This is the weekend that, according to the All Point Bulletin, 10,000 visitors will appear in Point Roberts to celebrate the Arts and Music Festival and B.C. Day, marking the first weekend/Monday in August. Now, how we would suddenly get 10,000 people through the border just for the weekend I can't imagine. Maybe they started arriving in June. I went through the border yesterday and there was no particular lineup and I asked somebody who had just come over, this morning, and they said that the lineup was minimal.
10,000 people would be about five visitors per house. Don't think it's going to happen. But, there are more people around than usual. We went over to the Saturday Market this morning and sold some of Ed's Point Roberts postcards. There were only about 9 vendors, but there was a steady enough supply of buyers and lookers to keep the vendors entertained. The Seniors Group sold great quantities of cookies and other baked goods. The Friends of the Library contributed to the recirculation of books by selling donated books. An Avon rep, the chocolates lady, a jewelry lady, the Sagewood Farms guy, a lady selling shelled walnuts for $5.00/pound joined in to the modest selling frenzy. A kind of mixed bag today.
What was interesting about the customers today (and maybe this is who shows up on B.C. Day) is that they were more than willing to hang around and look at postcards, talk about the images, and talk about the details of Point Roberts that the postcards illustrated. Yes, they'd seen Lily the Llama and the four goats. And what were the goats' names? The abandoned house quilt postcards provoked discussions about the actual houses, the quilts (now on display in the Community Center), and peoples' own histories with the houses. Two guys (brothers?) told me that they had lived many years ago in both the Goodman house and the Hanssen/Jonsen house (on corner of Tyee and Benson). But they got away before I found out how that happened to be. People went through the books of postcards, looking at every photo (70 or so) and trying to figure out where on the Point it was taken. A very social experience compared to other Saturday Market Days.
Was a nice day all round here in momentary paradise. And two more days of the weekend to go.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Assessing the Assessor
This winter/spring, we got our 'pending assessments' of property notices. Happens every year. Every year, the number goes up a little, but in light of the real property crash here (like most places), we all assumed that property values would go down in the 2011 assessment. You can imagine our surprise when we discovered that our houses were worth more than they were the year before and to a person we pretty much doubted that that was an accurate assessment, comparatively.
But, at least for most of the people I know, it was still, as a number, somewhat lower than what we imagined we might be able to sell it for, so we didn't call up the assessor to demand our money back, or the equivalence thereof. But some people did, and there were notices out on Point Interface urging people to call the Assessor's Office and request explanations.
It all did seem particularly strange when word began to seep around that Point Roberts properties were the only properties in the County whose assessments increased. Had everybody's assessments gone up, I would probably have assumed that it was Whatcom County's way of increasing its income. But since we came up unevenly, maybe an accurate but inexplicable assessment? Or inaccurate?
The local Taxpayer Association asked the Whatcom County Assessor to come up and explain this anomalous result at a meeting last night. Alas, he got held up at the border--failure to have a Nexus Card-- and arrived just as the meeting was about to disband. But, having come to hear him, people hung around to listen.
He was remarkably unlike a politician, I thought. Or like the ones who are said to be just like somebody you'd like to have a beer with. Since I don't drink beer, there's nobody I'd like to have a beer with, but I could imagine sitting down with a pizza, say. Although he would be eating the larger portion, I think.
His office is actually non-partisan. He's been in the Assessor's Office for 30 years and for 23 years has been elected time after time as County Assessor. He's running for office again this fall but no one is running against him. Seems good qualifications for a guy who's either doing a reasonable job or sponsored by the mob in a mob-run town. No evidence of the latter, so probably he's doing a reasonable job.
He proceeded to explain to this audience of about 35 folks how assessing is done. His is a highly technical and difficult job: how to establish a dollar value for every house in the County. If you’ve ever sold a house, the real estate agent, who knows a lot about house sale prices, gives you a big range for what your house might be worth and then recommends a single price. And if times are good, maybe you’ll get something near that, but even then, probably not. Because nobody knows what a house is worth until somebody is willing to pay for it with actual dollars.
So, the poor Assessor pours over the actual sale prices and looks at some portion (in his case, one-sixth) of the actual houses each year and talks with real estate people and follows the real estate market and calculates complex mathematical models and algorithms each year to establish a better than average guess about what every single property might sell for. And when he is done, he says, “Here’s what I think.” And if you disagree with what he thinks, you can ask to discuss it with them.
