Author: allthingslakechelan

by Richard Uhlhorn

Hospital Board Chairman Mary Signorelli swore in Jordana LaPorte to fill the vacant spot on the hospital commission at its Special Meeting on May 31.

The Lake Chelan Community Hospital held a special meeting on Thursday, May 31, to swear in Jordana LaPorte as its new commissioner and to appoint, authorize and direct the Chief Executive Officer to sign any documents required by the United States Department of Agriculture – Rural Development to complete the processing of the District’s loan application.

In consideration of passing Resolution No. 589, the board acknowledged that Interim CEO Steve Patonai might not be the hospital’s CEO during the entire loan application process, which is why the resolution gives authority to any individual that holds the title of CEO.

Patonai told the board that he expected the loan approval over the next month. “It will come back to the board for final approval,” said Patonai. The board unanimously approved Resolution No. 589.

The Board is currently in the process of finding a new CEO to replace Kevin Abel who took a job in Montana. In the interim, Steve Patonai is acting CEO and helping the hospital through the process. In addition, the Board has hired B.E. Smith, a health care executive search firm, to help locate the right person to be the hospital’s new CEO.

Chris Corwin, Vice President of B.E. Smith Company, a Health Care Executive Search Firm, answers questions from the hospital board on the process of finding a new CEO to replace Kevin Abel who took a job in Montana.

Chris Corwin, Vice President of the firm, was on hand to discuss the process with the Board. She said her company was very committed and passionate to finding someone who will fit in the community. “We will go out in the market representing you,” she said.

B.E. Smith will be screening applicants based on criteria developed by the hospital board. Corwin said the timeline for finding suitable applicants will be three to four weeks. “The board will determine who they are most excited about,” she said.

The first screening interviews will be conducted by video for its practicality. Those who are short listed will be brought on site. The initial screening process will be accomplished in executive session and it won’t be until the finalists are selected that a public session will be held.

Hospital commissioner Mary Murphy had several questions for Chris Corwin of B.E. Smith Company regarding the criteria for finding a new CEO.

Board member Mary Murphy asked if B.E. Smith’s criteria will be different than what the board is using. Corwin replied that it wouldn’t be different. Over the next week, the board will develop its criteria. Murphy asked if Corwin would be available for consultation which Corwin replied in the affirmative.

Dr. Witt asked about the market, pay and benefits. Chairman Mary Signorelli answered that a CEO could be paid higher or lower depending on experience. There is also a State bench mark in the industry.

Corwin added that the job would be made attractive and that they would have that conversation with applicants up front. “We want to screen all of those people,” she said.

Signorelli said that once the board is down to two candidates, they will also be interviewed by the staff and have a meet and greet with the public invited. Signorelli commented that when Mike Jackson was hired at the City, there was a social get together at the Vogue. “They had postcards so people could write down who they liked the best,” she said.

Chairman Mary Signorelli signs paperwork at the Special Board meeting held on Thursday, May 31. 

Signorelli told Corwin that it was good to have her on board. “We are looking forward to working with you,” she added. “We are not in a rush mode. We are taking our time to find the best person possible.” Corwin replied that she was looking forward to the process as well.

The board unanimously approved an amendment to Patonai’s Employment Agreement for the next three months without having to come back to the board each month.

The next board meeting will be held on June 7 at 1:30 p.m. in the hospital board room. The public is invited to attend.

Cruizin Chelan hits the streets for the 12th year on Friday and Saturday, June 1 & 2 with and estimated 150 entries from hot rods to modern machinery. 

by Richard Uhlhorn

The 12^th annual Cruizin Chelan Car Show is coming to town this Friday and Saturday with registration opening up at the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday evening.

Friday evening’s activities include a $15 a head BBQ at Riverwalk Park from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. along with a beer garden, live music, kids activities and a Show n’ Shine for the car participants. Car participants are also invited to an Open House at Miller’s Auto Museum.

Motorhead Leo Miller and the Lake Chelan Car Club are helping the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce with the judging at this year’s Cruizin Chelan Car Show.

“We are busy helping the Chamber set this show up,” said Leo Miller. “They are short staffed.” The Lake Chelan Car Club (lakechelancarclub.com) will conduct the judging and help with parking the participants cars on Woodin Avenue.

Saturday is the big day for the show with more registration from 7 a.m. to noon.

Chelan Fire & Rescue is holding a Pancake Breakfast that the Fire Hall. The cars that have entered the show this year will be on display downtown from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. with judging taking place throughout the day. The awards ceremony will b at 3 p.m.

Once again, BBQ Masters will be on Emerson for the PNWBA Pro BBQ Classic with samples of some of the best barbeque in the world will be available for $2.

Over 150 cars from vintage to new are expected to fill the downtown.

Lots of exquisite machinery will be on display at the Cruizin Chelan Car Show Friday and Saturday. 

Friday June 1

5pm-8pm: Registration at the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce

6pm-9pm: BBQ dinner at Riverwalk Park – *Tickets are only $15. Purchase here!

6pm-9pm: Beer Garden

6pm-9pm: Live Music

6pm-9pm: Kids activities – Inflatables in the Park

6pm-9pm: Show ‘n’ Shine

8pm-10pm: Open House for Car Participants at Miller’s Auto Museum

Saturday June 2

7am-12pm: Registration at the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce

8am-11am: Volunteer Fire Department Pancake Breakfast

8am-2pm: Show ‘n’ Shine

8am-2pm: 50/50 Raffle

10am-2pm: Poker Walk

10am-4pm: Kids Activities & Inflatables in the Park

10am-2pm: Judging

11am-5pm: Beer Garden

3pm: Awards Ceremony

10pm: Fireworks

POKER WALK – Stop in at 5 local businesses (Apple Cup Cafe, Coldwell Banker, Kelly’s Ace Hardware, The Shirt Shop and Swim World) to collect different cards for this exciting poker walk! Winner receives a Lake Chelan getaway!

KIDS ACTIVITIES – Enjoy free face painting, inflatable toys in the park, tricycle riding, hula hooping, blowing bubbles and so much more!

BEER GARDEN – Sit back and relax in the Lake Chelan sun (or shade!) while enjoying a deliciously ice cold beer. Bring your friends!

50/50 RAFFLE – Be on the look out for both Manson Apple Blossom Royalty and Miss Lake Chelan Royalty, who will be selling raffle tickets for a chance to win 50% of the winnings!

SHOW ‘N’ SHINE – Stroll up and down main street in Chelan and view the 150+ classic cars, trucks and motorcycles vying for a chance to win the coveted “Best of Show” award.

