Record South Whidbey
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Late night ferry cuts proposed See...A5
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014 | Vol. 90, No. 74 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
Where there’s WILL there’s a way
Port moves forward with fair study plans By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record
Justin Burnett / The Record
Tiffany Cortez pours a beer at her business, Taproom@Bayview Corner on Thursday. She opened this year with the help of Whidbey Island Local Lending.
Community investor program offers viable lending alternative By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record Like many young aspiring business owners, South Whidbey residents Tiffany and Damien Cortez had a vision. They saw a place that offered good beer, good wine and good times to a nightlife-starved South Whidbey. They had the plan and the energy to pull it off, but were short on pennies.
In today’s economy, that’s where most good ideas end, and it appeared the Cortezes would be no exception. Lacking the right credit history, bank lenders took one look and said, “no way.” “I had good credit, but not varied credit, so they wouldn’t give me a loan,” Tiffany Cortez said. But with WILL (Whidbey Island Local Lending) they found a way. A quiet and relatively new community-backed
financing program, WILL offers islanders with insufficient or poor credit history a chance to secure low or even 0-percent interest loans. Lacking many of the requirements and hurdles common with banks, lending can be accomplished quickly and is contingent more on a great idea and a solid business plan than insufficient SEE WILL, A10
Transit leaders vow to re-examine free-fare service By JESSIE STENSLAND South Whidbey Record Island Transit will hire an outside consultant to conduct a study on whether it makes sense to charge fares on buses. When that study will happen and
how it will be funded are still open questions, but members of the transit board made it clear at a special meeting Friday that the study will happen. “I think the community deserves to have this study,” said Island
County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, a member of the transit board. Price Johnson requested the special meeting in order to discuss the ongoing financial problems that forced the agency to take out loans,
cut routes and lay off employees. She is going to be absent from the regular meeting next Friday. Board members and Director Martha Rose briefly discussed the SEE TRANSIT, A12
Following through with a board consensus last month to study any fairgrounds management proposal carefully, Port of South Whidbey commissioners Tuesday agreed to seek county and state grants to fund an indepth study. The exact parameters of the effort are not yet clear, but the idea is to determine whether management of the grounds is financially viable and consult with the community about potential changes. “The idea is to do more ground-floor research,” said Commissioner Curt Gordon, adding that a key part of any study will be figuring out a way to maintain the history and culture of the fairgrounds while transitioning it into a self-supporting facility. Gordon said he’s excited about the prospects, but has no idea what to expect. “This time I don’t have a bunch of predetermined ideas. I usually do, but this time I don’t know what to expect,” Gordon said. Port Interim Executive Director Angi Mozer confirmed she will submit applications for Island County Rural Economic Development funds and money from the state Community Economic Revitalization Board, or CERB. The amount sought hasn’t been determined, but CERB has a fund-request limit of $50,000, which would require a $12,500 match from the port. Mozer said she hasn’t figured out just how much the study will cost yet, but was certain that outside funding is required due to a tight timeline. SEE PORT, A10