The San Juan County Council on Tuesday rejected a potential compromise and agreed voters should determine the fate of pending legislation which would ban the use of all personal fireworks.

Backed by local public safety officials, the council voted without dissent not to pursue a settlement offered up recently by Don Burkhart of Blakely Island, sponsor of a referendum which would overturn that legislation. According to council Chairman Rich Peterson, San Juan North, Burkhart would withdraw the referendum in exchange for designated locations on outer islands, such as Blakely, where residents would be allowed to shoot off fireworks.

Approved by the council in June, the legislation would extend the existing ban on non-permitted fireworks displays by prohibiting the use of so-called “safe and sane” fireworks, such as pinwheels, ground-spinners and sparklers; violators would face a $250 fine. Fireworks that explode, like firecrackers, or that fly into the air, like Roman candles, are already prohibited by local law. The use of safe and sane fireworks, however, is allowed, for now, though only on the 4th of July.

Sheriff Bill Cumming, president of the local fire chiefs’ association, said having designated areas on some islands and not others could prove problematic for enforcement. In addition, he said, local officials will gain a better understanding regarding the level of community support or opposition to the ban through the election process and by listening to “the voice of the people.”

Local voters will weigh in on the referendum as part of general election in November.

Support

for housing

authority

The San Juan County Housing Bank Commission has had its shared of setbacks.

Its inability to gain traction with the County Council on creation of a local housing authority may well top the list. Nevertheless, members of the advisory group on Tuesday vowed to continue advocating on behalf of a housing authority and noted its championing of that cause will be a priority in 2009.

In fact, William Agosta of San Juan Island, chairman of the commission, said it’s one of two top avenues that the council could take to successfully combat the acute lack of local affordable housing. The other, Agosta said, would be better collaboration between town and county officials in finding solutions that might lead to an expansion of the Friday Harbor urban growth area.

Members of the council, led by Gene Knapp, Orcas East, and chairman Rich Peterson, San Juan North, echoed their earlier concerns that a housing authority has the ability under state law to claim private property through powers of eminent domain. Even though land owners must be compensated at market value, Peterson said the idea of creating such a powerful organization is foreign and “somewhat toxic” to many islanders.

To date, Knapp said, the debate over pros and cons of a housing authority has been dominated by those in support. He said the council so far has heard from “only one side.”

Commission Vice-Chairman Richard Keefe noted that San Juan is one of the few counties in Washington state which does not have a housing authority. Without it, Keefe said, the county has no access to the millions of dollars the federal government doles out year-in and year-out to help pay for affordable housing projects.

“It’s the best vehicle around to sponsor, own or promote lower-income housing in a denser way,” he said. “A housing authority has the ability to develop, own and manage things.”

State may eliminate licensing in the San Juans

Islanders may be forced to travel to the mainland to obtain or renew a drivers’ license if cost-cutting moves by the state Department of Licensing come to pass.

Twice a month trips to the San Juans, along with 25 other statewide licensing operations, are on the chopping block as part of DOL’s effort to reduce its annual expenses. According to DOL spokesman Brad Benfield, the department targeted those offices and outlets where “transaction values” were the lowest and the cost of processing transactions were among the highest. The operation in the San Juans, with roughly 152 transactions a month and an average cost of $14.70 per transaction, fit that category, he said.

In contrast, Benfield said the number of transactions at the DOL office in Oak Harbor is much higher and, at $10 a pop, its transaction costs are significantly lower. Offices in Anacortes, Bellingham, Mount Vernon and Oak Harbor will remain open.

While some offices may be shuttered, DOL, according to Benfield, intends to enhance existing services, such as license renewals online or by telephone, and possibly add new ones, like self-service kiosks or deploying a licensing van, modeled after a successful operation in Indiana, that would travel throughout the state.

The department, he said, expects to save roughly $6,600 over the next two years by scrapping its twice-a-month trips to the islands. Though DOL has worked closely with the governor’s office on the cost-cutting plan, Benfield said the decision to implement the plan rests with the department, not the Legislature.