Lummi Ferry Dock Location Options at Gooseberry Point

Three options for improving Lummi Island ferry terminal facilities at Gooseberry Point are being considered as part of the County’s ferry system improvement project. Each option has substantial long-term financial, operational and other pros and cons. This paper by Protect Lummi Island Community (PLIC) summarizes some key aspects of these ferry terminal options.

The process for moving forward is for LIFAC, assisted by Public Works, citizens impacted by these options and the County’s consultants who are assisting with this project, to continue gathering and discussing pros and cons via meetings, an upcoming survey and comments submitted by individuals and groups. After analysis of all information, LIFAC will submit a recommendation (note: LIFAC decides nothing; it is just an advisory committee) along with all Consultant reports to the County Council. The County Council is the ‘decider’ on a preferred docking option, as well as replacement ferry.

Recap: Ferry Issues Meeting with Jack Louws

Meeting Report: Part 2

The following is a summary of some highlights from Whatcom County Executive Jack Louws’ presentation about ferry issues at the public meeting held on Lummi Island on Tuesday May 19, 2015 (Nancy Ging and Wynne Lee, authors).  About 120 people, mostly islanders, attended. Some non-tribal residents from Gooseberry Point also were present.  Rhayma Blake, president of Protection Lummi Island Community (PLIC), published another, briefer summary on the PLIC website.

Give Your Input on Pedestrian Improvements at Gooseberry

On March 26, 2013, 5:30-7:30 PM,  Whatcom County and the Lummi Nation have jointly scheduled a public meeting and invited citizens to participate.   Here’s the flyer, which includes important details:  Pedestrian improvements Open House Flyer.  Below is the email invite. These improvements were committed to by the County as part of the 30 year Gooseberry Pt ferry lease.

The flyer includes a valuable invitation — & contact information — saying that you can give your ideas about possible improvements other ways than during this meeting. That’s very reasonable and realistic.  Not not everyone can attend meetings like this, and a lot of people find other ways than meetings much preferable for providing input on complex issues.

From: “Kirk Vinish” <KirkV@lummi-nsn.gov>
To: lummiferry@gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 11:47:00 AM
Subject:  Open House Flyer

We are having an open house to discuss pedestrian improvement around the Gooseberry Point area.  Please forward the attached flyer to whomever you think may be interested.  We are interested in as wide a distribution as possible – thanks!

Feel free to give me a call if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Kirk Vinish, AICP

Assistant Planning Director

Lummi Planning Department

2828 Kwina Road

Bellingham, WA  98226

Office: (360) 384-2307

Mobile: (360) 303-4139

 

More on Gooseberry Parking

From: Mike McKenzie  (via Brown Betty)

From Whatcom County Public Works:1. Five disabled spaces are marked on the concrete island at the corner of the ferry roadway and Lummi Shore Drive during dry dock.
2. After the striping is finished on the new two-lane queue for the ferry, a few days after dry dock begins, another 8-9 temporary disabled spots will be marked off through dry dock.
3. The reason for 5 during dry dock, complying with the law, and just 3 permanent spots after dry dock, complying with the law, is that there will be fewer public parking spaces after dry dock. The law requires disabled spaces according to a formula based on number of total spaces available (they didn’t say how many). Fewer “official” public spaces will be available after dry dock because the County-owned lot on the west side of Haxton on the slope that is in use for dry dock is not designated public parking outside of dry dock. (It is useable for parking outside of dry dock, but not designated as such.) Also, the new queue system and near-future construction at Gooseberry will eliminate some public parking.
4. The parking spots on each side of the concrete island across the road from the ferry roadway, across from where the old building used to be, is not County property or right-of-way — therefore it is not marked for dry dock parking on the County’s chart. It is owned by the Lummi Nation and is not designated public parking.

Apart from Public Works’ clarifications:

CAUTION: The fenced parking lot across the road from the ferry roadway (the one that the County leased in past years) is NOT public parking; rather, it is privately-leased by two businesses and marked with paid, reserved spaces. It is under 24/7 video-recording, and prearranged towing will be strictly enforced on unauthorized vehicles parked in spaces inside the fenced lot, at the owner’s expense.

