Letter: There’s still time to offer comments on boat launch

Editor,

This is a follow-up to my letter to the editor in the May 30 edition. Good news for those who may want to comment on the Mutiny Bay boat launch situation.

On May 20, I called Tansy Schroeder asking why Island County’s Notice of Application was not on the county’s Notice of Application web page. She informed me that they must have missed it and she would put it on.

I called her the next day and informed here that the website had less information than the sign at the beach did.

The first sentence on the website states, “Island County has received the following applications for review. This may be the only time to comment.” The second sentence states, “Each notice contains the information needed to submit a comment, if applicable.” I questioned if there was “information needed to submit a comment.”

It simply said under the proposal, “five-year sand removal maintenance for the Mutiny Bay Boat Ramp.”

Does this mean removal by truck or by barge? It certainly does not contain the information that the county wants to spread the sand to the north along the beach and is getting opposition from two property owners. Ms. Schroeder told me that it perhaps was short of information in order to save money.

Also, the Notice of Application was not even on the website until a week before the May 27 deadline to receive comments.

Now the good News. On May 27, Ms. Schroeder indicated that the deadline on the notice apparently doesn’t really mean that. She said that, as a courtesy, the comments are accepted up to the date that she selects for the hearing.

I thought it was strange that a courtesy was not openly offered to all. She thought she would schedule sometime the next week and I tried today, June 1, to see when the hearing would take place, but she was out of her office.

If you are still interested in making a comment, I suggest you call Tansy Schroeder at Island County Public Works.

Gary Dunn

Freeland