PNWBA PRO BBQ CLASSIC – Watch BBQ masters in action while you sample some of the best BBQ in the Pacific Northwest. Samples are only $2 and you can vote for your favorite!

by Richard Uhlhorn

Public Works Director Dwane Van Epps attended his last City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 22. Dwane is retiring after working for the City since 1983. Mayor Mike Cooney recognized his service to the City and lauded his achievements, integrity and class. Dwane’s last official day is May 31, 2018.

City Council meetings are generally boring affairs where the Council members pass or table motion considerations. At the Tuesday, May 22 meeting, the Council quickly passed four Motions including, the 2018 AWC Annual Business Meeting Voting Delegates and Flag Bearer; an amendment to the City’s Towing Services code (10.38.060 and 10.38.080 which then moved to a motion to authorize the Mayor to finalize and execute City Towing Services with Stormin’ Towing which operates out of Entiat; unanimously passed a motion to execute an Interlocal Agreement with the PUD for the LED Relight Project; and to authorize the Mayor to finalize and execute the Professional Services Agreement with SCJ Alliance for construction administration and inspection for the upcoming Woodin Avenue Bridge Project that begins this Spring and will run for 105 days.

The last motion under consideration was to authorize the Mayor to finalize and execute the Lookout Winery District Phase 2 Final Plat. This is where things got interesting.

On February 9, 2016, the Hearing Examiner conducted an “Open Record” public hearing to receive public testimony on the preliminary plat. On March 24, 2016, the City Council considered the Hearing Examiners recommendations at a “Closed Record” hearing and passed Ordinance No. 2016-1508 adopting the Hearing Examiner’s recommendations.

The Lookout’s Phase 2 consists of 42 residential lots and four open space tracts, and connects Bighorn Way to the No-See-Um intersection, the required open space and extends the public trail system for No-See-Um to the final plat boundary along Bighorn Way and Bluebell, Lane as per the Lookout’s agreement with the City.

The project area was formerly established with orchards, vineyards and undeveloped land. The City Planner or his staff issued a Determination of Non Significance on January 13, 2016 with a comment period ending on January 28, 2016.

Most of the comments received were concerned primarily with water quality issues and water runoff.

Gildroy told the Council that the opportunity to challenge any conditions had come and gone; that the Plat was bonded and all conditions and requirements for development had been satisfied.

City Planner Craig Gildroy outlined the process of approving the Lookout’s Phase 2 Plat which includes 42 new residential lots just east of the Lookout and
west of the Vin du Lac Winery

“This is not open for additional public comment at this time,” said Gildroy.

Gildroy said that the sub-division administrator, which was him, reviewed the request and that all plat conditions and development agreements have been met. “I have done that. I have had a couple of meetings with staff and Public Works.”

He went on to say that the City Council has the final say on all of the items. “This is the time for you to make sure that all those things have been satisfied.”

Council woman Wendy Isenhart raised the question about contaminated orchard land and whether or not the Lookout project was tested for lead and arsenic.

Councilperson Wendy Isenhart said, “The question that keeps coming up is what about this orchard land. What’s the answer to that? The last time you said leave it alone… that’s the best policy.”

Gildroy replied that in 2016 the Department of Ecology provided consultation and sent a letter. “In that letter it recommended soils testing, and if there’s levels above what is kind of the minimum level the property owner is to be notified.”

“Unfortunately, that plat condition didn’t require that (testing), so at this point we can’t do anything about it,” added Gildroy.

The Department of Ecology will be attending a City Workshop on June 5. “We will all be better informed after that meeting.” Gildroy said the City may want to do something in the City Code, “but my caution there is that best management practices for lead and arsenic have changed over the years. I’m going to let Ecology speak on those issues. I don’t want to mess it up, so hopefully the June 5 workshop will educate us.”

Councilman Ray Dobbs stated that on January 21, Ecology did recommend soils be sampled and asked if this letter was part of the documentation presented to the Hearing Examiner?

Councilman Ray Dobbs stated that a letter from Ecology in January recommended that the orchard land be tested. He asked Gildroy if this letter was a part of the documentation presented to the Hearing Examiner.

Gildroy replied that it was. “I was not the Project Manager on this site and cannot tell you. We consult with Ecology. I’m not saying it couldn’t have been overlooked, but it was just a recommendation and I think I need to let Ecology speak more on it and the potential litigation.”

Dobbs asked if Ecology is a liable party, the City and/or the Property owner.

The issue of arsenic and lead contamination has a history in the development of residential properties in the Lake Chelan Valley. One individual keeping a close eye on the issue is Brian Patterson, a retired Environmental Consultant. He sent the following letter to the Mayor and City Council on the day of the January 22 meeting.

The letter Councilman Dobbs was referring to follows:

Dear Esteemed Mayor and Council Members,

 In lieu of attending tonight’s Council meeting to provide comments on the approval of the Lookout Winery District Phase 2 Final Plat, I’m sending this quick email.  My reasons for this approach are two-fold: 1) This item was not included in the agenda I reviewed last night, so I made other plans, and 2) I note that the new meeting format reflected in the agenda does not allow for public comments until after items are voted on, making any verbal comments I might make at the meeting moot.

 I realize that the approval of this development is well down the road so to speak, but to be consistent, I must point out that once again I believe the City did not follow proper State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) procedure in evaluating this project.  I would point out the following:

 1) The Lookout Winery District Phase 2 project in located on historical orchard lands sprayed with lead arsenate pesticides.  I have confirmed this.

 2) In more than one letter to the City related to the Lookout, the Washington Department of Ecology specifically noted that the project was located on historical orchard land and recommended that the soil be tested for lead and arsenic (see attached letter as an example specific to the Winery District – my highlighting added).

3) If soil testing were to find lead and/or arsenic concentrations greater than the Method A threshold concentrations provided in the Washington Model Toxics Control Act (as expected based on testing in other historical orchard lands in the Chelan Valley), a Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) could not be issued in accordance with SEPA regulations.

 4) There is no evidence that the City required soil sampling as recommended by the Department of Ecology.  Nonetheless, the City issued a DNS for the project, without any requirements to specifically address potential lead and arsenic contamination. To be clear, the primary issue related to lead and arsenic contamination that the Department of Ecology is concerned with is not related to dust created during construction (although this is an issue that needs to be addressed), but rather the potential for incidental ingestion of soil by people living in the homes at the Lookout after they are built, particularly children.