From: Mike McKenzie

From Whatcom County Public Works:1. Five disabled spaces are marked on the concrete island at the corner of the ferry roadway and Lummi Shore Drive during dry dock.
2. After the striping is finished on the new two-lane queue for the ferry, a few days after dry dock begins, another 8-9 temporary disabled spots will be marked off through dry dock.
3. The reason for 5 during dry dock, complying with the law, and just 3 permanent spots after dry dock, complying with the law, is that there will be fewer public parking spaces after dry dock. The law requires disabled spaces according to a formula based on number of total spaces available (they didn’t say how many). Fewer “official” public spaces will be available after dry dock because the County-owned lot on the west side of Haxton on the slope that is in use for dry dock is not designated public parking outside of dry dock. (It is useable for parking outside of dry dock, but not designated as such.) Also, the new queue system and near-future construction at Gooseberry will eliminate some public parking.
4. The parking spots on each side of the concrete island across the road from the ferry roadway, across from where the old building used to be, is not County property or right-of-way — therefore it is not marked for dry dock parking on the County’s chart. It is owned by the Lummi Nation and is not designated public parking.

Apart from Public Works’ clarifications:

CAUTION: The fenced parking lot across the road from the ferry roadway (the one that the County leased in past years) is NOT public parking; rather, it is privately-leased by two businesses and marked with paid, reserved spaces. It is under 24/7 video-recording, and prearranged towing will be strictly enforced on unauthorized vehicles parked in spaces inside the fenced lot, at the owner’s expense.

A Peek at Likely New Queuing Plan on Gooseberry Pt

Here’s a short preliminary description of the re-queuing plan to be completed at Gooseberry Pt by October 1, 2012 (required as part of the Gooseberry Pt lease negotiation with the Lummi Nation).

My description is based on a recent conversation I had with Chris Brueske of Public Works. As things can and do change, my description should not be regarded as the Final True Word — we need to wait and see the Public Works official announcement when it is issued, probably some time during dry dock. I accept sole responsibility for any errors in translating what Chris said. If anyone has more information, please submit a comment with corrections.  (Bill Fox reported something similar on NextDoor LI.)  (The County Council reviewed the requeuing plans generated by an engineering consultant (cost $22,400) but decided all were too expensive to be implemented at this time.  The plan below is what the Council told Public Works to do in late July /early August.)

There will be 3 lanes in the ‘triangle’ area now used for parking:

• one lane for traffic coming off the ferry
• two holding lanes next to each other , with a space between the end of the dock (where cars will still line up, I’m pretty sure) and the start of the 2 holding lanes.
• Some parking around the concrete island, including 3 handicapped spaces (…?).
• Two loading lanes probably won’t hold all waiting cars in times of heaviest demand. It’s not yet clear to me how such situations will be handled.

How will drivers know how to line up & load?

• Not by electronic signage (too expensive) to indicate which lane or car is supposed to load next.
• Not by hiring a new county employee to direct traffic from the holding lanes onto the dock (too expensive), or by have a crew member to run off the ferry and down the dock to direct traffic.
• Written signs will tell drivers how to line up and load.  PW has suggested wording for signs and asked LIFAC to get islander input on that wording, or to suggest alternatives.  I don’t know what LIFAC has done/will do about that. (email LIFAC members for more detailed information.)
• The signs along with a so-called ‘honor’ system are supposed to ensure that loading will automatically happen smoothly, quickly and fairly — even for people who’ve never used the county ferry before.

For more information, please contact LIFAC, who presumably have more direct-from-Public-Works information about the new queuing plan.

Design Contract for Gooseberry Pt. Wing Wall Replacement on 4/10 Council Agenda

Authorizing the County Executive to sign a $40,000 contract for the design of a replacement for the wing wall at Gooseberry Point is an item on the County Council’s agenda for Tuesday April 4. It’s part of the Consent Agenda, which means it’s expected to be passed unanimously without discussion. The design will also include a design for temporary passenger-only vessel boarding.

Here’s the description quoted from the agenda, with a link to the contract documentation:

Request authorization for the County Executive to enter into a contract between Whatcom County and PND Engineers, Inc. for design of the Gooseberry Point Ferry Terminal Wingwall Replacement Project, in the amount of $40,000 (AB2012-147)

Changes at the Mainland Docks and more

From the PLIC Board of Directors.

County Public Works Director Frank Abart recently shared with a PLIC Board representative all known details about two major construction projects at Gooseberry Point ferry dock that are on the drawing board. One probably will take place soon, and the other during dry dock in September.

One is the rearrangement of the staging area for lining up vehicles and boarding the ferry, as required by the lease agreement signed last October. Most of the cost will come from the ferry fund, with some capital expense.

