Editor,

In 2013, Island County filed a lawsuit against Bruce Montgomery, the very wealthy owner of property adjacent to the public road end at Wonn Road. This lawsuit was filed in response to Montgomery’s blocking off the last 100 feet of Wonn Road, a public road, by erecting a rock wall and his claim of ownership of the public beach that lies beyond it.

Montgomery and his team of lawyers have recently made an offer to the county to settle this lawsuit. The Montgomery offer requires Island County to give up its title to the last 100 feet of historic Wonn Road and the established public beach beyond it in exchange for $50,000 cash (structured as a “contribution,” meaning this amount could be a tax deduction for Montgomery) and a parcel of essentially worthless waterfront property near the Ledgewood slide area on the West Side of the island. This parcel has a current assessed value of $10.

Washington State law prohibits Island County from “vacating any public roads abutting bodies of water unless for public purposes or industrial use.” This law applies to the county “even if it is offered other beach property of equal value in trade.”

Acceptance of the settlement would mean that the entire community would lose a historic public beach access used for the past 100 years by generations of Whidbey Islanders and visitors from the mainland. This settlement offer is an egregious example of the efforts by the 1 percent to use their money to deprive the public of its rights. Island Beach Access absolutely opposes this proposed settlement.

The county commissioners will meet to consider this offer at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 13 in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room, #B102, 1 NE Sixth St. in Coupeville.

The commissioners are elected to represent the public. I urge every concerned resident of Island County to contact all three Island County commissioners to convey their feelings regarding this matter.

MEL TRENOR

Island Beach Access