A letter from the mayor


I want to make it clear to the citizens of Sedro-Woolley that the Council turned down Skagit County’s Deluxe offer to settle because we are going to follow our lawful land use laws and not jeopardize the city with costly lawsuits. We are not taking Deluxe’s side, we believe you stick with the lawful process you have in place. Whatever the Superior Court decides we will live with and move on. If they require an EIS, fine. Major changes, minor changes, fine. No exposure to the city if a judge decides.

I believe the county’s settlement offer was disingenuous. If the county was so sure of their offer why didn’t they offer to indemnify the city from financial exposure? Did the county know that their own elected official and the city’s elected officials could have been exposed to personal liability lawsuits if we all agreed to the county’s offer? See Mission Springs vs city of Spokane, 1998 where elected officials short circuited a land use process and were sued individually for their actions.

I hear the citizens of Sedro-Woolley and my two youngest children graduated from Sedro-Woolley High School so I have strong feelings for the school. Both have great educations. I asked Deluxe to move to other locations but attempts failed. I want to stand with the citizens and Annie Janicki but I also understand that my sworn duty as mayor is to uphold the constitution and laws of the city. The hard reality of public service is that there are times when the right thing to do is not the most popular. This was the choice the county gave to the city.

I am open to a settlement with all parties involved that does not cause additional lawsuits; if not, let’s let the judge decide on Oct. 10.



Mike Anderson

Sedro-Woolley Mayor



Unite against Deluxe



The Deluxe mess is splitting our community apart and I hope Larry McCarter is paying attention. It doesn’t have to be this way. The majority of residents did not want a garbage transfer station across from the high school. This fell on deaf ears. The city attorney deferred to the City Council on the MDNS settlement proposal offered by the county but then warned them that they could be sued if they accepted it. From what I understand, it’s not the City Council’s decision to make, but the mayor’s and city attorney’s.

The Deluxe proposal is prohibited by the 1994 solid waste plan still in effect with the city of Sedro-Woolley, in addition to the city’s GMA Comprehensive Plan. Under the city’s SEPA rules, the MDNS can be withdrawn without liability to Deluxe.

The city and community need to be united against all attempts to divide it. Deluxe needs to stop driving a wedge between the two and locate their facility away from the high school. Attend the City Council meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at City Hall and voice your concerns.



Mary McGoffin

Sedro-Woolley





Property values in the dumps



Ever since all this foolishness about having a dump in our city, I have been very concerned about the value of our homes.

We bought a home on Jameson Street 13 years ago and have done many updates to it, inside and out. We are proud of our home and what we have turned it into, and yes the value and taxes have gone up.

Now what do you think will happen to this value when we have a dump two blocks away?

Well, I decided to find out. It appears that the value will certainly drop, but the taxes we pay will not adjust accordingly. So not only will we have invested in our home only to see us lose that value, but we will still be paying higher taxes unless we go to the county and fight it. Well, we all know how that could turn out.

So folks, not only will we be known as the city dump, the high school will be across from it and our property values will go down. So for those of you who were hoping to sell your home and make some money, forget it. No one will want to buy a home with a dump in the city, and if they do they won’t be willing to pay top dollar.

I spoke to a few realtors and it appears that it is already affecting some of those out there with their houses on the market. Word is out about the dump and people who are looking to buy are thinking it would be much wiser to buy elsewhere. Can you blame them?

Our city officials don’t seem to care about that, which puzzles me in some ways as they too have homes here.

My question is now and was from the start, why would anyone with half a brain think it was OK to have a dump here in our city?

Please let everyone you know what is going on and could happen. I have found that there are still a lot of people who have not even heard what is going on. I spoke to someone the other day that has lived here for years, and as they do not read the paper, they did not even know the city was trying to do this. Pass the word folks, it is so very important.

Keep coming to the city council meetings and tell them how you feel, and tell everyone you know to do the same. We must save our homes and our city.



Bonnie Dales

Sedro-Woolley