The other is a long-awaited building of new wing walls at the dock, a roughly half-million-dollar, capital funds project budgeted for 2012.  We will issue a separate email blast to you with as much information on that project as is known. All that is known right now is that the work will be done during dry dock, which tentatively is set for the three weeks following the Wednesday after Labor Day (Sept. 5).

Public Works anticipates knowing by mid-to-late May, when bids open for the construction work, the arrangements for dry dock ferry usage and public parking. Mr. Abart said only that WTA vehicles and parking lots will not be utilized.

UPDATE on GOOSEBERRY POINT “RECHANNELIZATION,” OR “QUEUING” PROJECT

1. This is not scheduled yet, but the lease requires it to be completed by October 1. (See excerpt of the uplands lease agreement at the bottom of this email.) Other work near the dock must be completed by October 27: one year from the signing.

2. Ideally, the County would ideally like to have the work done before peak summer season sets in. With no deadline, but with County pushing for expediency, a contracted consulting firm is working on three options to submit to Public Works for consideration.

3. After receiving the consultant’s drawings, and with the ferry crew at the main source for input into implementing a plan, Public Works will proceed with the construction.

4. The ferry advisory committee, if functioning, will serve only as a liaison for keeping Lummi Island stakeholders informed on plans, progress, and necessary arrangements (such as parking). The advisory committee will have no direct involvement in planning.

5. Payment for the lease-required work at Gooseberry, which also includes (by Oct. 27) such traffic and pedestrian safety measures as electronic speed monitoring signs, other signage, reduced speed limits, and rumble strips, is not included in the $200,000 annual payment for the right to use Gooseberry Point as a ferry landing.

6. The cost of the work to manage traffic boarding the ferry will come from the ferry fund; any additional funding (see exhibit below) involving paving, signage, etc., would become capital costs.

7. Some public parking that will become available by April 17, on Lummi View Drive and Haxton Way, could be impacted by this reconstruction project. Public Works pledged to make information available as soon as details are firm. Neither Mr. Abart nor Mr. Middleton would speculate on what might take place.

Below, you’ll find the link to the ferry lease agreement signed last October, with individual links from there to each of the three parts of the lease — intergovernmental, uplands, and tidelands.

The Gooseberry Point project is part of the uplands lease agreement, detailed in EXHIBIT B that appears below (or, if you prefer, in an attached Word document).

Thank you for your continued interest and support. If you have questions or feedback, please write to info@plicferry.org

Sincerely,
PLIC Board of Directors

“Queuing Alternatives Analysis” Before County Council 2/28

County Council will be asked to vote next Tuesday, 2/28,  on a $22,460 contract for a “Queuing Alternatives Analysis” at the Gooseberry Point dock area. The matter is on the Council’s Consent Agenda, which means the Council expects to agree unanimously to approve the expenditure.*

Here is the exact wording on the Council’s agenda, along with a link to the full Agenda Bill (to see the detailed document of what’s being requested of the contractor who successfully bid on on the project click on the link below to AB2012-098):

Request authorization for the County Executive to enter into a contract between Whatcom County and Transpro Group, Inc. for the Gooseberry Point Ferry Terminal Queuing Alternatives Analysis, in the amount of $22,460 (AB2012-098**)

Here’s some background information copied from a Public Works letter to County Executive and Council included in the Agenda Bill:

Background and Purpose

In the Uplands Lease Agreement for Lummi Island Ferry Use at Gooseberry Point, Whatcom County
committed to implementation of traffic queuing measures at Gooseberry Point terminal in order to reduce
the backup of vehicles waiting to board the ferry along Haxton Way/Lummi View Drive. Under the terms
of the lease agreement, these measures are to be implemented by October 1, 2012.

This contract provides for traffic queue modeling and queuing alternatives development, including
cost/benefit analysis, for Gooseberry Point.

Seven (7) consultants were invited to submit a project proposal for this work based on their
qualifications in the Engineering & Architectural Services Request for Qualifications (RFQ #11-01).
Three (3) project proposals were received, and Transpo Group was selected by a panel comprised of
County and Lummi Nation representatives as the most qualified for the scope of work.

A copy of the proposed contract is also included in the Agenda Bill documents (linked above).

