Quality of life has improved under Dean Maxwell
I have followed with interest the ongoing debate about who should be the mayor of Anacortes in the coming years.

Apparently Mr. Sonnenberg, being new to the area, thinks we here in Anacortes need to be schooled in what is right for our community. Personally I couldn’t disagree more.
You only need to look around the area at other communities to see just how well run Anacortes is under Mayor Maxwell. Under his guidance we have avoided the onslaught of the “big box” stores that Mr. Sonnenberg believes we need on our doorstep (I mean really, just how many Walmarts does one area need?).

The downtown area has been revitalized in recent years and instead of retail mania, we have gained new parks, hiking trails and dedicated Forest Lands for use by the community. Businesses have grown in the downtown core and with careful attention to the business environment, businesses can continue to benefit.

As a result of the hard work by Dean Maxwell and his staff, the quality of life in Anacortes has steadily improved over the years.

I work in Anacortes and on a personal level, I have known Dean Maxwell for over 30 years and I know him to be a man of integrity and dedication. He has been a responsible mayor who has always been ready to deal head-on with problems and issues that confront the city of Anacortes.

As a dedicated family man, he is an integral part of the community and understands that “status quo” can be a positive term for keeping Anacortes the great place we all enjoy being a part of. Thanks Dean.
Terry Johnson
Big Lake

Mayor grew up here, respects city’s character
It’s time to vote again for the mayor of our fair city, Anacortes. The major criteria, I believe, are: Someone who has a proven track record that we all know, is dedicated to and loves this city, has grown up here and respects what this city and its citizens stand for and who desires to protect the natural character that we all love.

The candidate who carries and cherishes these characteristics is Dean Maxwell. He has worked hard for us. Now, let’s work hard for him. Please re-elect Dean Maxwell, mayor of Anacortes.
Jim Ford
Anacortes

Rubin helping port, city get along better
Re-elect Keith Rubin Port of Anacortes Position 5.

As a former city councilman, I understood the problems between the port and city. Since the election of Keith Rubin four years ago I’ve seen, and so have many others, a change in the port-city relations for the good. Let’s keep it that way.

Vote Keith Rubin for port position 5.
Bud Rock
Anacortes

Don’t blame the mayor if you were unprepared
I’m responding to Janet Moore’s comment in her Oct. 21 letter to the editor wherein she suggested it was Mayor Maxwell’s fault that she couldn’t get to work during last winter’s snowstorm.

Each of us is responsible for preparing our cars for winter. Buy (and use) a set of tire chains. I’d bet that’s one of the things municipal road maintenance workers do in order to reach their jobs at oh-dark-thirty on cold snowy mornings, way before most of us smell the coffee.

They’re expected to show up for work and they do what it takes. If we all did that, we might not blame someone else because it snows on our fair city from time to time.
Mike Keller
Anacortes

Vote for those who consider all growth options
We have attended a couple of candidate forums related to the current elections and have read widely on candidates’ positions. To the best of our knowledge, none of the candidates running for mayor, City Council or the port has explained how it is that Anacortes has not promoted growth in the marine manufacturing industry.

Since Anacortes has chosen to embark on development of the Marine Technology Center, it seems incongruous that our leadership would ignore the marine manufacturing industry in favor of retail and residential development. (We heard one candidate express his position that it may be “… that the Marine Technology Center will prove to be a big mistake”!)

We are amazed (and frustrated) that incumbents at the time would have allowed Westport, ACB Manufacturing and others to “get away.” They would obviously have been significant employers and continued Anacortes’ rich legacy of marine-related businesses.

We suggest that voters would be best advised to cast their votes for individuals who are considering all options for future growth, options that will also maintain the traditions of this lovely city.
Sharron and Bob Baggs
Anacortes

Anthony’s is in good spot; GEMS project isn’t
What good news for Anacortes! Anthony’s Restaurants signed a 30-year lease with the Port of Anacortes at Cap Sante.  What a wonderful combination — great food and a great location.

This is the correct location for a restaurant of this size, easily accessed from Commercial Avenue, R Avenue and the marina, with plenty of land in close proximity for an adequate parking lot. It is a commercial establishment located within a commercial zone.

In contrast to this, there is the proposed GEMS pier project at the former Sebastian and Stuart Cannery in Old Town.  GEMS describes its project as a “new commercial center” and proposes a hotel roughly the size of the Majestic and a 150-seat restaurant with a large lounge (bar) at the foot of B Ave.

Unlike Anthony’s, the cannery site is about one mile from Commercial Avenue and is entered through a narrow residential street, surrounded by homes. Its proposed parking lot would be almost one-third of a mile away, again surrounded by homes. This necessitates the use of valet parking service, which doubles the car trips through the neighborhood.
We, members of Save Our Neighborhood, enjoy our proximity to Commercial Avenue and its restaurants, shops, stores, hotels and other services. We don’t believe commercial activities should be inserted into the midst of our homes. Would you want this to be done in your neighborhood?