So as I’ve noted for other existing and proposed developments, the issue of lead and arsenic soil contamination has not been/is not being correctly addressed as required by SEPA law.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions (via responding to this email or by phone at 503-998-4265).  Thank you for your time.

The January 21 letter from Ecology states the following on the issue of lead and arsenic:

Based upon the historical agriculture use of this land there is a possibility the soil contains residual concentrations of pesticides. Ecology recommends that the site be sampled and analyzed for lead and arsenic, and for organochlorine pesticides.

If these contaminants are found in concentrations above the Model Toxics Control Act Cleanup levels, Ecology recommends that potential buyers be notified of their occurrence.

Isenhart said that these issues are something that the Council needs to know about and then made a motion to approve.

Council people Erin McCardle and Cerando Robledo immediately recused themselves from the vote. McCardle’s husband works for the Lookout as a construction manager and Robledo works at the Lookout.

This brought up a question of whether or not a quorum was present. City Attorney Quentin Batjer told McCardle and Robledo that they could go ahead and vote on the motion because it was an administrative issue to approve a plat that has met all conditions of the City.

City Administrator Mike Jackson stated that it was up to the council members to determine if they recuse themselves because of ethical question. McCardle said, “I’m not comfortable voting on this.” She stated that public perception was important to her and she had been under that microscope before.

In the end, after a discussion about quorums raised by Councilman Ty Witt, he seconded the motion and the vote was 4-1 with Councilman Tim Hollingsworth not in attendance.

The Lookout Phase 2 Project is on the road to development, but the concerns over contaminated soil raises the bar and potential property owners should be told of the potential risks.

Another project getting additional scrutiny is the huge Holiday Hills Project that has proposed subdividing three large parcels into 250 parcels consisting of Residential Multifamily and Tourist Accommodations over its 89.79 acres.

The City Planning Department gave this project a Determination of Non Significance, but the community has raised so many concerns that the project has been put on hold until the Developer answers a number of questions.

There will be a Community Meeting on this project on June 13 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Chelan Senior Center at 534 East Trow Avenue.

If you are unable to attend the meeting, but would like to relay your ideas about the project, please email Mr. Loren Combs at ldc@vislawgroup.com

Note: This meeting is not a public hearing, nor is it sponsored by the City of Chelan. It is informational only and not a part of the public review process.

The Wildfire Season is back and the Forest Service has made changes to its air resource policies that has Senator Maria Cantwell concerned.

by Richard Uhlhorn (all photos by Richard Uhlhorn)

2014 and 2015 were extremely bad wildfire years in North Central Washington. Without the use of air resources the millions of dollars of damages could have been much worse. Chelan residents are forever thankful for the air tanker that came through and doused south Chelan with retardant and, as many say, saved the area from further devastation.

In April, the U.S. Senate held a sub-committee meeting with the new Interim Forest Service Chief on Forest Service budget. During that meeting, it came out that the Forest Service had made several air resource policy changes including one that removes the contractual agreements with air resource companies requiring a 15 minute response time. Senator Maria Cantwell had a number of questions for the new chief on that policy change citing the devastating fires of 2014 and 2015 in our area.

Water Scoopers are an integral and important resource for wildland firefighters on the ground. This unit was used during the 2015 fires in Chelan and Douglas County 

“If they are not ready for 48 hours to serve us when we have an emergency, how is that serving us,” Senator Maria Cantwell asked Vicki Christiansen, the newly appointed head of the U.S. Forest Service.

Cantwell questioned Christiansen in a Senate Sub-Committee meeting regarding the Forest Service’s 2018 budget. In that hearing, it came out that the Forest Service had eliminated its contracts for all water scoopers and changed the way its air tankers are contracted for ahead of the 2018 fire season.

Under the new policy, the Forest Service will change its contracts from exclusive-use to a contract referred to as “call-when-needed.” Under the new contract, an air tanker has 48 hours to respond after it’s ordered, rather than the 15 minute response time under exclusive use contracts. The new policy would also force air tankers and water scoopers to operate after the first 24 hours of a fire starting.

“The point of air tankers is to be able to catch wildfires before they can grow into expensive incidents,” said Cantwell. “So, I am concerned about a policy that would leave these air tankers unable to fly when they are ordered for up to 48 hours.”

Being able to lay down long lines of retardant helps wildland firefighters get an upper hand on a fire line. This retardant line was photographed from Dale England’s helicopter in 2014 during the devastating Okanogan wlldfires.

The Forest Service also recently canceled existing contracts for its water scoopers, as well as for some of its air tankers, even though the Forest Service will have less available firefighting aircraft this year. In 2017, the Forest Service had 20 air tankers available, and will only have 13 air tankers available this year.

In 2017, 371 orders for an air tanker had to go unfulfilled because none were available.

The Forest Service terminated its previous contract on March 23, citing the need to save costs.

“I need to clarify two things,” said Christiansen. “Air tankers are a very important tool in the right place to retard fire. They don’t put the fires out. That is done by effective ground resources.”

Cantwell disagreed. “The Colville Tribe had about $2 billions of timber that burned up in one of our two bad fire seasons. We had catastrophic damage being done,”

Christiansen stated that the Forest Service has great predictive services and would activate air tanker and aircraft resources when and where they are needed. “It’s on us whether or not immediate response is needed,” she said.

Cantwell asked if Okanogan County had another big storm coming, would the Forest Service activate a call for air resources. Christiansen relied “If we didn’t have other exclusive use… then absolutely we would.”

Senator Wyden said, “We’ve got to fix this common defining practice of fire borrowing and liberate the Forest Service from funding them. We need more preventative work… fuel hazard reduction.”

“We are documenting changes in vegetation and the associated behavior on the landscape,” replied Christiansen. “Fuels are most challenging in Central Washington. To get a hand on the wildfire problem, we need robust research.” She mentioned research being conducted at the Fire Laboratory in Seattle as a part of that solution. “Wildfire is going to plague us significantly more,” she stated. “Restoration significantly reduces homes lost. We are documenting changes in vegetation and its associated behavior on the landscape.”

“We don’t refer to it as a fire season anymore,” said Christiansen. “We now refer it to a fire year.”

The Forest Service Game Plan is to get to the next stage where they have an actual game plan for attacking hazardous fuel backlog in the West.

She told the Senators that she would be happy to work with them on fire issues and said that within the next 30 days (one month ago) that the Forest Service would have a 2018 Fire Risk Map.

