Record South Whidbey
INSIDE
Falcons fight for state title See...A8
SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2015 | Vol. 91, No. 42 | WWW.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.COM | 75¢
CLINTON: AVAILABLE FOR LEASE ‘Ghost town’ feel a concern for community, business leaders
Ben Watanabe / The Record
Barb Taylor checks out one of the vacancies near her business in a shopping center in Clinton. Price didn’t seem to be a deterrent at less than $1 per square foot per month with a water view.
By BEN WATANABE South Whidbey Record Drive on Highway 525 into Clinton, and the “for lease” signs dot the roadway left and right. There’s space available, high visibility and frequent traffic. Yet Clinton, the southern
gateway to Whidbey Island that sees hundreds of thousands of passersby every year, struggles to fill its ample vacancies. While commerce dwindled, some business owners saw drug deals and other crime increase in the empty parking lots. “We need to have something in these plac-
es, in these empty spots,” said Jason Kalk, owner of Lincoln Computers in Clinton. “If not, the whole ghost town feeling kind of becomes a little bit more ripe for crime and things like that.” Members of the Clinton Community Council, a volunteer board put together to
try and represent the unincorporated area better with the state and county and push for improvements, are looking at traffic mitigation as a key to invigorating the commercial core. Recently, the council has started SEE CLINTON, A20
County proposes Diking District 4 tax; meeting planned for next weekend By JUSTIN BURNETT South Whidbey Record
Justin Burnett / The Record
Maintaining the dike at Deer Lagoon may cost diking district residents next year as the county is proposing an assessment.
Deer Lagoon residents who reside within Diking Improvement District 4 may see their property tax bills increase next year. District officials are proposing a flat $238 assessment for the approximately 200 parcels within the district boundaries. The fee would be levied once; the revenue is expected to last five years, paying for maintenance and recent
repairs of infrastructure. A public meeting to discuss the assessment is at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 10 at the Useless Bay Country Club, 5725 Country Club Drive just south of Freeland. The diking district is unique in that it’s the only diking district on Whidbey or Camano islands that’s under county control. SEE DISTRICT, A20