The County Visits Again

CThe Voters' Association once again invited the County to come up and educate us on our rights and responsibilities.  Pete Kremens, Barbara Brenner, and Kathy Kershner, joined by a guy from the Health and Safety Department and another guy from the Planning Dept. (no disrespect intended to the two; I just didn't make out their names when they were introduced, whereas I recognized the three councilpersons) talked to us about many things.

A big turnout for the Voters...probably 35+ people.  The topics were more or less about planning processes, wetlands, septic inspections, and a tiny foray into the Council's views on the increasing problems of border access issu.  The latter was 'tiny' in time because Voters' Association Meister Elizabeth Lanz engaged in a kind of one-sided shouting match with John Lesow when he tried to ask the question and Ms. Lanz proceeded not only to shout him down but to gavel him down, with giant bangs of her giant gavel on her small wooden table.  It was the only real mark of incivility of the evening and I would like to say (indeed I am saying) that she does not improve the quality of life here by such acting out.  Indeed, she reminded me of Mr. Meursing at his worst.  Well, she didn't threaten to have Lesow arrested of course for daring to ask a question she didn't want asked.  There's that.

Other than that, however, it was an interesting and fairly long evening.  The thing about the County people is that they have endless knowledge of law, rules, and regulations: things most of us don't know and usually don't need to know, but interesting to hear about nonetheless.  E.g., I sort of learned a lot about wetland mitigation, including the possibility of something called 'offsite mitigation' which I think sounds like planting trees in the Amazon and then selling your carbon credits to the Saudis.  Or maybe not.

I had never specifically thought of my own backyard as having or being a 'wetland.'  To me, it's just awash in water at this time of year.  But it's probably a wetland and I could mitigate it or enhance it.  I could hire a biology engineer to design a pond which would be an enhancement if I were to pay to build it.  And then I could somehow sell my wetland enhancement credits to someone else in Point Roberts who wanted to do something on his/her property with wetlands that otherwise wouldn't make it through the planning process.  And then my credits sale would pay for my pond, and the other person could do what he wanted.  I think that's what's involved.  It doesn't matter.  I just note that back near the fence, it's really wet in the spring.  There are frogs living there.   That's enough of an enhancement for me.

The "action" item of the evening is that the Voters people will pursue whether there is interest in P.R. in having the County come up and provide another half-day or so class in how to do your own septic inspection.  I took the class last time they gave it, but it did not lead me to conduct my own septic inspection.  It was interesting, though.  I am perhaps easily interested.