And if you don’t disagree enough with what he thinks, then you let it go. The problem is that if you don’t understand mathematical modeling and algorithmic projections, you are going to be in for some difficulty. He says potatoes, you say potahtoes. And you can’t call the whole thing off. I'm not a mathematician, so I don't really know what he’s talking about but, in the old days, you would credit his competence and good intentions and unless you had some really compelling information to change his position, his view about the value of your house would stand, and you would go on being fellow-citizens. Nowadays, though, as a result of the anti-government fervor that has taken hold in lots of places, we often have no trust in an official's competence or his good intentions and insufficient acknowledgement or appreciation of our own lack of understanding of what his job actually is and how it is done.
What seemed to be the bottom line is that Point Roberts was last assessed individually four years ago. In the intervening years (2006-2010), our property values went up and then went down, but they didn't go as far down as they went up, so over the four years, the appreciation was about 10%. Other areas, like Birch Bay and Blaine and Semiahmoo, went down farther than they went up over the four years, so their property values depreciated some. Seems like it could happen. But, as the Assessor repeated time and again, what his office is trying to do is make a good estimate of a property's value and every area is not going to be the same. It's not rocket science: it's much harder than rocket science. If people complain, he can show them what the office has considered, has taken into account, and if you, as a property owner, have some special information that the office didn't know about or take into account, they will try to incorporate it to the extent that it's relevant. But you really can't prove they are wrong and they can't really prove they are right.
It's a hard job and somebody has to do it and by and large, I found that I'm willing to trust the Whatcom County Assessor, even if I and probably most of the people at the meeting don't really understand exactly what he is doing. I don't understand what lots of people who do technical things are doing. But if I listen to them talk about their work, I can kind of get a sense of whether they're serious people with the right attitude to their work. That may be the best most of us can do, so I appreciate his coming up to let us judge him. But I really think he should get a Nexus Card if he's going to be roaming around Whatcom County, if only to expand his understanding of the way we live now: the we being those of us in Point Roberts who, like our assessments, are quite different from everyone else in Whatcom County.
But, at least for most of the people I know, it was still, as a number, somewhat lower than what we imagined we might be able to sell it for, so we didn't call up the assessor to demand our money back, or the equivalence thereof. But some people did, and there were notices out on Point Interface urging people to call the Assessor's Office and request explanations.
It all did seem particularly strange when word began to seep around that Point Roberts properties were the only properties in the County whose assessments increased. Had everybody's assessments gone up, I would probably have assumed that it was Whatcom County's way of increasing its income. But since we came up unevenly, maybe an accurate but inexplicable assessment? Or inaccurate?
The local Taxpayer Association asked the Whatcom County Assessor to come up and explain this anomalous result at a meeting last night. Alas, he got held up at the border--failure to have a Nexus Card-- and arrived just as the meeting was about to disband. But, having come to hear him, people hung around to listen.
He was remarkably unlike a politician, I thought. Or like the ones who are said to be just like somebody you'd like to have a beer with. Since I don't drink beer, there's nobody I'd like to have a beer with, but I could imagine sitting down with a pizza, say. Although he would be eating the larger portion, I think.
His office is actually non-partisan. He's been in the Assessor's Office for 30 years and for 23 years has been elected time after time as County Assessor. He's running for office again this fall but no one is running against him. Seems good qualifications for a guy who's either doing a reasonable job or sponsored by the mob in a mob-run town. No evidence of the latter, so probably he's doing a reasonable job.
He proceeded to explain to this audience of about 35 folks how assessing is done. His is a highly technical and difficult job: how to establish a dollar value for every house in the County. If you’ve ever sold a house, the real estate agent, who knows a lot about house sale prices, gives you a big range for what your house might be worth and then recommends a single price. And if times are good, maybe you’ll get something near that, but even then, probably not. Because nobody knows what a house is worth until somebody is willing to pay for it with actual dollars.
So, the poor Assessor pours over the actual sale prices and looks at some portion (in his case, one-sixth) of the actual houses each year and talks with real estate people and follows the real estate market and calculates complex mathematical models and algorithms each year to establish a better than average guess about what every single property might sell for. And when he is done, he says, “Here’s what I think.” And if you disagree with what he thinks, you can ask to discuss it with them.
