Island Organizations Respond to the “Petition for Relief from Tribute on the Passage to Lummi Island”
Recently a document entitled “Petition for Relief From Tribute On the Passage to Lummi Island” has been circulated on Lummi Island. Lummi Island Community Association (LICA) and Protect Lummi Island Community (PLIC) are not in any way associated with this petition and believe it is counterproductive to the currant ferry lease negotiations between Whatcom County and the Lummi Nation. We encourage all Islanders and Whatcom County residents to support a long-term affordable Gooseberry ferry lease by fostering a mutually positive and respectful relationship with the Lummi Nation.
Filed under: GooseberryPt, LICA, Lummi Nation, PLIC, Road right-of-way, Whatcom County government Tagged: | LICA, lummi island ferry, PLIC, Whatcom county ferry
Curious and curiouser. Island politics are difficult to fathom. Anyone willing to answer these questions for me?
What is the advantage of a long-term lease over a perfected right-of-way?
Why would the gov’t repeatedly approve a road to Lummi Island, only to block one end with a 5000 sq. ft. piece of tidelands? That seems like an administrative oversight.
How is asking for what has already been approved disrespectful or counterproductive?
Is it disrespectful to stand up for principles or exercise rights?
Does bowing to unreasonable demands foster mutual respect?
Good questions, Tip. I hope you — and all of us — will get some answers. The idea that a perfected right-of-way that gets everyone out of endless lease negotiations (the current ones have been going on more or less for at least a decade) seems like a horrendous waste of time, effort, spirit and money.
Am I correct in thinking that a perfected right of way to Lummi Island does *not* necessarily mean that the County and ferry users would evade paying some reasonable fees-for-use to the Lummi Nation. Mightn’t it just eliminate the fear we islanders feel that we might suddenly lose our safe and reliable access to homes, jobs, health care, schools, etc?
Is there anyone who can explain why this is not feasible or desirable?
BTW, as a matter of full disclosure, I authored the draft petition, based upon many hours reviewing documents and researching policy and law. I also drafted a rationale and assembled a summary of relevant documents reviewed.
As a matter of further disclosure, I made several attempts to contact and discuss the matter with the Jefferson brothers and the Nation’s Economic Development dept prior to circulating any materials on island.
I am happy to provide the document summary and would be very interested in knowing if anyone’s researched documents that do not appear there.
Similarly, I’d be happy to provide the petition and/or rationale for anyone’s review/comments/suggestions.
In many decades of successful community achievement projects, I have rarely seen one as clear-cut and promising as securing a permanent ROW for the ferry. I remain unaware of any compelling reason not to try, and am interested in any/all arguments.
From what I have studied and gathered, I am convinced that the County, Islanders AND the Lummi Nation stand a far better chance of gaining much better results pursuing perfection of the ROW than from a long-term lease.
I will gladly make time to meet with anybody willing to discuss this issue.
tip@skookum.us 360-255-1200
Update 5/7/2010: I’ll be off duty for the ferry forum for ~the next month, so I won’t be able to post this stuff after all. Sorry. Wynne
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Tip, send me the information about your (still-just-a-draft) petition, background and supporting material.
For the record, I have been pestering Tip for 2-3 weeks, trying to get enough information to understand the substance, basis, feasibility, pros and cons of his idea. He’s sent me quite a bit of information, though I’ve still not decided firmly one way or the other.
The LICA & PLIC Boards’ statement expressed their feelings about the draft petition and what they want to happen (islanders shun Tip’s idea) but contained no substantive information about the underlying ideas or material rationale. I personally do not find such utterances very useful.
An open dissemination and discussion of the ideas would, I think, be much more beneficial — no matter how the business with the 25-year lease goes.
Tip, Keep up the good work. Seeing a non islander interested and working for us is great. I wish the rest of the county residents would understand this is their issue as much as ours.
Thanks for your work!
Why is it “disrespectful in any way to petition, a Constitutional right, to clarify something close to mud in clarity.
If someone does not like the idea let them give a concrete reason for same. Saying it is dissrespectful is the ultimate in avoidance without explaining what they mean.
No one to date, certainly NOT the island politicos have come up with anything other than the usual political correctness.
Seems to me that we are being held hostage here and that the, so called negotiators are only worried about someones ego being hurt.
Peoples lives depend on this business and to worry about hurt feelings seems trite at best.
Pam