To the editor:

Sure the proposed marina renovation project will be good for the local and visiting boating public.

Sure kayakers, divers and beach watchers will enjoy the long awaited upgraded project they deserve.

Sure the economic benefits from increased visitor spending, tour boats, moorage fees and local boat maintenance will help the South End’s merchants and lodging industry.

Sure this increased economic activity will generate tax revenue and jobs for South Whidbey and it’s citizens.

But the marina is not just about money.

The marina is about a young mother taking her newborn out on the dock for its first breath of salty sea air. It is about a toddler feeling the wonders of nature with the first touch of a starfish, barnacle and other mysterious creature attached to a dock piling. It is about a young child netting a fingerling from a marina float and watching it swim around in an old coffee can before releasing it back to the sea for a long journey to who knows where.

It is about a 10-year-old placing clams on top of driftwood logs and heading off to a sea battle with an imaginary clam sea captain. It is about a teenager having a place to launch and tie up his/her lovingly restored wood row or sailboat. It is about a local islander with no money for a boat, catching bottom fish and pile perch (and even the hope of a salmon) from a public access pier. It is about a young family picnicking and chasing each other up and down the beach. It is about a local commercial crabber having a place to work from, support his family and feed the community.

It is about the recently retired couple walking hand in hand along the dock reminiscing about the days when they could afford a boat of their own. It is about the elderly widow having lunch in her car while watching the unique blend of human activity and nature that only a quality marina can have.

I have either been a part of or witnessed all of the above activities and can assure you they are priceless and are part of our community that is irreplaceable.

Quality, safe public water access is what this marina project is all about.

Guaranteed perpetual public access is also what my father envisioned when he convinced our family to turn over the waterfront to the city of Langley 30-plus years ago. Even then, he knew that the escalating prices and the costs of owning waterfront property would eventually limit private ownership to an elite few. Quality public access of the type provided by the proposed marina would be the realization of this vision.

Up until Black Ball moved the ferry terminal to Clinton in the 1930’s, Langley was the center of commercial and social activity on South Whidbey.

The mosquito fleet, Black Ball Ferries and my grandfather’s daily launch service to and from Everett brought locally produced goods and people (yes, tourists with spending money — even then).

This heritage belongs to all of us who live here now and is part of our community. We are an island community and all of us are tied to the water, not just those who own waterfront.

Quality public access must be available to all South Whidbey residents. We have numerous state and county park beach access points but only one public marina. This location is the only protected semi-deep water harbor on the South Island and the only feasible location for such a facility. That is why Langley was sited where it is in the first place.

So please vote for the port district levy. You and your entire community will benefit.

It is not all about the money. It is about our community’s heritage and your family’s connection with nature and the sea.

Phil Simon

Freeland