Ian Munce, whose three-decade career in Anacortes has powerfully impacted the shape of the city as it is today, tendered his resignation as planning director and city attorney effective July 31.

“Ian has been an incredible asset for the community, always working in its best interest, willing to take one on the chin for the city,” said Mayor Dean Maxwell. “There’s probably no one I can think of that I respect more.”Read the full Story

If only Maxwell would follow him out the door.

Hi, Irt,
So what have Munce and Maxwell done to deserve your wrath? Just curious. I find Anacortes a great place to live and work, and I think they deserve some credit.

Ian has done a great job and his knowledge of Anacortes’ inner workings will be missed. I do think a set of fresh eyes is good every two or three decades, and a separation of his powers will also serve the City well; which in no way is a negative comment on the job he has done. Good to hear he is getting out of the public crosshairs and into a more private life; good luck to him.

I agree, if only Maxwell would follow him.

One down, one to go.

“One down, one to go.” implies a desired outcome once “both are down”. 

So if Maxwell follows Munce out the door, then what?

I. Munce has done a stellar job for the City of Anacortes for the past 3 decade. Nothing but solid work by him and mayor Maxwell.

However, I always look at incorporated small cities like Anacortes in the same scope as small business/corporations:  change at the top is sometimes needed to take the city/corporation to the next phase of growth and development. Fresh blood with new ideas, perspectives, and vision will be needed manage the city into the next decade.

I agree with you kiaana and CitizenSkagit in both the assessment of Mr. Munce and the Mayor’s work and in the principle of a fresh outlook to move forward.  Obviously the sentiment behind your statement of appreciation and change is different than those who are eager to see both Munce and Maxwell out the door immediately, but the end result is still the same.  What I want to know is what that “fresh blood” means to you and others who think that the current administration has the wrong approach to the future?

Good question, Charlie42. It’s easy to blame “the city” for the various things that do or don’t get done around Anacortes. Personally, I feel lucky that Anacortes has a well diversified economy, reasonable taxes (better than most of the county), a constantly improving infrastructure and an accessible city government. Things weren’t always this way in Anacortes, you remember. Maxwell and Munce share the credit for this, IMHO. The only blight in Anacortes is the under-developed MJB property, which the Port of Anacortes sold off years ago in what in hindsight turned out to be a colossal blunder. Now that it’s in private hands, nobody but MJB can make anything happen there. The city has amended the zoning there to accommodate most of MJB’s stated goals and the city’s stated vision, but the company maintains an all-or-nothing approach to this day. I think Maxwell gets blamed for this condition, but he refuses to prostitute the city for MJB or any other developer. If that’s something citizens want changed, I think we’ll all be very disappointed in Anacortes down the road. It’s one thing to promote change, but we should be careful what that looks like. Personally, I’d focus on change at the Port of Anacortes rather than city government. That’s where it’s needed most.

fullmain - 07 July 2008 04:18 PM

Things weren’t always this way in Anacortes, you remember.

Yeah, I remember.  Anacortes used to have a thriving business district selling everything we residents needed.  There was very little reason to shop out of town.  The Anacortes business community today is a sick joke compared to what it used to be.

Hi, Irt,
Yes, Anacortes certainly got “malled” in the 1970-80-90’s when Burlington mushroomed into the county’s commercial center. This coincided with the declines of the timber and fishing industries, and it had a serious impact on our own Commercial Avenue (goodbye Penney’s, Islander, etc.). I think Maxwell took office in 1994 or so. There’s been some talk about a commercial strip along Highway 20, which would generate sales tax revenue but probably hinder any reinvestment in downtown Anacortes. You probably heard of Maxwell’s hope to attract some shopping opportunities to the Port’s Q Avenue property near Cap Sante marina, which might have enhanced the existing commercial district. But the Port of Anacortes chose to use the property for the marine skills center, a good project but in the wrong location. That said, I know Anacortes looks better than it did 20 years ago, and I manage to avoid shopping off-island most of the time. Maybe I just don’t consume as much as I should.

Charlie42:

I, and many others in the local business community, do not have high confidence in the current city gov’t abilities to attract (and keep) new retail/commercial businesses to town.  Attracting new employers, which will help diversify the tax base beyond residential real estate, is key to making the city an even better place to live in the future.

Like I said, Munce and Maxwell have done great and should be commended for making the city a wonderful place to live. Maybe as citizens we think Anacortes is already doing just fine and why is there a need for change in city gov’t?  Change is not the best word, but ‘evolution’ is far more appropriate. Munce, and when Maxwell steps down, have taken the city to relative prosperous state of maturity. New leaders with fresh ideas and visions will be needed for Anacortes to evolve to the next balanced steps in growth and expansion.

