Letters

Lake Forest Park

Why consider taxes for essential services?

The city of Lake Forest Park council has budgeted $50,000 to study the potential for the city to get involved in the water service business. Why is the city wanting to get into a business that other entities are trying to get out of? The Lake Forest Park Water District has been providing this service before and after the incorporation of the city. It is a public utility that has and is providing an essential service.

For the users it is a necessity, not a choice. Therefore it is puzzling why the city is trying to put a franchise fee on the water service by a public utility. By law the city is entitled to recover the expenses of services provided. The water district pays for all necessary permits therefore not incurring any extra expense to the city. Since the 6 percent franchise fee, the city is seeking, is not providing anything, it would amount to new taxes to the water users. And the city wants to spend $50,000 of your tax dollars to add new taxes?

Of course the city is not the only one trying to do it. The state of Washington also has imposed a fee on water service. This recent fee is spelled out on the water service bills. Since it does not provide any service from the state, it amounts to a new tax on an essential service.

Why is water service taxed when food and medical services are not? Looks like the government is not questioning why, and for you to is to do and die.

J. APSITIS

Lake Forest Park

Shoreline

Preservation of space, history is needed now

Throughout history, decisions have been made to sacrifice expense to preserve something. If we had no concern for future generations and always thought only of the money we would make today, we wouldn’t bother to set aside parks; they could be covered with pavement and buildings that generate tax dollars. We wouldn’t care to prevent pollution; we could instead allow business owners to pollute our air. We wouldn’t need to safeguard our historic sites; we could just tear them down whenever they stand in the way of making a little money.

But we do have parks, and we do have clean air, and we do have historic sites. Yet, I still sense a pervasive feeling in our city government that what Shoreline needs is more business and more apartment complexes. Perhaps this is true, but when those desires constantly trample over our history, I take umbrage.

Sure, it’s cheaper to destroy the small portion of the red brick road called Ronald Place than it is to preserve it. Why go to the expense of using real money for mitigation when you can just give away “free” public property? After all, it’s only one small piece of road. We have other historic places. We’ll save those. And on it goes.

We have only one chance to save what’s left of our first road. The road Judge Ronald dug with his own hands in 1913. The largest portion of the road has already been sacrificed for a Walgreens. Soon, the remaining portion will be seriously threatened. It is time for our government to take a firm stance against the destruction of another historic place in our community. In 100 years, what will the people who live here see at the place where the road now curves? Another drab business or a piece of history it took guts to preserve?

TRACY TALLMAN

Edmonds

Parks bond can help save open space

How many ways can a citizen say thank you to the Shoreline City Council for approving the Shoreline Parks Bond election planned for Tuesday, May 16? Thank you seems like not enough.

During the first 10 years of the city we have seen rampant development and the loss of many of our vacant lots. We now have the opportunity to preserve 25 acres of open space for protection of native plants, providing wildlife habitat, ensuring that we will have fresh air and clean water and a future with birds singing as they have a home in the open spaces.

There will be trails throughout the city to provide safe walkways as well as nature walks.

Included in the bond will be improvements and additions to our existing parks and for our youth sports programs improvements for fields. I am particularly excited about lights on the tennis courts at the Shoreline Center and an off-leash dog park planned. A complete list of the projects could be picked up at city hall.

When we had a committee called Vision Shoreline to form the city I am sure that this is the vision that they had for the future.

Please join me in support of the Shoreline Parks Bond and send donations for the campaign to Citizens for Shoreline Parks, P.O. Box 60183, Shoreline, WA 98160. I am so excited.

LA NITA JORDAN WACKER

Shoreline

National

Reducing fossil fuel reliance is a priority

Our energy policy exacerbates global warming, perverts our foreign policy, and allows the Middle East and Central Asia too much influence over America. Russia is the second largest producer of oil and, along with Iran, controls 45 percent of all natural gas reserves.

Our energy policy is not balanced. Fossil fuels are removed from the ground and burned for energy, returning water and carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Plants, which combine carbon dioxide and water with energy from the sun, convert them back into hydrocarbons. Worldwide, as we burn more fossil fuels we also cut down more forests. That’s why global warming is accelerating.

If we burned bio-fuels for our energy we could balance the energy equation. Plants take the products of combustion, the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and water, and use energy from the sun to convert them back into hydrocarbons. If we used this bio-fuel for our energy needs, the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide would remain constant.

We could realize great advantages if we grew our own fuel in America. The most productive farmers, the most advanced plant technology, and the most arable land in the world all lay within America’s Midwest. And American farmers from the Middle West are far friendlier than Islamo-Fascists from the Middle East.

Realizing energy balance would not be easy but it could be accomplished with concentrated effort. Being part of a team with a common purpose has its own rewards. We need leadership to bring us all together.

At the start of the 21st century we are energy hunter-gatherers. As stocks of fossil fuels dwindle, conflicts will increase. By the end of this century we should become energy growers and free ourselves from being chained to fossil fuels and their negative consequences.

DON KREIMAN

Edmonds

Edmonds

Everyone lives with the tragedy of arson

Since the Dec. 17 fire of The Gregory condominiums, I have given a great amount of thought to the disturbing incidences of arson that occurs from time to time. This particular one struck very close to home for me since I too am building condominiums in Edmonds.

We spend a great deal of effort protecting our construction site at Point Edwards by employing security guards and even night-time staff to work quietly in our buildings. In the past two years, we have spent over $200,000 at Point Edwards for security, which greatly frustrated me up until Dec. 17. I quickly realized what a bargain the cost of the security has been for us.

Dec. 17 was also the day of our construction company Christmas party. The inspiring speech that I had prepared for that evening’s event turned into a speech of thankfulness for what we had, that none of our sites had been victimized by arson, that our employees still had jobs at the sites and that many people excited about moving into their new homes in our new properties were going to be able to do so. The staff agreed.

I like to get to know how people think and why they feel and act the way they do. This knowledge benefits my relationships with friends and colleagues. I do not want to understand arson. I believe it belongs in the same class with the lowest class of criminals because of the damage it does to so many people for lengthy periods of time.

With my closed mind concerning this, I may never understand how anyone could see excitement and joy in destroying someone else’s home, jobs or finances. Unfortunately, this is one of those things in our business that keeps us at attention to protect our property and the lives of others. Bob Gregg, Brad Butterfield, their team and many others are living with this tragedy.

What about compassion? Edmonds has always been a caring community. I understand the arrested suspects are young men. I pray for their healing and that of their devastated families, and that at some point they can have productive lives and learn from their terrible mistake. Sure they need to face what they have done and serve their time. However, we all make mistakes and I feel all of us deserve forgiveness.

ROSS WOODS

Bellevue