Christiansen was appointed as the Interim Chief of the Forest Service in March, 2018. She has been with the Forest Service for seven years, but has worked for over 30 years in the Arizona and Washington. She is a former wildland firefighter and fire manager and knows the benefits of partnering with State and local colleagues. In 2019 she plans on building a better relationship with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

Considering what happened in North Central Washington in both 2014 and 2015, it is imperative that air resources remain on the list for immediate response.

Helicopters like this one dumped hundred’s of gallons of water on Chelan Butte trying to keep the fire from blowing up. Helicopters are a major resource for wildland firefighter on the firelines.

Helicopters are apparently not on the policy changes and will be available when needed.

Chelan, WA – Lake Chelan Community Hospital & Clinics (LCCHC) Board of Commissioners appointed Jordana LaPorte of Chelan to fill the vacancy left by Commissioner Tom Warren at its regular board meeting Tuesday, May 22.  She will serve until the November 2019 election.

Jordana LaPorte

“I applied for this position because I believe our valley should have the best possible healthcare facility, and I believe I can contribute to that goal,” said LaPorte, who is the President/CEO of LaPorte Financial Alliance, Inc., a full-service accounting firm in Chelan.

“I want our hospital to be successful,” she said. “To me, that means it can provide efficient, quality and compassionate care, that it is sustainable, and that it is not a burden to the taxpayers… I believe I have the education, business experience and desire to facilitate that success.”

“Jordana LaPorte has a skill set that will be invaluable to the Board, “said Mary Signorelli, LCCHC Board Chair. “She will be an excellent addition.”

LaPorte founded LaPorte Financial Alliance, Inc. and purchased a local CPA’s sole proprietorship in 2003, after 17 years in the industry.  She completed her BA in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting at the University of Washington in 1985 and worked for one of the largest local accounting firms in Bellevue, continuing her education at Golden Gate University and receiving a Master’s Degree in Taxation in 1993. Professionally, LaPorte has focused on providing tax and business consulting and compliance to a wide variety of clients in many industries.

She is also a member of Lake Chelan Rotary, the American Institute of CPA’s, the Washington State Society of CPA’s, and Eastern Washington Advisory Board Member for the Washington Policy Center. She served as president of Lake Chelan Rotary in 2015 and 2016, as well as president of the North Central Washington Business Loan Fund. Additional experience includes founding Member and Chairman of the Young CPA’s, a subgroup of the Washington State Society of CPA’s, and Chair of the Membership Committee of the WSCPA.  LaPorte also participated in training through Financial Peace University and is a certified counselor. This program encourages the use of budgeting, financial responsibility, investing for the future and discourages the use of debt.

LaPorte looks forward to her time on the LCCHC Board and will begin orientation shortly. “I don’t pretend to know or understand all that this job will entail,” she said, “but I am confident that I have the skills and desire to get up to speed quickly and be a productive board member.”

“I don’t believe everyone will agree all of the time,” she continued, “and even when we do agree, I think it is still important to play the devil’s advocate, thereby looking at different sides of the issue, something I am particularly good at.”

LaPorte moved to the Chelan area in 1999, having married a farmer local to the valley; they have three children. The family farm includes apples and cherries as well as the occasional pig, steer or produce for fair.

Six individuals submitted letters of interest for the vacant LCCHC Board position. After initial review at a special Board meeting May 15, the Board asked two applicants, LaPorte and Guy Evans, to submit additional information, which they reviewed and discussed during an executive session at the May 22 Board meeting.

Mary Signorelli, Chairman of the Hospital Board of Commissioners

“We want to sincerely thank all of the applicants,” said Signorelli. “They were all quality candidates, and we appreciate their interest and support of the hospital.”

by Richard Uhlhorn

The beautiful sounds of Jazz rang throughout the Lake Chelan Valley as a number of jazz artists and bands joined with local wineries for the first annual Lake Chelan Wine and Jazz Festival on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Fifteen jazz bands featuring a number of internationally recognized artists played at 10 wine venues throughout the Valley to the delight of the 665 jazz aficionados who purchased tickets.

Every winery and venue that hosted a jazz group was crowded with jazz aficionados like this crowd at Benson Estate Winery.

“We estimate there were more like 800 to 1,000 people enjoying the shows and in town for the event,” said Holly Brown, event director of marketing and community relations. “The venues were packed and the music was top drawer. Every artist we spoke to wants to return next year.”

Over 100 volunteers helped to make the festival a success and many people in the community have asked event organizers to make sure it happens again next year.

Brown also stated that over 30 sponsors supported the festival, contributing $500 to $10,000 each. Over 11,000 unique visitors checked out the website (www.chelanwinejazz.com) since it was launched seven months ago.

If you did not join in, you missed a great event which will only become more popular in years to come.

Jazz has its roots in America and the first festivals actually began in the 30s, but Wilkes-Barre Penn. Claims that they held the first festival in 1951 when eight jazz bands got together.

Today, jazz festivals abound around the country and the world. Many are associated with wine venues and the Lake Chelan vineyards and wineries are a perfect setting for music venues.

Because of the logistics it was hard to visit more than three or four venues on an all-day ticket. We chose Eugenie Jones at Vin du Lac, Pearl Django & Gail Pettis at the Ruby, and Lenny Price & Becky Griswold at Benson. All were worth the price of admission.

Eugenie Jones wowed the crowd at Vin du Lac on Saturday afternoon.

Eugenie Jones is an engaging singer/song writer that mixes old standards like “Take Five” with original tunes like “A Good Day” that have earned her a reputation as a national jazz stylist.

She thanked the crowd at Vin du Lac and encouraged them to continue to listen to jazz. “Jazz comprises only one percent of the music industry,” she said. Vin du Lac had a full house during the day. Larry Lehmbecker, owner of the winery, is known for bringing a variety of musicians to the valley on Saturday afternoons from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. which makes the venue a wonderful place to spend a warm summer evening with a bottle of wine and a Hors d’oeuvre or a farm to table dinner.

Pearl Django and Gail Pettis played at the Ruby Theater on Saturday also. Pettis was named the 2010 Northwest Vocalist of the Year. Pearl Django is a well known and highly regarded band marked by pristine and dexterous string work. Coupled with Pettis the venue was well attended by jazz enthusiast.

Jazz singer Gail Pettis and Pearl Django played to a full house at the historic Ruby Theater on Saturday afternoon.

Out at Benson Vineyards, American jazz saxophonist, Lenny Price, and his quartet were performing standards made famous by the likes of Cannonball Adderley and other famous jazz artists along with a few of his own original music.