And if you don’t disagree enough with what he thinks, then you let it go. The problem is that if you don’t understand mathematical modeling and algorithmic projections, you are going to be in for some difficulty. He says potatoes, you say potahtoes. And you can’t call the whole thing off. I'm not a mathematician, so I don't really know what he’s talking about but, in the old days, you would credit his competence and good intentions and unless you had some really compelling information to change his position, his view about the value of your house would stand, and you would go on being fellow-citizens. Nowadays, though, as a result of the anti-government fervor that has taken hold in lots of places, we often have no trust in an official's competence or his good intentions and insufficient acknowledgement or appreciation of our own lack of understanding of what his job actually is and how it is done.
What seemed to be the bottom line is that Point Roberts was last assessed individually four years ago. In the intervening years (2006-2010), our property values went up and then went down, but they didn't go as far down as they went up, so over the four years, the appreciation was about 10%. Other areas, like Birch Bay and Blaine and Semiahmoo, went down farther than they went up over the four years, so their property values depreciated some. Seems like it could happen. But, as the Assessor repeated time and again, what his office is trying to do is make a good estimate of a property's value and every area is not going to be the same. It's not rocket science: it's much harder than rocket science. If people complain, he can show them what the office has considered, has taken into account, and if you, as a property owner, have some special information that the office didn't know about or take into account, they will try to incorporate it to the extent that it's relevant. But you really can't prove they are wrong and they can't really prove they are right.
It's a hard job and somebody has to do it and by and large, I found that I'm willing to trust the Whatcom County Assessor, even if I and probably most of the people at the meeting don't really understand exactly what he is doing. I don't understand what lots of people who do technical things are doing. But if I listen to them talk about their work, I can kind of get a sense of whether they're serious people with the right attitude to their work. That may be the best most of us can do, so I appreciate his coming up to let us judge him. But I really think he should get a Nexus Card if he's going to be roaming around Whatcom County, if only to expand his understanding of the way we live now: the we being those of us in Point Roberts who, like our assessments, are quite different from everyone else in Whatcom County.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Garlic Crop
I dug my excellent, though small, garlic crop yesterday and it was very well done.
I just plant about a dozen cloves in the fall and then harvest them in the spring. If there's something you are supposed to do other than that, I don't know about it, but that usually brings them through. This year, the deer ate the tops early in the spring and, though they generated some new tops, the greenery was pretty sparse so I thought it might not work out well. But it did just fine. Some bulb are bigger than others, but most of them are of a good size and they are drying out on the back porch; or they are drying as much as they can given the level of our cool humidity these days.
Tonight is the meeting to learn about whether and why we ought to be thinking about making our library a bigger place. 8 p.m. Try to come and learn.
I just plant about a dozen cloves in the fall and then harvest them in the spring. If there's something you are supposed to do other than that, I don't know about it, but that usually brings them through. This year, the deer ate the tops early in the spring and, though they generated some new tops, the greenery was pretty sparse so I thought it might not work out well. But it did just fine. Some bulb are bigger than others, but most of them are of a good size and they are drying out on the back porch; or they are drying as much as they can given the level of our cool humidity these days.
Tonight is the meeting to learn about whether and why we ought to be thinking about making our library a bigger place. 8 p.m. Try to come and learn.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Progress!
Well, if we can't do something as simple as lift the debt ceiling, perhaps we could achieve this. I've given up (because it's too late) for Point Roberts to be the first wireless community, but maybe it could be the first penny-less community. We could be known for something other than excess difficulty and beautiful living.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Another Summer Daze
First we went to visit Lily the llama down near Freeman Beach and took her for a walk on an absolutely deserted beach. Hard to know why there were no people along this stretch, but there were none but the six of us. A few birds in the water; a sailboat a ways out; a big cruise or ferry-sized ship much farther out.
Then we went to South Beach, where Mt. Baker was looming to the east as if it had a special spotlight on it. That beach was filled with half a dozen or so families in bathing costume, sitting in beach chairs, kids digging in the sand. Entirely iconic. A two-year old tottering around at the water's edge discovered how to throw stones into the water and then a goofy little dog showed up to chase after her stones. She threw, the dog raced after it but never found it, as it quickly became just another rock in the water; she threw again, the dog raced, and again and again. She looked over her shoulder at her parents to see if they liked that she had discovered, maybe invented, an absolutely brand new in the whole world activity, but they weren't paying all that much attention. A big moment in her life, but she won't really remember it for long.
