LETTER TO THE EDITOR | South Whidbey should OK port’s fairgrounds plan
Published 9:00 am Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Editor,
Every community needs a crown jewel as leverage for building on the local economy. Langley is lucky to have the shoreline as well as the fairgrounds. The fairgrounds act as the welcome sign to Langley. They spark the feeling of days gone by and idyllic childhoods. This sets the table for our village by the sea to seem legitimately quaint.
The fairgrounds are more than just a welcome sign. It provides many organizations with a place to promote non-profit events as well as educational learning for old and young. There can be so much more done to build on the local economy with little impact on the local residents with just a little imagination.
The Port of South Whidbey is willing to be the steward of preserving the heritage of the Island County Fairgrounds while improving the facilities to create opportunities for more commerce on South Whidbey. In preserving and improving the facilities, they will save our beloved fairgrounds and spark more revenue for our local residents to be able to stay here and raise families. We can add more affordable visitor lodgings to the South End so families can afford to stay on South Whidbey. They will have the ability to leverage grant money not available to the county to preserve what we love and use the average of $15 a year to maintain the grounds.
Bringing control of the fairgrounds back to the South Whidbey local level will give all of us who use the facilities more control. We will be able to address our concerns to the Port of South Whidbey commissioners who all live down here instead of three county commissioners, two who don’t live on this part of the Island.
Please vote yes to bring the Island County Fairgrounds under the stewardship of the Port of South Whidbey. Then, begin to imagine what you would like to see happen there and start adding to the life and economy of Langley and South Whidbey.
As a mom of a 4H’er and fan of all that happens at the Island County Fairgrounds, I am definitely voting yes.
SHAWN NOWLIN
Freeland
