Record South Whidbey
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Dog House proposal reconsidered See...A5
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2014 | Vol. 90, No. 91 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
Sunny View blamed for property flooding ‘I’m all for growth, but not this.’ — Warren Wicher
By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record Island County Housing Authority’s new pride and joy in Freeland is once again raising the ire of neighbors. Following heavy rains last week, Sunny View Village, a $6.3 million affordable housing project still under construction, was blamed for shuttling stormwater onto an adjacent property. Warren and Minda Wicher allege the problem is the result of an issue with the development’s catchment system and retention pond, as water pouring from an outfall is collecting on the northeast corner of their six-acre lot. Sunny View and their property are located between Scenic Avenue and Highway 525. The couple say they voiced concerns about the potential problem early on in the development’s planning stages and are not pleased with the emerging problem. “I predicted this,” said Warren Wicher, motioning to the flooded area of his property. “I’m all for growth, but not this,” he added. Teri Anania, executive director for the Housing Authority, could not be reached for this story by press time. According to a construction supervisor who was inspecting the area this week, the catchment system is working properly, but the problem lies with missing infrastructure along the state highway. “The water was designed to flow
Employee burnout final pain in 2015 fire budget Commissioners OK $2.5 million operations next year By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record
a new problem, according to Quin Clements, vice president of Freelandbased Davido Consulting Group, the engineering firm that designed the development.
The sixth time was the charm for the South Whidbey Fire/EMS 2015 budget. Commissioners approved next year’s revenue and expense plans for operations and capital through next year at a meeting Thursday night. Other than district staff and a prospective volunteer, no one showed up to the district’s public hearing on the budget. After several rounds and iterations, the sixth revision for $2.5 million in operational expenses and $1.3 million in capital projects, South Whidbey’s spending was set. Staffing remained a concern for the commissioners at the public meeting
SEE SUNNY VIEW, A20
SEE BUDGET, A20
Justin Burnett / The Record
Freeland property owner Minda Wicher and her daughter inspect flooding on their land earlier this week. Wicher says the water is result of Sunny View Village, which is being built next door. Gary Hays, superintendent for Veterans NW Construction, is in the background. down to a ditch that’s not there,” said Gary Hays, superintendent of Veterans NW Construction. While the Wicher’s claim the flooding is a new problem, Hays said he couldn’t verify whether that’s indeed the case. If true, however, he said a fix will be required. New
developments are not allowed to dump stormwater onto neighboring properties. A solution may require the state’s involvement, and could take months to address, he said. The crux of the issue and determining any future action will likely hinge on whether or not this is really
County considers new air park road By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record
Justin Burnett / The Record
Island County Public Works Engineer Joe Araucto and Crawford Road land owner Ferris Dudunake, left, inspect a map of various routes for a new road leading to Whidbey Air Park. Also in the photo are Phil Nelson, Doug Coutts and Windi Shapley of otak engineering.
Hoping to bolster and improve access to Whidbey Air Park, Island County is looking at building one of its first new roads in decades on the South End. Talked about for years, the project is funding dependent, but the effort took a step forward this week with an open house at Deer Lagoon Grange. There, county officials unveiled seven possibilities to the public that ranged from entirely new roads to rebuilding existing accesses to meet current
standards. The air park is a privately owned public-use airport located on Crawford Road, which is largely unpaved with accesses off Highway 525 to the south and Brooks Hill Road to the north. The road is in poor condition and both the Port of South Whidbey and the Island County Economic Development Council made requests last year for improved access to the facility, according to Connie Bowers, assistant county engineer for Island County Public Works. “That’s primarily because the area
around the air park is the only light industrial zone on South Whidbey,” Bowers said. The project was included in the county’s six-year transportation plan and otak, an international consulting firm with offices in Redmond and Kirkland, was hired this summer to perform a $39,000 study to identify possible routes. Wednesday’s open house was scheduled to vet those options to the public and get community feedback before the study wraps SEE ROAD, A11