Price, who now lives in Ellensburg, is best known for touring for 13 years with Grammy-winning guitarist Earl Klugh. He is currently overseeing the production and development of Jazz, Bites & Sips initiative.

Lenny Price and his band filled the tables at Benson Estate Winery.

Benson Vineyards is an outstanding venue for music, perched above Lake Chelan with plenty of room to enjoy the views and entertainment. Now that the new Bistro is in place, serving food and drinks from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, the winery no longer allows patrons to bring their own food in.

On Sunday, the Ellensburg Big Band and the Lake Chelan Jazz Band performed for the public at Riverwalk Pavillion. Bob Soost, John Duff, Steve Sanders and Susan House entertained a crowd estimated at 50 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

On Sunday afternoon, the Lake Chelan Jazz Band played to an estimated crowd of 50. They were preceded by the Ellensburg Big Band.

Other performers who had great reviews was the Collin Provence Trio, Sonando, Gretta Matassa, the Kobie Watkins Grouptet, Doctorfunk, Laura Love and the Terry Hunt Trio, Four on Six, and Justin Young.

The weather was great and people seemed to be enjoying the combination of great jazz and wine.

The Lake Chelan Wine and Jazz Festival Foundation has a mission to support and promote jazz appreciation, music education, and the arts in the Lake Chelan Wine Valley. All net pProceeds are being directed to the Boys and Girls club of Brewster.

“Plans are definitely underway for next year,” said Brown. “We plan to make this an annual festival and feel it was a smashing success for a first effort.”

For jazz aficionados, the Lake Chelan Valley is a perfect venue for this type of festival and if this year was any indication, next year will be even better.

Note: This blog is supported by the following advertisers. If you are interested in keeping up to date on Valley news, sports and events, consider advertising with us. 

by Richard Uhlhorn

There were a number of issues raised at the Tuesday evening, May 8, City Council meeting of interest to the general public. These issues ranged from the proposed Holiday Hills development to water craft safety to water rights.

The proposed Holiday Hills Development is probably the largest project ever applied for in the City of Chelan. It includes residential, condominiums, apartment houses, hotel, restaurant and retail space on the south side of Chelan and raised the ire of a number of residents in the area who felt that it was being approved by the City Planning Department without consideration of its potential impacts.

Councilman Tim Hollingsworth brought the development up during Council comments. “There is a lot of concern over this development,” said Hollingsworth. “I just hope as a City, we are taking those things seriously.”

Councilman Tim Hollingsworth brought up the Holiday Hills Development at the Tuesday evening Council meeting. 

Hollingsworth went on to state that the development has a lot of moving pieces and he thanked the public who have raised  serious concerns for looking over the City’s shoulders. “I think that’s what makes this government work best… it’s a lot of people staying involved and keeping our feet to the fire.”

Planning Director Craig Gildroy gave an update on the proposed development. “The Planning Department did request additional information that included an updated traffic study and an updated critical area study,” said Gildroy.

Planning Director Craig Gildroy updated the Council on the Holiday Hills Development application process. 

The Planning Department is still reviewing the public comments that have been submitted. “There is missing information on easements and a lot of other things,” Gilroy told the Council. “We are still waiting for that information to be supplied by the applicant, so basically the application is on hold until we get that.”

He also said that the Planning Department would most likely request additional information from the applicant on elements on the environmental check list. “No decisions (on the development) have been made,” said Gildroy. “Once we get all the studies we are going to ask for… I fully anticipate whatever SEPA decision we make we will have another public comment period.”

Water Shed Planning Meeting:

Hollingsworth also brought up the recent Watershed Planning meeting which discussed water rights. “There will be a significant cost to the City to get these water rights developed,” he said. “And, there is a kind of brewing difficulty because there are a lot more people who have taken up the Department of Ecology on this shared cost then there are actual water rights.”

NOTE: One of the ideas that have been developed is to share the cost of processing water right applications by people who have applied. Many of these applications have been sitting in Ecology’s office for years because there hasn’t been the money to process them.

Hollingsworth also said the County is struggling with some of the withdrawals from Lake Chelan that are not permitted. “There are unpermitted withdrawals from the lake that are next to somebody who is paying a significant amount of money for a permitted withdrawal,” he said. “So there are going to be some issues coming down the pike that we are going to have to work through. It’s pretty complicated.”

Towing:

Burkhart Towing is no longer in business because he purchased the local NAPA store. This has left the City without a towing company to turn to when needed.

City Parks and Recreation Director Karen Sargent updated the Council on the search for a new towing contractor.

Parks Director Karen Sargent has been working on the issue and told Council that she has two towing companies who have provided proposals. “We don’t use towing services very often,” she said. “We discovered that there are only two towing companies within a 50 mile radius and when I looked at the (City’s) towing policies there are some issues with the original language.” Sargent in the process of changing the code for Council to consider at its next meeting on the 22^nd.

There is also no Impound Yard within the City’s Urban Growth Area, so Sargent has changed the code language to state within 50 miles of the City. Hollingsworth wondered if the Public Works Yard could be used as an impound area, but Sargent said an impound yard has to be certified. “I don’t think we want the hassle of certifying a yard,” she said.

Councilmen Ty Witt and Ray Dobbs asked about charges. Sargent said that the State gives towing companies a list of what they can charge up to $286 per hour. However, she said both towing companies are willing to negotiate with the City. “I don’t want to gouge anybody.”

Witt asked how many vehicles had been towed by the City. Sargent replied that they had a boat trailer towed and then had difficulty finding the owner.

Gildroy remarked that the Sheriff’s Department does more towing than the City and that they are also having a hard time finding a tow company to tow for them.

Boater safety:

City Administrator Mike Jackson told the Council that he would bring the boater safety issue back to the Council on May 22.

Boater safety was also brought up by Councilperson Kelly Allen who moved to require all operators of rental watercraft to display a rental decal where the Marine Patrol can see it. She also wanted to make sure that everyone operating a boat on the lake carries a Boater Education Card.

Councilperson Erin McCardle said, “I need a lot more information and discussion about that motion.” Hollingsworth weighed in and replied that the City has a Code that requires boaters to carry a Boater Education Card. He suggested looking at the existing code and have the staff come back to address some of the concerns. “We need to do this as a public process.” He also stated it would be nice to have the irresponsible boaters under control.

City Administrator said that it’s not the Code that’s the problem, it’s the enforcement side. McCardle stated that boat rental business owners need to be a part of the discussion.

The City is also looking at moving the No Wake Buoys and putting up signage.