We look forward to strolling to Cap Sante and dining at Anthony’s.  We will certainly recommend it to family and friends for its great food and its great location.
Arlene French
Anacortes

Uses of ACFL should be limited for preservation
I was shocked at the close vote of 4 to 3 by which we are able to keep our Forest Lands primarily for conservation and habitat and secondarily for recreational opportunities.
In the ’80s, many local citizens worked long and hard to stop the logging in the forest and to write a forest plan which would best protect this precious possession.

From there, we went on to work out the Conservation Easement Program, which is gradually putting the Forest Lands under permanent protection managed by the Skagit Land Trust. The CEP was deemed necessary as we realized the forest’s protection could be undone at the whim of a new set of city council members.

And here we are! By a narrow margin, the forest remains protected. The CEP has been an amazing success, raising far more money than expected. We did not donate this time, money and land with the expectation that it would be turned into a dog park or a source of revenue for local businesses.

With our rapidly increasing local population, we cannot protect the forest and actively solicit use from out of town. We must limit bicycle and motorcycle use; they can do irreparable harm to terrain and to wildlife.

Thanks to the Skagit Valley Herald for their fine coverage of this topic.
Kathryn Alexandra
Anacortes

Active mayor has kept city healthy in hard times
I support Dean Maxwell’s bid for another term as mayor of Anacortes.

We grew up together in the Island View neighborhood where Dean still lives. I know him to be a fair, honest person with Anacortes’ best interests at heart.

He has proven to be an accessible, active mayor who has mostly succeeded in balancing our various and sometimes competitive needs. I am especially impressed with Anacortes’s solid financial health in these difficult economic times.

I don’t think change for change’s sake makes much sense and would urge you to support Dean, who has devoted so much to this community.
Mike Webb
Anacortes

If trail is city’s jewel, rock work is its setting
I just finished reading the Oct. 21, 2009, Anacortes American. I am completely overwhelmed by the plans of the Samish and the city to further destroy the trestle and causeway.

To imagine the trestle without that well-constructed and beautiful causeway is hard for me to visualize. You remove it and all you have is more muddy bay that is good only for spartina grass.

How many remember the mid-60s when the oyster spat came through Fidalgo Bay? That causeway was covered with healthy oysters. The small bay inside the causeway was two feet high with oysters!

You could see them from the highway when you came or went from town. I ate many of them. The creosote didn’t seem to bother them any more than the lack of tidal flow in the bay did.

If possible, let’s somehow repair the trestle for foot and bicycle traffic and leave well enough alone.

To quote Ms. Woodward, “The whole trail is the jewel of the community.”

Saying that, isn’t the causeway the setting for the jewel?
George Strickert
Anacortes

4:30 a.m. street sweeping is hard to endure
I live on Fourth Street and am completely fed up with the street sweeper going to work downtown at 4:30 a.m.

I realize that I am not in the quietest location. I put up with the ship yard, the port and the bars downtown, but the street sweeper is by far the worst of them all.

You can hear the thing coming from blocks away as its drone gets louder and louder, until it rattles my whole apartment and a flashing yellow light shines through my window as it goes by ... did I mention it’s 4:30 a.m.? Sounds like a darn 747 taxiing by my window.

I understand that they may want to get the job done when there is minimal traffic, but seriously there isn’t that much more traffic at 8 in the morning. I have been tolerant to this point, but I wish I knew where the driver of that stupid thing lived. I would slowly circle the streets of his neighborhood at 4:30 a.m. with my hand pressed firmly against the horn.

Is there any way to make this stop?
Erik Best
Anacortes

Architect has given expertise to shelter project
It has recently come to my attention that a young architect by the name of Brooks Middleton has donated over 300 hours of work to date to the Anacortes Community Shelter Project.

Whether you agree with this type of project or not, the idea that a young professional feels committed to his community to donate that kind of time (which usually goes for $50 to $75 per hour) is truly worthy of acknowledgement and appreciation.  The fact that the structure is pleasant looking, scaled for the neighborhood, has used materials and systems that are of high quality, is low maintenance, is environmentally friendly and is a durable building only adds to the awe in which I hold this young man.  He and his group did not treat this project as an aside; they dealt with it as a priority project.

I know the finished product is the result of a large group of committed people who provided a lot of volunteer work and willingness to stay with a project of this type for a long period of time.  I know they were happy to contribute to a project that will help the lives of everyone who has need of it.

I simply wished to acknowledge the contributions of a fine young man and let him know I am proud to have him in Anacortes.
Robin Pestarino
Anacortes