Then we went up to Dylan's and ordered up a lot of ice cream cones. Finally, home in order to loll around for awhile before we cooked up some dinner. Saturday in July. Calm, sunny, lovely. Lucky us.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Raspberries Finally In
We've been getting raspberries at the markets from farther south for awhile, but the local raspberries, which is to say the ones in my backyard, have shown no signs of getting big enough to ripen, let alone to chnge color. And then, yesterday, there they were. Only about a cup of them, almost all the early 'Sutters Gold,' which are kind of apricot colored and are sweet and highly flavored but not too acidic.
So we sprinkled them over a little bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream and rolled them around our tongues with the other flavors mingling nicely and spoke about how absolutely wonderful summer is when it behaves properly. Our deepest sympathies to those in the center of the country where the heat is unspeakable, but the raspberry crop may be fantastic.
So we sprinkled them over a little bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream and rolled them around our tongues with the other flavors mingling nicely and spoke about how absolutely wonderful summer is when it behaves properly. Our deepest sympathies to those in the center of the country where the heat is unspeakable, but the raspberry crop may be fantastic.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The Market and the Summer
The Saturday Market has now moved to an every week activity but it is showing signs of problems. This past week, it rained and had to be held indoors, but nevertheless there were precious few vendors. The best were Sagewood Farms, our local fresh produce supplier. Best in terms of quantity of stuff, good looking and new looking stuff, and customers. They had more different greens than you could shake a stick at if you were in the market for shaking sticks at greens. There were fat French radishes and mesclun and beet greens and lettuces of other kinds including a very spicy arugula. It all looked very appealing.
But a Saturday Market with only four or five vendors isn't really viable even if one of them is doing really well. Maybe it was just the rain and the following weeks will see more vendors. On the weekend of August 6, the Point Roberts Quilt Group is having a quilt show and sale in connection with the Saturday Market. If it rains, the Market will be in big trouble: the vendors won't be able to come inside because the quilts and quilters will have already filled up the inside. That's one of the reasons we expect no rain in July and August. Lots of luck so far. The quilts will be more of an exhibit than a sale but there will be some smaller pieces for sale so if you, dear reader, are so inclined, bring cash/checks. We don't do credit cards.
People do come to the Saturday Market. They may be just wandering around on Saturday morning and see the sign and step in, or they may be making a trip to the library and step in to see what's happening, or they may be there because they're picking up their weekly or biweekly allotment of vegetables from Sagewood, or they may be there (less likely) because they are looking for some arts/crafts object to buy. But for that last kind of random buy, you need a lot of new/fresh/different kinds of objects and that's pretty hard to supply in such a limited population, especially if you outlaw flea market type objects.
Oh, well, maybe it will pick up, or maybe it will just be a short summer activity, or maybe it will die a slow death. I'm not worrying: it's not Chinatown, but it is Point Roberts.
But a Saturday Market with only four or five vendors isn't really viable even if one of them is doing really well. Maybe it was just the rain and the following weeks will see more vendors. On the weekend of August 6, the Point Roberts Quilt Group is having a quilt show and sale in connection with the Saturday Market. If it rains, the Market will be in big trouble: the vendors won't be able to come inside because the quilts and quilters will have already filled up the inside. That's one of the reasons we expect no rain in July and August. Lots of luck so far. The quilts will be more of an exhibit than a sale but there will be some smaller pieces for sale so if you, dear reader, are so inclined, bring cash/checks. We don't do credit cards.
People do come to the Saturday Market. They may be just wandering around on Saturday morning and see the sign and step in, or they may be making a trip to the library and step in to see what's happening, or they may be there because they're picking up their weekly or biweekly allotment of vegetables from Sagewood, or they may be there (less likely) because they are looking for some arts/crafts object to buy. But for that last kind of random buy, you need a lot of new/fresh/different kinds of objects and that's pretty hard to supply in such a limited population, especially if you outlaw flea market type objects.
Oh, well, maybe it will pick up, or maybe it will just be a short summer activity, or maybe it will die a slow death. I'm not worrying: it's not Chinatown, but it is Point Roberts.
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