OLYMPIA – The YMCA of Snohomish County wants to sell 800 acres it owns on Ebey Island to the state and spend the proceeds on expanding its facilities in the region.
The money – lawmakers propose the state pay $2.5 million in a grant for the land – would help the YMCA add features such as pools and family recreation areas to its branches in Everett, Monroe and Mukilteo.
Rep. Hans Dunshee, D- Snohomish, is pushing the sale in Olympia, requesting money in the capital budget for the acquisition.
“Every year the state purchases land, and every year the state gives money to the YMCA,” he said, “This is simply combining the two.”
The Department of Fish and Wildlife would manage the land that today sits fallow and is used by some neighboring owners for cattle grazing. The department now owns the adjacent 420-acre Ebey Wildlife Area.
The 800-acre parcel would be used to create biking and hiking trails, expand wildlife conservation and implement proposed salmon restoration projects, according to department officials.
“There is a nice cross-connection here between the recreational value of the land and its salmon recovery value,” said Tom Davis, the department’s legislative liaison.
“The sale would be a win-win situation for the community,” agreed Jerry Beavers, CEO and president of YMCA of Snohomish County.
Local farmers, however, are less than enthusiastic about the sale.
John Postema, president of the Snohomish County Farm Bureau, said this sale is another example of the state failing to carry out the mandates in the Growth Management Act to protect farms.
Though the Ebey Island site is not actively used for farming, the state could take steps to make it viable but is not doing so, he said. This type of inaction is occurring all over the state and the cumulative effect is hurting farming, he said.
This sale will spur the Farm Bureau to consider its legal options against the state to ensure a viable agriculture industry, he said.
“This has to stop somewhere and this is where we are drawing the line,” said Postema.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife would not make any decisions on the use of the property without hearing community perspectives first, Davis said.
Dunshee said state goals could be accomplished in tandem with the interests of local farmers.
“We have talked about how fish, recreation and farming could coexist,” he said.
He added that it was important to focus on the benefits of the deal, such as better YMCA facilities for children and increased wildlife conservation efforts.
The 800 acres was donated to the YMCA by Kimberly-Clark in 2006. It had an estimated value of $4.7 million.
Dunshee and 10 other Snohomish County lawmakers requested a $2.5 million grant to buy the land in a Feb. 23 letter to the leaders of the House and Senate capital budget committees.
Beavers said the YMCA has received other offers would prefer to work with the state.
The sale would help the YMCA reach its goal of raising $20 million for capital projects in Snohomish County.
Dunshee said he hopes that the sale will go through.
“This is something that would be a great legacy for the community,” he said.
Reporter Whitney Cork: 360-352-8623 or wcork@heraldnet.com.
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