses the Coupeville Wharf to refuel its fleet.