Fire District 13 officials are prepping for Great ShakeOut exercises and a crucial Nov. 4 ballot measure, the Arts Commission take steps toward applying for Creative District status here, and the La Conner Parks Commission is doing its homework on potential siting of a canoe club shelter at Conner Waterfront Park.
Those are the highlights from a series of local governmental meetings last week.
“We need to start a conversation with the public to create a dialogue.”
Sarah Dalton, Arts Commission
Fire District 13
District 13, whose firefighting and emergency medical crews cover Swinomish Reservation and rural La Conner plus the town when needed, will conduct internal drills and perhaps a tabletop evacuation scenario on Oct. 16 in conjunction with the 2025 edition of the Great ShakeOut.
The Great ShakeOut is an annual event designed to promote earthquake preparation. It is held to commemorate the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which rocked the San Francisco Bay area, killing 63 people and displacing more than 12,000.
“We need to be ready for the Big One because we’ll have one,” Capt. Ted Taylor told fire district commissioners at their Oct. 9 meeting.
In addition to planning for the Great ShakeOut, fire district leaders this fall have placed on next month’s ballot a “levy lid lift” proposal that would authorize a $1.11 per $1,000 assessed valuation property tax rate to support its ongoing firefighting and emergency medical services. If approved, the proposition would increase the tax bill for district property owners between $17 and $26 monthly based on assessed valuations ranging from $400,000 to $600,000.
Additional revenue is needed, district officials have said, to replace aging firefighting apparatus, maintain 24/7 staffing at the Snee-Oosh Road Station and expand district-wide staffing by adding a second response crew at the Summit Park Station, and ensure operational stability through a balanced tax base.
The levy is designed to prevent delays in emergency response times, thus protecting lives and property.
In September, the district provided 33 transports to area hospitals, bringing the year-to-date total to 246.
Overall, District 13 crews have responded to 993 calls through September of this year, said Weiss. Those include a recent boat fire at La Conner Marina and a structure fire in Shelter Bay.
“They did all the right moves,” Weiss said of the district firefighters. “They followed their training. Kudos to those guys.”
Arts Commission
The Town Arts Commission, which also met on Oct. 9, took several more steps on the road toward securing a Creative District designation here from ArtsWA, the state’s arts agency.
Commissioner Sarah Dalton suggested as next moves in the process that a public forum be scheduled after the holidays, and consideration be given to forming an advisory committee to help administer the district should it be approved.
The consensus was that the public meeting should be the first order of business.
“We need to get input from the public on what they feel it should be,” Dalton said. “We need to start a conversation with the public to create a dialogue.”
Parks Commission
The Town Parks Commission was receptive last week to a “Canoe Club Plan” for La Conner Waterfront Park presented by Swinomish Tribal Community Senator Brian Porter and La Conner resident Peter Millington. Both are avid canoeists, and Porter coordinates youth canoeing at Swinomish.
“Peter and I have paddled by each other on the channel for years,” Porter told commissioners during their Oct. 8 meeting at the La Conner Civic Garden Club.
Porter and Millington said there is interest by competitive canoers in Skagit and Island counties to train here. At present, many work out at a Bellingham canoeing club. Porter said they would like to find a site having ready access to the channel and enough space to install a shed to house canoes during the April to Labor Day racing season.
Commissioners expressed support for the idea, though Town Administrator Scott Thomas said the proposal would likely require a shoreline management permit.
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