Whether or not this cost will be treated as capital expense or operating expense (which impacts fare recovery) is not clear. The Agenda Bill says it will be charged to Professional Services, which is sometimes part of operating expenses. However, the letter from Public Works says the project “is included as Item No. 25 on the approved 2012 Annual Construction Program, CRP No. 912006: Ferry Queuing”, which I think would be capital expense. I’ve asked Public Works to clarify.

According to the contract, Phase 1 will include onsite inspections and collecting data from the County about current queuing as follows:

Gather and Summarize Available Data: All available ferry ridership data, including vehicles and
passengers, will be obtained from the County. The data should be segmented by month, day of
the week, and scheduled departure. For times when some vehicles are unable to board due to
ferry capacity constraints, the typical number of vehicles that remain /length of queue and the
frequency of occurrences willl’leed to be provided or estimated based on stakeholder input. Daily
traffic count data for Haxton Way and base maps of the ferry terminal will also be obtained from
the County to help determine approximate vehicle arrival rates, and assist in developing the
vehicle queuing model and preparing conceptual alternatives for consideration.

From that data, Transpro will develop a queuing model.

Phase 2 will lead to concept drawings, timelines, and cost estimates of up to three possible queuing plans for reducing queuing impact.

For full details, please see the Agenda Bill document linked above.

Another point on which I’ve asked for clarification is the definition of  “stakeholders” in the contract. Several places in the contract refers to presentations, meetings, and feedback from “stakeholders.” I’ve asked Public Works who that will likely include.

* Here’s what the Council agenda says about how Consent Agenda items are handled:

Items under this section of the agenda may be considered in a single motion. Councilmembers have received and studied background material on all items. Committee review has taken place on these items, as indicated. Any member of the public, administrative staff, or council may ask that an item be considered separately.

** This document has been stored on the Ferry Documents Archive website at:
http://lummiislanders.com/ferrydocs/userfiles/20120225-123031.pdf

Important! Lummi Nation’s Final Offer for Gooseberry Ferry Lease

Copied from a “Brown Betty” notice emailed by Paul Davis, (The Tome of Lummi Island 8/4/2010):

Attached is a letter that the Lummi Indian Business Council transmitted to the Whatcom County Council last week. The Lummi Indian Business Council is sharing this with the Lummi Island Community Association to keep the Island residents informed about the current status of the negotiations between the Lummi Nation and Whatcom County concerning the ferry at Gooseberry Point.

To read the letter, click on: Lummi Business Council_Letter_7.30.10

14 Facts on right-of-way to Lummi Island

Opinion piece by Wynne Lee.

Ever since the question about the road right-of-way from the mainland to Lummi Island came up, I and many others have tried to get someone to explain what this involves.  What I’ve heard so far is that:

• There was such a right of way, at least once, but   not now.
• It’s complicated.
• It’s a ‘no-go’ for the tribe.
• Talking about a right-of-way is counterproductive to dock lease negotiations and maybe even disrespectful.

Such vagueness was bound to prod someone to action. Tip Johnson responded by doing some research, drafting a petition asking (re)approval for a complete road right-of-way to Lummi Island. He shared his draft with some islanders and asked for input.  His draft “Petition for relief from tribute for passage to Lummi Island” has gotten extremely heated responses from various parties, although the source of the heat depends on which party is speaking – as usual.

I finally got tired of waiting for answers. So, I compiled the following list of what I think can reasonably be considered  ‘facts’, that is, verifiable information about the right-of-way and ‘payment for passage’ issues.

14 facts re: right-of-way, ‘payment for passage’ and citizen petitions

1)      The 1988 Lease Agreement, which ended February 14, 2010, indicated that the Lummi Nation owns the tidelands and other land upon which the Whatcom County Ferry dock, approach and related areas are located. The Lummi Nation also owns the Gooseberry Pt dock and related facilities, leasing it to Whatcom County for the past 25 years.

2)     Per that lease agreement, the Lummi Nation was compensated for public use (lease) of those lands and facilities by the County and other funds, by all ferry users, and by the land exchange that the County and Lummi Nation agreed to in the 1988 lease.  This includes costs incurred for maintaining and operating the leased dock facilities, as well as passage.

3)      The County and ferry users currently pay a monthly fee to the Lummi Island for leasing the Gooseberry Pt dock facility and all tribal land associated with operating the system. The County and ferry system users also continue to pay maintenance and operations of the dock and related facilities, on a month-to-month basis under an interim lease agreement that was approved by the Whatcom County Council and described in the Bellingham Herald.

