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WSU turning over lighthouse to parks By MEGAN HANSEN Staff reporter

Management of Admiralty Head Lighthouse will change later this year and an employment position will be opening up. The lighthouse is currently managed by Washington State University’s Island County Extension, but the Washington State Parks will be taking over. In the 1990s, the lighthouse wasn’t even open, said WSU Extension Director Tim Lawrence. WSU worked with the parks service to create a docent program and reopen it. Funding for a lighthouse manager position is funded by the state’s Lighthouse Environmental Program through the county. Volunteers were already being logged as Parks volunteers. The question arose

whether the parks service wanted an outside employee managing parks volunteers. Having a parks employee supervise the volunteers limits the liability, said Jon Crimmins, Fort Casey park ranger. “This is the most direct way.” In December the reins will be turned over and the county will lay off the current lighthouse manager. “It makes a lot of sense,” Lawrence said. “The lighthouse is owned by Parks.” Crimmins said the parks service will advertise for a new manager, but probably not until early 2015. “There are a lot of steps between now and then,” he said. The Lighthouse Environmental Program Board should be voting on a “friends” agreement with the Parks Service to continue funding the position.

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Once that agreement is in place, the Parks Service can move forward. There will be a time the program will be without a manager, but Crimmins said the lighthouse is actually closed during that time. During the interim, he will manage the program. The position will be posted locally as well as on the state parks website, he said. In exchange for managing the program, WSU utilized office space inside the lighthouse. Lawrence said WSU will continue using those offices and will be offering additional programing at Fort Casey through its Beachwatchers and Waste Wise programs. A display made by BeachWatchers on the second floor of the space is currently in the works. WSU will continue to providing space for the lighthouse program. “I think it’s been a good relationship,” Lawrence said. “It’s a natural evolution. WSU was able to serve an important role.”

THE NAVY HAS ISSUED A REVISED NOTICE OF INTENT TO PREPARE AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR EA-18G GROWLER AIRFIELD OPERATIONS AT NAVAL AIR STATION WHIDBEY ISLAND AND IS RE-SCOPING THE EIS EFFORT CURRENTLY UNDERWAY. YOU ARE INVITED TO AN OPEN HOUSE SCOPING MEETING TO SUBMIT COMMENTS ON THE REVISED EIS SCOPE. THE NAVY PUBLISHED A NOTICE OF INTENT (NOI) TO REVISE THE SCOPE OF THE ONGOING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS) for EA-18G Growler Airfield Operations at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, Washington, and to announce public scoping meetings in the Federal Register on October 10, 2014. The EIS will now address the environmental impacts associated with the potential addition of up to 36 EA-18G Growler aircraft. Last September, the Navy began an EIS to evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with the addition of two new expeditionary squadrons and additional aircraft to the training squadron. Scoping was conducted between September 2013 and January 2014 on that proposed action, and open house scoping meetings were held in December 2013 to discuss the proposal. During spring 2014, the Chief of Naval Operations submitted an Unfunded Requirements List as part of the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2015 that included a request to purchase 22 additional Growler aircraft. While it is unclear whether more Growlers will ultimately be procured, the Navy is electing to analyze the potential for these aircraft in order to be proactive and transparent. Therefore, a new scoping process is needed and has been initiated based on the proposed action. THE NAVY IS HOLDING THREE OPEN HOUSE SCOPING MEETINGS to provide members of the public with the opportunity to submit comments on the scope of analysis and content to be addressed in the EIS. Each of the scoping meetings will be informal and consist of information stations staffed by Navy representatives. Members of the public may arrive at the open house scoping meetings anytime between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on one of the following dates and locations: Tuesday, October 28, 2014 Coupeville, Washington Coupeville High School Commons Area 501 South Main Street Coupeville, WA 98239

Wednesday, October 29, 2014 Oak Harbor, Washington Oak Harbor Elks Lodge 155 NE Ernst Street Oak Harbor, WA 98277

Thursday, October 30, 2014 Anacortes, Washington Anacortes High School Cafeteria 1600 20th Street Anacortes, WA 98221

The public scoping materials are available for review at http://www.whidbeyeis.com. THE NAVY IS REQUESTING AND WELCOMES PUBLIC COMMENTS.* The public comment period for the EIS was initiated with the publication of the NOI in the Federal Register. Written and oral comments may be submitted at the scoping meetings. Written comments may also be submitted online at the project website or mailed to: EA-18G EIS Project Manager Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Atlantic, Attn: Code EV21/SS 6506 Hampton Blvd., Norfolk, VA 23508 All comments must be postmarked or received online no later than November 24, 2014. *The names, street addresses, email addresses and screen names, telephone numbers, and other personally identifiable information of individuals who provide comments will be kept confidential and will not be released, unless otherwise specifically indicated by the commenter or as required by law. The city, state, and five-digit zip code of individuals who provide comments may be released.

Saturday, October 11, 2014 • Whidbey News-Times

Oak Harbor chamber OK with new lodging-tax grant process By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter

Members of the Oak Harbor City Council won’t be able to simply issue the city’s chamber of commerce $80,000 checks anymore. At least not without the say-so of a sevenmember committee. Last year, the members of the City Council voted to give the chamber $80,000 over the objection of Oak Harbor Mayor Scott Dudley. The mayor proposed diverting those funds toward efforts to bring more special events to the city. A change in state law means that the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee will decide what organizations get lodging tax dollars, which is supposed to be earmarked toward projects that draw out-of-town visitors to the city. In the past, the committee was only an advisory one, but the City Council got the final say. Now, the council still must approve the recommendations, but it cannot increase the amount, nor can it award money the committee didn’t approve; it can, however, remove items from the list. Christine Cribb, the new executive director for the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce, said she doesn’t see the change in the process as a problem, but rather an opportunity. It will give her a chance to show the committee and community all of the good work the chamber does, she said. “I’m excited,” Cribb said. “Everyone seems

to be extremely supportive of the chamber.” During a recent interview, Dudley said the chamber “automatically” got the funds in the past, but that has changed. “Going forward, they’ll have to apply for it,” he said, “and justify why they need the dollars.” Dudley said he is supportive of the chamber, especially now that Cribb is at the helm. He said he appreciates that she reached out to the city administration. Cribb and Dudley both said they look forward to a good working relationship. Dudley said he’s more interested in the large reserve fund that’s been sitting in the bank for years. The lodging tax, also known as “2 percent funds,” brings in about $180,000 a year, according to Finance Director Doug Merriman. There’s currently $600,000 in the fund, some of which was earmarked years ago for a downtown clock tower. Merriman said the committee usually gives out the amount that came in that year. Dudley said the large fund balance should be used to bring more visitors to the city, which is the whole point of the tax, he said. That decision won’t be up to the mayor. The lodging tax committee is composed of three people who represent lodging facilities, three people who represent groups that would receive the money and a member of the City Council. The committee is expected to make its recommendations in November or December.

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