ertising
An adv
ly News
insula Dai
ed by Pen
t produc
supplemen
ette
uim Gaz
and Seq
In this issue
14
inter 20 Fall / W
e Car Car a grip on Getting , Page 6 the road to buy Choose age 11 local, P
Riders rule ‘Rumble’ P.A. edges Sequim in overtime
Holiday happenings
Two weekends of Halloween fun
B-5
B-1
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014
Sequim Gazette ree Hands-f Page 15 driving,
www
Sequim’s Hometown Newspaper
com
Real estate on the rise? Sales indicate a positive economic trend, local industry leaders say
by ALANA LINDEROTH and MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
Recent trends in the real estate market in Sequim and the surrounding area give hints toward a recovering industry.
“Homes are selling like mad,” Elray Konkel, City of Sequim administrative services director, said to Sequim city councilors on Oct. 13. “Two or three new residences are coming in everyday. The market is very active.”
More sales equals less inventory
Echoing Konkel, Michael McAleer, managing broker with RE/MAX, has kept ongoing quarterly reports of the area’s (roughly the Sequim School District boundaries) real estate status since 2004
Building
75 cents
Vol. 41, Number 43
and concludes that 64 homes sold in September, which equates to the most homes ever sold for September, McAleer said. Additionally, not only is the volume of sales gaining momentum, but of the 186 homes sold within the third quarter (July-September) buyers are paying on average 96 percent of the asking price. “The trend is a good thing
and
from the perspective of the homeowner,” McAleer said. With an increasing number of homes being sold, supply and demand begin to come into play — driving up the average price. According to McAleer’s report, the average price increased throughout the third quarter reaching $273,000. The average price of homes
See REAL ESTATE, A-8
Rebuilding
The Lady A, a yacht, went awash the morning of Friday, Oct. 17, near the Dungeness Spit within the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Photo courtesy of Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles
Yacht nearly sinks near Dungeness Spit Remnants remain in Strait of Juan de Fuca by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette
Following a mayday signal at 7:31 a.m., Friday, Oct. 17, a 70-foot wooden yacht with 700 gallons of fuel went awash about a quarter mile off the Dungeness Spit in the
Strait of Juan de Fuca. Two people were on board the yacht, including the owner of Platypus Marine, Inc., and yacht owner/operator Judson Linnabary and a deck hand. Officials with the U.S. Coast Guard rescued the two individuals aboard the Lady A successfully and without injury before it slipped beneath the water’s surface.
See YACHT, A-6
Senator’s Visit
Sequim City Manager Steve Burkett, right, and Ed Griffin of Lydig Construction talk about progress made on the city’s new civic center project. Burkett and two other city department leaders say they plan to retire in 2015. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell
City of Sequim prepping for leadership change in 2015 City manager, attorney, others plan retirements by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
As the roof and walls on the City of Sequim’s new city hall and police station go up, more changes may be under way for the city’s leadership. Three department heads — City Manager Steve Burkett, City Attorney
Sequim’s Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year, Faith McConnaughey, helps give Sen. Jim Hargrove with a tour of the Boys & Girls Club on Friday, Oct. 17. Officials with the club invited Hargrove to visit the club to learn about the programs and services it offers to about 300 youths within the local community. Providing the educational tour of the facility were McConnaughey, clubs’ Executive Director Mary Budke, board member Jerry Sinn, Boys & Girls Clubs Washington State Association Executive Director Matt Watrous and Resource Developer Sara Maloney. “We’re always trying to do a good job of educating our Legislature,” Sinn said. Sequim Gazette photo by Alana Linderoth
Craig Ritchie and Administrative Services Director Elray Konkel — say they plan to retire in 2015. The news follows the upcoming Nov. 30 departure of Public Works Director Paul Haines who announced leaving the city in August. Konkel said at a city haines leaders’ planning session, the group indicated that twothirds of Sequim’s department heads
would retire or leave by 2018. However, Burkett said nothing is set in stone and that so far Haines is the only staffer to put his resignation in writing. “We have been thinking about this for a couple of years with the leadership team talking about transition planning,” Burkett said. “So we’re not ignoring it but until someone says it in writing, it’s just a plan.”
See CITY, A-9
Dept. of Ecology pursuing Dungeness watershed management projects by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette
Officials with the Depart- within the Dungeness River capital budget that the dement of Ecology continue watershed. partment received in July to move forward with waUsing the $2 million of See DUNGENESS, A-6 ter management projects dedicated funds from the
Sports B-5 • Schools B-8 • Arts & Entertainment B-1 • Opinion A-12 • Obituaries A-11 • Classifieds C-1 • Crossword Section C
weather outlook: Thursday, oct. 23
▲59 ▼46
ALTIMA
NEW 2014 NISSAN
FRIDAY, oct. 24
▲57 ▼48
1000
$ ,
NMAC CASH
– PLUS –
SATURday, oct. 25
▲58 ▼46
You Can Count On Us!
www.wildernissan.com
97 DEER PARK ROAD, PORT ANGELES
888-813-8545
0%
*0% APR + $1,000 NMAC Cash available On Approval of Credit. Not all buyers will qualify. Sales Price plus tax, license and $150 negotiable documentation fee. See Wilder Nissan for details. Photo for illustration purposes only. Ad expires 10/31/14.
4A1138366
WILDER NISSAN
APR*