INSIDE: Swinging for sweeps ... Sports, A7
Record South Whidbey
SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013 | Vol. 89, No. 22 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
Bid protest hangs up marina’s expansion Port resets bid process By BEN WATANABE Staff reporter A formal bid protest has momentarily sunk the expansion of Langley Marina. The primary contractor of the second low bid filed the protest with the Port of South Whidbey. The low bid came in at $1.6 million, near the port’s estimate for relocating the breakwater. “This is kind of a last-minute, emergency issue,” said Curt Gordon, port president. Port commissioners scrapped the previous bids and will reopen the bid process April 2. “The paperwork had technical imperfections that could not be solved,” said Ed Field, port operations manager. The project has three phases, the $2.4 million first phase of marina expansion includes reconditioning and reconfiguring a 400-foot breakwater with pilings, running supporting utilities and adding an 80-foot gangway to join
“This is kind of a last-minute, emergency issue.” Curt Gordon Port of South Whidbey president
the existing marina. “We would expect that the low bidder and presumably many of the others will re-bid.” Field was in charge of reviewing the complaint. To review the charge, the port requested more information from Mike Carlson Enterprises. The challenge was over the technical qualifications. “It’s the kind of thing that happens, if not commonly, infrequently,” Field said. “That’s why our engineers review the details carefully. “ See Marina, A6
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Angi Mozer, Port of South Whidbey’s finance director, answers questions from the port commissioners about funding and bid applications for the relocation of the breakwater at Langley Marina. At left is Ed Field, port operations manager.
County finally sues over Greenbank beach access dispute By JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter
Record file
Greenbank property owner Bruce Montgomery speaks to a reporter during a community demonstration on Wonn Road in early 2009. Island County is suing Montgomery for a wall he built on property that may be a public beach access.
The long wait for Island County to take legal action against a Greenbank property owner and reclaim a disputed public beach access has finally come to an end. March 6, the Island County Prosecutor’s Office filed a civil lawsuit against Wonn Road property owner and pharmaceutical giant Bruce Montgomery. The suit asks for ejectment and quiet title, declaratory relief and to abate a public nuisance. In layman’s terms, the county is seeking to lay legal rights to the disputed beach access, once and for all. “The county is trying to reclaim the road for public use, all the way to the water,” said David Jamieson, chief civil deputy for the prosecutor’s office. As of Friday, Montgomery’s attorney, Dennis Dunphy of the regional law firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, had not
filed a response to the county’s summons and complaint. In an interview this week, Montgomery said he hopes to resolve the issue out of court with a meeting of attorneys. But he won’t back down from a legal battle if push comes to shove. “We’ll just have to see what happens,” Montgomery said. He maintains the property is his and called the county’s case “thin.” He said he believes it will crumble under the weight of property records that prove private ownership and past determinations by former county officials. “It’s a rifle shot lawsuit,” Montgomery said. The issue erupted nearly five years ago when Montgomery built a rock wall at the end of Wonn Road. The road end is adjacent to his home and forms the beginning of his driveway. Montgomery claims the wall was constructed to keep people from driving on his drain field, which is located
in the grassy area between the end of Wonn Road and the shoreline. Members of the community, among them the late Glen Russell, were quick to cry foul, noting the road end was once the head of the longgone Greenbank Wharf and that the area was always a public beach access. It was also quickly pointed out that state law clearly states county road-ends are public beach accesses and cannot legally be abandoned by government to neighboring private property owners. In the summer of 2008, the controversy boiled over into an election issue and the Island County commissioners began taking steps that preceded legal action. It was another nine months, however, before the board voted to do whatever it takes to reclaim the property and authorized the prosecutor’s See Beach dispute, A6