Hollingsworth said that the City needs to come up with additional funding, but the Mayor stated that there are two Marine Patrol units on the lake spending one-half of their time in Chelan water and the other half in County waters, and “we are paying for all of it.”

Councilman Ray Dobbs remarked that the area had a great marine patrol volunteer program in the past and that it might be good to look into that as a solution.

Jackson said he would contact the Sheriff and come back to Council on the 22^nd’ “We will come back with a discussion and open this up to a public study.”

Mayor Cooney remarks:

Mayor Mike Cooney

Mayor Cooney reported that the City will accept brush for free the next two weeks in hopes that residents will make the areas around their homes fire safe.

“Glass has dominated my mind recently,” Cooney said. The Recycle Center has 30 to 40 tons of glass the City is trying to get rid of.

Cooney also met with members of the Lake Chelan Wine Alliance. “If you serve beverages from glass, you are a part of the problem. I would contribute from my company and I would hope others would contribute,” he said.

“They need to come up with something and be a part of the solution. We are going to continue to work on it.”

The next City Council meeting is on May 22, beginning at 6 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.

_{by Richard Uhlhorn}

Sophomore Alexander Marron-Andrade broke free from Cascade defenders to score Chelan’s winning goal in overtime to help the Goats that the CTL Title for the sixth time in eight years.

Photo Gallery

_{It was an epic soccer game for the Caribou Trail League Championship between two of the best teams in the CTL on Tuesday, May 1. The Chelan Goats hosted the Cascade Kodiaks at Mt. Goat Field on a beautiful day for soccer. Both teams entered the game with records of 6-1; Cascade losing to Chelan earlier in the season 2-1 at Leavenworth and Chelan losing to Cashmere in Cashmere 0-3 earlier in the season.}

_{The game started out tough against the Goats. “The players told me going in that they were tired,” said Coach Jamie Richards. “That first 20 minutes were scary.” Cascade ruled the offensive side and kept Chelan on its toes as they attacked and attacked, but Keeper Diego Martinez played extraordinary ball, keeping the Kodiaks from scoring. “He is a freshman coming in and he is stepping up when it matters,” said Richards.}

Chelan Freshman Keeper Diego Martinez was busy keeping Cascade from scoring more than the two goals they scored in this epic battle between two of the best soccer teams in the CTL.

_{Chelan looked tired for the first 20 minutes, but dug in and began to play ball. “It takes a while to recover and we were lucky to get through the first half,” said Richards. “We started playing ball.” Both teams had a number of opportunities to score during the first half, but both goalies were able to keep the ball out.}

_{It was in the second half that the action got serious with both teams tied 1-1 with 10 minutes to play. Chelan scored again with 5:25 remaining to play and took the lead 2-1, but Cascade continue to battle back. “They are a quality team,” Richards said.}

_{Chelan was on its way to a win… the clock was stopped at 1:55 and referee’s clock was winding down and the Goats has possession of the ball at Cascade’s end of the field. “I have told them and told them, “We keep the ball… keep it… don’t try to score.” Of course the Goats tried to score that final goal and Cascade went into transition, brought the ball down field and with just a few seconds remaining, put the ball into the net to tie the game at 2-2 forcing a five minute overtime with the first team to score winning the contest.}

_{At the short break between regulation play and overtime, Coach Richards asked the team if they wanted to go for it. “They said they were tired, but lets go for it.” Go for it they did, scoring the winning goal with a few minutes left to play and taking the CTL League Championship title for the sixth time in eight years (2nd place in those years they didn’t win the title.)}

_{“It’s one game at a time now,” said Richards. The team is seeking an automatic berth into the State Playoffs at the District Championships when they face the winner of the Cashmere/Bridgeport game on Tuesday, May 8, at Mt. Goat Field. “This is more than a semi-final game for us,” said Richards.}

Senior Erik Cardenas scores Chelan’s second goal of the game to take the lead in Chelan’s win over Cascade on Tuesday.

Chelan’s senior soccer players and their parents were honored at Chelan’s final regular season game on Tuesday. From left to right are Alejandro Avila, Ronnie Barajas, Daniel Lopez Jr. Erik Cardenas, Eleazar Pacheo and Raul Mendoza-Negrette.

_{IN OTHER SPORTS ACTION:}

_SOFTBALL:

Chelan Goats Varsity fell behind early and couldn’t come back in a 10-6 loss to Okanogan on Tuesday. Okanogan scored on a grand slam by J Radke, a double by J Ramsey, and a stolen base by Ramsey in the first inning.

Despite the loss, Chelan Goats Varsity did collect 11 hits in the high-scoring affair. Unfortunately, Okanogan had 18 hits on the way to victory.

Okanogan got on the board in the first inning when Radke homered on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring four runs.

Chelan Goats Varsity put up three runs in the seventh inning. Azzia MacDonald, Sierra Shively, and Taylor Boykin all moved runners across the plate with RBIs in the inning.

V Bauer led things off on the hill for Okanogan. She went seven innings, allowing six runs on 11 hits and striking out six.

Leanna Garfoot and Taylor Sams pitched for Chelan Goats Varsity. They allowed 18 hits and ten runs over seven innings, striking out one and walking zero.

Chelan Goats Varsity collected 11 hits. Boykin and Ashley Oswald all had multiple hits for Chelan Goats Varsity. Boykin went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead Chelan Goats Varsity in hits.   Ashley Sams had a big triple, the biggest hit of the day for Chelan.

 _GOLF:

Chelan Golf  Seniors Emily Christenson and Corbin Morley

_{Chelan’s top 5 boys took on the Rope Rider course at the Suncadia Boys Golf Invitational, Competing under sunny but breezy conditions, against schools of all divisions, Chelan came in 10th of 26 teams represented. Chelan’s Corbin Morley, after a lackluster performance yesterday at Leavenworth, came back to shoot a 79 (38-41) [if I counted correctly, tied for 11th] with teammate Miles Grossberg close behind with an 81 (40-41).  With one senior, one sophomore, and three freshman representing Chelan, it suggests some good years ahead for the Chelan boys golf team (and room for improvement!).}

_{Chelan Freshman Ainsley Pehrson} 

_{Chelan will finish its regular season matches this Thursday on its home course against non-league Quincy, which will include senior recognition for our two seniors.} 

 _{The end-of-season District and state-qualifying match will be on May 14th at the Alta Lake Course in Pateros, with state competition the following week in Spokane.}