4)      The right of tribal nations to be paid (directly or indirectly) for the public’s use of their lands and facilities, includes bridges and ferry systems. This right is well-established.

5)      Federal laws and treaties require that tribal nations not block public access to roads, bridges, ferry systems etc when those roads are essential and necessary for public health, safety, economic function, etc.   I think that the legal formality to ensure that public access is undisputed appears to be the Department of the Interior approving a request for a right-of-way for any given road, bridge or ferry system. Approval is not automatic but appears to be routine for essential and necessary roads, bridges and ferry systems.

6)      For many years, there was a complete federally-approved road right-of-way through Lummi Nation tribal land to Lummi Island, including across the tidelands and the Gooseberry Point ‘bridge end’ (i.e., docking facility).  That right-of-way now has a gap in it, the Gooseberry Point docking / bridge end facility and related access, due to the conditions of the 1988 lease agreement and other legal findings related to tribal tideland rights.

7)      The gap in this right-of-way to Lummi Island could be mended (‘perfected’ but only if the US Congress votes to do so, or if the Executive (Department of the Interior, including its subdivision the Bureau of Indian Affairs) approves a formal request to do so.  Neither  Congress nor the Department of the Interior not intervened yet in County-Lummi Nation negotiations,  but it’s not clear whether the County has made a formal request to complete the road right-of-way. My understanding is that citizens also could make such a request, via a petition.

8)      The road / bridge / ferry system from Gooseberry has a long, well-established history of providing unrestrained public access that is both essential and necessary for the safety, health, economic etc well-being of the Lummi Island community.  It’s also the only transportation link to and from the mainland, making it absolutely critical to maintain.

9)      Eliminating or radically changing this transportation lifeline would seriously harm the health, safety, education, medical, public safety (including emergency care), economic and political activities, and property values of the community as a whole.

10)  Radically raising costs of access to safe, reliable transportation to and from the mainland via Gooseberry Point (whether by extremely high costs paid to the Lummi Nation, or by shifting the mainland dock location elsewhere) would have a disproportionately adverse (and perhaps discriminatory) effect on Lummi Island community members of modest financial means.

11)  Representatives of the Lummi Nation government have long said publicly (including in 2010) said  that they’d prefer to eliminate public access to Lummi Island via the Gooseberry Point dock-ferry-bridge system.  They also have said that they want to be ‘a good neighbor’ to the County and have compromised by coming to a ‘conceptual agreement‘ with the County to negotiate another 25 year lease, with an option for an additional 25 year lease.

12)   It would be impractical and prohibitively expensive for the County or State government or private citizens to sue the Federal government (the ultimate ‘deciders’) on public road rights-of-way across tribal lands.

13)  The 1^st Amendment to the Constitution guarantees all American citizens the right to petition their government for redress of perceived wrongs or adverse conditions.

14)  The so-called “relief from tribute” petition re: the road right-of was written by Tip Johnson. He has shown that draft to several islanders, including me, for comment and possible revision, rejection or support.  Rumor has it that this draft has been ‘circulating around the island’, but I honestly don’t know what that means.

—————————

Based on the above, I currently hold the following  opinions. My opinions could change if other substantive information comes to light.

1)      I do not and will not support any petition that asks Congress or the Executive branch (Department of the Interior), indirectly or indirectly, for relief from the responsibility to pay the Lummi Nation for use of their tribal property, i.e., tidelands, access roads and dock facilities at Gooseberry Point.    The precedent of paying compensation in such cases, whether as lease fees or other negotiated arrangements, seems both robust and reasonable.

2)      I would likely support a petition that requests only ‘perfection’ (completion) of the road right-of-way from the mainland all the way to Lummi Island, via Gooseberry Point. I think that approving this right-of-way would remove future (needless, in my view) uncertainties and contentiousness about this absolutely essential, necessary and only transportation link for Lummi Island citizens to the mainland.

Finally, I want to affirm my complete agreement with the basic right of all American citizens to petition the government for anything they seek redress, regardless of others’ opinions.

I also appreciate Tip Johnson’s drafting his petition. I don’t agree with everything in it by a long stretch, but he gave us something to think about, something to react to, something that prodded me to learn more about the issues involved — and he said up front it was just a draft that he was seeking input on and open to changing.  Thanks, too, to the LICA and PLIC Boards whose recent joint statement against the draft petition provided me with another valuable jolt of motivation to learn more about these issues.