Kianna (and others),
I’m not sure why people focus on city government as the sole entity responsible for growing the local economy. Yes, city government, with lots of citizen participation, establishes the framework in terms of zoning regulations, infrastructure (streets, water, sewer)and other amenities. But there’s no city department responsible for “economic development,” nor should there be. City government is best when it stays out of the way and lets market forces work within the established guidelines. On the other hand, the port has accepted responsibility for pursuing economic development, and we have a chamber of commerce and EDASC tasked in part with that function too. There’s no need for the city to duplicate that function. Also, I don’t want or need central planning to be responsible for recruiting business to the community. Just provide a level playing field and individuals/companies can decide if they want to make a business investment in Anacortes. There is a lot of opportunity in a variety of fields for those who are able to meet an established demand. Munce and Maxwell have done an admirable job in setting the table; it’s up to others if they want to dine here or not.

Fullmain,

I agree completely that market forces should dictate what businesses locate here, and the City Government should stay out of it for the most part. I can tell you two things that they should do to help however, or rather one they should do and one they shouldn’t.

Current sales on Commercial Ave, choice number one for any retail shop and really the only choice at this point, have eclipsed $58.00 a square foot for land. You can buy the same type property in Burlington or Mount Vernon from $15.00 to $30.00 on Riverside, College Way or Burlington Boulevard with higher traffic counts. This makes it unrealistic for a retail shop to buy, build and open in Anacortes. The reason we have these prices is lack of other opportunities for retail locations, it’s supply and demand. This is one of many reasons I believe the City should open up Highway 20 to retail rather than have all ministorage as the entrance to Anacortes. Current administration, meaning the Mayor and Ian Munce, are not open to that, and having one street for retail isn’t viable for a town of our size. Yes, R Ave will see some development at some point and that will help, but currently MJB and others own the main portions of that land and it is a better spot for light manufacturing so I’d hope we keep a portion of it zoned that way.

Second thing that the City shouldn’t do is get involved in who decides to open shop. I’ve been told by the Mayor that he won’t allow any use on highway 20 that competes with a use in town. I wish he’d have protected my business the same way, and not allowed any other companies that compete with me the ability to open their doors. This of course isn’t realistic, nor is it good for the consumer. The City should stay out of that process and like you said, let market forces prevail. Competition is a good thing; we just need to open some land up so businesses can afford to locate here.

So I will disagree that Munce and Maxwell have done a good job of setting the table, they haven’t, in fact, they are very particular about who they invite to dine here and that is a bad thing.

Hi, Citizen,
Well said, and I completely agree that the cost of land is a limiting factor in Commercial Avenue investment. At those prices, we are going to have an awful lot of banks and not much else. I think Maxwell and Munce have echoed what many in the town said some years ago—that we don’t want any big-box retailers here. That’s more a community lifestyle choice than a protectionist one, I believe, but it’s certainly contrary to the “normal” commercial model embraced by so many other communities who seem to enjoy the strip malls and big boxes. But I prefer to live without them, which means land-rich Burlington will always get some of land-poor Anacortes’ retail business. I remember some years ago the downtown merchants were adamantly opposed to MJB’s proposal at the time to put some retail south of 22nd Street. That became an untouchable third rail in local politics and helped drive the current zoning picture we have today, where some retail could go north of 22nd. If the scale is right (small/medium) I could go for that. Maxwell and Munce, I believe, are simply trying to accommodate the citizens’ desires for a liveable, small-town community, which also means that we won’t have everything we want, but also means we will like what we have. Overall, I sure do.

Fullmain,
I agree in general, I do not want Anacortes to become anything like Burlington or any other strip mall town; however zoning can help us avoid that by limiting the size of the buildings, and putting in place some architectural controls that keep anything built from looking like a big ugly box. There are some examples out there of typical box stores that had to dress up and resize for communities and they’ve done it and fit in quite well. My Hwy 20 comments aren’t aimed at those however, and neither are my Maxwell/Munce comments. The Mayors comment to me was not about a box store, but a single retailer, a mom and pop store that would not be allowed to locate out on Hwy 20 because it competed with an existing use; and that is a bad thing. Hwy 20 being all industrial is also a bad thing in my opinion, we have enough industrial land and not enough commercial land, and the traffic counts cry for it to be commercially zoned out there. Our City would capture some badly needed revenue if it were to open up to commercial uses beyond car dealers.
I too want Anacortes to stay rather small, and keep it from becoming a mess of ugly stores, but market forces should be the thing that dictates who locates here. W can then dictate to them how they present themselves to our community as far as size, esthetics, etc. I have seen may small scale strip malls that look good, check out the Urban Land Institute and any of their books on smart growth and walkable – livable cities; they have some outstanding designs that look good and accommodate sizable retail.

And finally, overall, I love Anacortes too!