 _{Chelan’s boys ;golf nipped the Cascade Kodiaks by a stroke, 367 to 368, to take team honors today at Cascade’s home course in Leavenworth.  Individual medalist honors go to Cascade’s Tim Wells with a 79, followed closely by Chelan’s Miles Grossberg with an 83.  For the girls, Cascade took a commanding win with a 426 to Chelan’s 475, with medalist honors going to Cascade’s Maddie Hontou with a 94.}

_{Tuesday Chelan’s top 5 boys take part in the Suncadia Invitational, and the whole team finishes off the regular season on Thursday with a home match against nonleague Quincy.}

_TENNIS:

Sierra Rothlisberger (FilePhoto)

Chelan @ Okanogan, Tuesday, May 1

Boys:  Chelan 4, Okanogan 1

#1 Singles:  Micah Larson (C) def Brady Cate 6-0, 6-1
#2 Singles:  Alex Gavin (C) def Cody Hawley 6-3, 6-1
#3 Singles:  Tyler Higgins (C) def Quinlan McLean 6-1, 6-1
#1 Doubles:  Max Cheeseman/Jay Nearents (O) def Wyatt Habich/Tobin Wier 6-0, 6-1
#2 Doubles:  Eli Phelps/Steven Williams (C) def Gavin Headlee/Dylan Hinger 6-2, 6-4

The Chelan boys improve to 4-3 in the CTL, and 8-4 overall.

Girls:  Chelan 5, Okanogan 0

#1 Singles:  Emma McLaren def Hayley Wyllson 6-4, 6-1
#2 Singles:  Sierra Rothlisberger def Alexandria Perez 6-0, 6-1
#3 Singles:  Madeline Peebles def Jasmine Yusi 6-1, 6-2
#1 Doubles:  Abby Martin/Sydney Hawkins def Hanna Smith/Sarah Dixon 6-4, 6-4  <This was a signature win for Abby and Syd over one of the top doubles teams in the CTL.>
#2 Doubles:  Elle Rothlisberger/Bella Gatzemeier def Alison Johnson/Felicia Allen 6-3, 7-5

The girls remain strong, with a CTL record of 6-1, and 10-1 overall

Chelan JV wins:
Scott Abel/Aiden Peterson 8-5
Katelyn Deal/Cailee Parham 8-1
Lana Fielding/Madison Latter 8-6

Next up:  our CTL regular season finale on Friday in Cashmere

_{Subject: Chelan Tennis Results for this Weekend’s Inland Empire Tournament}

_{On April 27th and 28th, Chelan traveled to Spokane for our annual participation in the massive Inland Empire Tennis Tournament.  This tournament is one of the largest high school tournaments in the nation, featuring 780 athletes from 52 high schools in Washington and Idaho.  The tournament utilizes 11 sites and over 80 courts.  We attend this tournament in order to test ourselves against the highest level of competition, in preparation for similarly grueling match days in the upcoming post-season.  Half our team played three or more matches in difficult heat on Friday, some athletes laboring on the court for more than 5 hours.   It was excellent preparation for the same strenuous conditions they will face in the CTL, District 6 and state tournaments next month.   We didn’t face many schools of our size, but despite the stiff competition from higher classifications, 1A Chelan performed VERY well.}

_{Chelan’s #1 girls singles entry Emma McLaren (sophomore) opened against a tough opponent from 4A West Valley (Spokane), and gave her opposition everything she could handle before falling 4-6, 4-6.  However, Emma bounced back to win her next four matches in a row, claiming the consolation championship and placing 5th overall out of 38 entries.  On Friday, Emma won match #2 vs Post Falls (Idaho) 6-4, 6-4 and won match #3 vs 3A Shadle Park (Spokane) 6-4, 6-2.  On Saturday, her matches were shortened due to rain, but she won the consolation semifinal 4-0, 4-3 vs Colville and finished the tournament with a comeback win 1-4, 4-1, (10-8) over 4A Central Valley (Spokane).}

_{Our #2 girls singles entry was junior Katelyn Deal, and she also opened with a difficult 1st round opponent, losing 6-3, 6-1 to a 4A Hanford competitor who would eventually play for the bracket championship.  However, Katelyn followed up with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 win over 3A Rogers (Spokane) before being eliminated by 4A Ferris (Spokane) in her 3rd match on Friday.}

_{Chelan’s #1 girls doubles duo of junior Sierra Rothlisberger and senior Madeline Peebles had a stellar Friday, winning 7-6, 6-2 over Deer Park, 6-2, 6-1 over Lakeside and 6-4, 6-2 over 2A Pullman.  Unfortunately, Chelan was in a tough quarter of the bracket, and their 4th match on Friday was against the tourney #1 seed from 4A Wenatchee.  Sierra and Madeline played their best tennis of the year, but came up short against the tournament favorite 6-1, 6-3.}

_{Chelan’s #2 girls doubles tandem of senior Sydney Hawkins and junior Abby Martin opened the day with a route of Lind-Ritzville-Sprague 6-0, 6-0.  Match #2 was a heart-breaker, with Syd and Abby losing two close sets to 2A West Valley (Spokane) 5-7, 4-6}

_{The future of Chelan girls tennis officially became the present this weekend, as the highest Chelan finish in the tournament went to the #3 girls doubles freshmen team Elle Rothlisberger and Bella Gatzemeier.   On Friday, Elle and Bella won three straight matches, defeating 4A Hanford 6-2, 6-2, surviving 4A Central Valley (Spokane) 7-6, 6-4, and handling Riverside 6-1, 6-2.  That placed Rothlisberger and Gatzemeier in the tournament semifinals on Saturday morning vs Othello, where they staged a 2nd set comeback to win 6-1, 7-5.  The tournament championship match was a back and forth affair, with a junior and senior tandem from 3A Southridge eventually narrowly topping the Chelan frosh team 4-6, 6-3, (10-6).  Big congratulations to Elle and Bella, who finished 2nd out of 37 entries. (pic attached)}

_{#1 boys singles senior standout Micah Larson had a stellar opening match on Friday, defeating a talented LaSalle (Yakima) opponent 6-2, 6-0.  However, in the 2nd round, Larson fell to rival Caleb Hardestry of Tonasket to end his tourney hopes.}

_{CHS’s #2 boys singles entry Scott Abel, a 1st year senior tennis athlete, had his first ever singles tournament experience this weekend, and drew the big boys as opponents.   Scott’s growth this year has been tremendous, despite falling short in his opener to 4A University (Spokane) and his consolation match vs 2A West Valley (Spokane).}

