City refuses to help upgrade holiday lights
Dear Editor:
Last summer (2008) I wrote a letter to the editor saying we had formed a small, but mighty committee called Stanwood Light Brigade. The purpose of the Light Brigade is to help the Lions Club re-light the town for the winter months.
For 35 years the Lions have spent countless hours and lots of energy lighting the streets and the Hamilton smokestack for the holidays.
Our committee’s idea was to gradually replace the aging wreaths with snowflakes. The snowflakes are bigger and brighter than the wreaths. They use LED lights so the electricity cost is minimal.
The snowflakes can be put up the end of November and left up through the dark winter instead of taking wreaths down right after Christmas. The Light Brigade would raise money to pay for the snowflakes. The Lions Vlub offered to build the snowflakes, hang them on the poles and remove them at the end of the season.
We met with PUD and it was explained if the Lions or the Chamber of Commerce paid for adding power to poles, we would have to pay commercial fees which would be $2,500 yearly and paid three years in advance at a cost of $7,500!
If the city signed the contract for the fees, the cost would be significantly less and a three-year advance requirement would not apply.
Members of the Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce and the Light Brigade committee met with Mayor White, Andy Bullington and Joyce Papke several times during the summer to present our plans and to ask them to add electrical outlets on poles so the snowflakes could be lit.
The city refused.
The Light Brigade, members of the Chamber of Commerce and Lions attended several city council meetings during the summer and fall. We encouraged council members to include money in the 2009 budget to pay for outlets on poles.
No money was allocated.
One Lion member spoke at a council meeting and said he felt like the Lions were considered more a pest to elected officials than a partner.
In 2008 the city spent $2,000 for flowers. An additional $27,000 was spent by the city to water and fertilize the flowers.
Last November, I called the council member in charge of the city finance committee to find out if another $29,000 was in the 2009 budget for flowers and he said, “That’s the mayor’s discretionary money and it’s none of your business.”
The flowers are decorating Stanwood again this year. We appreciate their beauty, but it seems more equitable to have half as many flowers and allocate funds for outlets to power snowflakes, which would brighten Stanwood during the dark winter months.
Budget planning is now in process for 2010.
We hope some of you will write an e-mail, a letter or schedule a meeting with Mayor White regarding relighting Stanwood in the winter months.
I think this is our business.
The Stanwood Light Brigade stands ready to raise funds when there is a change of attitude by Stanwood’s elected officials.
Marylee Sams
Warm Beach
Editor’s note: City Finance
Director Crystil Robinson
said the expenditure
for maintaining the flower
baskets was closer to $29,000
in 2008 and factors in wages
(regular and overtime) maintenance,
fuel, insurance, water,
fertilizer and comes from
the general fund.
Camano Island