_{In #1 boys doubles, junior Wyatt Habich and sophomore Tobin Wier shined in their opening match, defeating Lakeside 6-4, 6-1.  Our #1 boys team also faced an unfortunate draw, falling to tourney #2 seed 4A Wenatchee in round 2. They put up a good fight, losing 6-1, 6-3.}

_{The #2 boys doubles entry of senior Alex Gavin and junior Tyler Higgins made the biggest tourney splash for the boys team this year.  Despite losing their opener to Cashmere’s #1 doubles team, Alex and Tyler rebounded to defeat 2A Cheney 7-5, 0-6, (10-6) and finished Friday with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Post Falls.  In Saturday’s consolation semifinal, Alex and Tyler struggled vs Moscow (Idaho), losing 2-6, 1-6.  Gavin and Higgins finished the tournament with an injury default win over Pullman to take 7th out of 42 doubles teams.}

_{Chelan’s young #3 boys doubles pairing of sophomores Steven Williams and Eli Phelps gained valuable tournament experience on Friday, but lost their opener to 2A Pullman, and fell short in a close match-up with 2A Ellensburg 6-4, 6-3.}

_{Next up:  we finish the regular season with week with matches in Okanogan on Tuesday, and Cashmere on Friday.}

BASEBALL:

Chelan’s Kenny Reeves swings a mean bat. (File Photo)

_{The Chelan baseball team took the victory from the okanogan bulldogs by a score of 5 -4 yesterday in a real nail biter. The duo of Connor Wilson and Drake Bird pitched for the Goats, scattering 5 hits in the 7 inning contest. At the plate, Chelan was led by Kenny Reeves, and Breckin Sporseen with 2 hits apiece.} 

Developments on old orchard land raises health questions

Mayor Cooney was not pleased with resident Tom Clark’s assessment that the City and its Council were becoming corrupt.

Tom Clark, a self declared public advocate signed up to speak during the Citizen Comment period at the last City Council meeting and ended up infuriating the Mayor and most likely, the rest of the City Council.

Tom Clark accused the City of not acting in the best interests of its citizens.

“I remember a time in this City when there was a very corrupt City government,” Clark said. “I see these problems developing again in Lake Chelan,” he added. He went on to say that the City government was not acting in the best interests of the citizens.

“I’ve been up here many times over the years as a public advocate. Living in Chelan is going to become more difficult,” said Clark. He talked about access to the lake, the Three Fingers, the State right-of-ways through town that he insists belong to the City, not the State, but never came out and specifically stated where he thought the City was being corrupt.

“Very seldom have I ever received a response from anyone on the council,” stated Clark.

During the Mayor/Council comments, Mayor Cooney said he wished Mr. Clark was still at the meeting. “That was unacceptable in my eyes,” said Cooney. “It was character assassination and it bothers me to no end. I know that the Council members are accountable.”

However, Cooney did see Clark at Julie Brunner’s presentation at the Vogue on Friday night and asked him what specifically he was talking about.

“I didn’t appreciate him castigating the Council who work hard for the citizen’s in the City,” said Cooney during a telephone interview. “I gave him every chance to tell me.” Cooney said that if a person has an issue, he or she should bring it directly to the City. “It’s unfortunate, but the Council has to just sit there and let them talk.”

Cooney stated that one of Clark’s major concerns is the City’s push for a waterline out to the airport. “He doesn’t want it and says we are pushing it for fire flow only.”

Councilman Ty Witt said he was puzzled by the comment and plans on reaching out to Mr. Clark and asking him specifically what is on his mind.

Public Hearings:

There were two public hearings at the Council meeting.

The first was a public hearing on the Chelan Fruit Annexation into the City. The annexation was accomplished through a Direct Petition Method and the Chelan County Assessor certified the 60 percent annexation signature requirement.

“This is a warehouse industry zone and single family residential area,” said Craig Gildroy, the City Planning Director. “The two other property owners were not opposed to this annexation,” he added.

The total valuation of the annexation is $72 million dollars.

Jim Colbert, Chelan Fruit representative, said the Cooperative is ready to go. The annexation has been in the works for quite some time, but the 2015 fires delayed the progress. The cooperative also has a $3 million dollar grant for affordable housing on its land.

Councilman Witt asked what might be in the waste water discharge that could affect the plant operation. Public Works Director Dwane Van Epps said the wastewater discharges have been well within the threshold for plant operations and that the Department of Ecology monitors these discharges.

The Council voted unanimously to authorize the Mayor to sign Ordinance No. 2018-1539 to annex real property into the City and to establish an effective date of the Chelan Fruit annexation.

The second public hearing was on the North Lake Division II Development Agreement which is owned by Whiskey Ranch LLC and Cascade Property Ventures LLC. The hearing was to change the original May 2017 agreement from 41 residential lots to 40 residential lots that will be developed in phases.

Phase 1 is for one residential lot; Phase 2 is for 22 residential lots; and Phase III is for 17 residential lots.

This development is across the Chelan Manson Highway from the Lookout on the north side and any action on the development will happen later.

Councilwoman Kelly Allen asked if Gildroy had looked into hillside development standards and Gildroy said he would have to look into that.

Councilman Ty Witt was concerned that a Determination of Non Significance has been used on two separate developments on old orchard land in Chelan.

Councilman Ty Witt asked if the development would apply to the new comprehensive plan which includes an affordable housing component. Gildroy stated that there would be affordable housing at some level. Mayor Cooney said he asked the owners and that they have not ruled affordable housing out.

Brian Patterson, a retired environmental consultant has raised the issue of arsenic and other soil contaminants on developments being approved on old orchard lands.

Brian Patterson, a Manson resident and retired Environmental Consultant, spoke to the potential environmental impacts posed by building on old orchard lands that have high levels of arsenic present. “It is important to stress that the concentration thresholds of 90% of the individual soil samples reach a threshold that has human health implications,” said Patterson. “The determination of non significance that there is no probable adverse environmental impacts for this development has not fulfilled the obligation of the law under the State Environmental Policy Act.”

Tom Clark also spoke to soil contamination but his remarks were more about DDT in the lake sediments than on orchard lands.

Prior to the vote on the North Lake Division II vote, Councilman Ty Witt brought up the subject of soil contamination on these developments including the proposed Holiday Hills project. He said to Craig Gildroy, “I really don’t understand why there is a Determination of Non Significance. It is my understanding that we are going to put that on to the developer that they have to meet these standards when they start breaking ground. All we are doing is approving the design of the plat.”

Planning Director Craig Gildroy was on the hot seat with a number of questions concerning his Determination of Non Significance on several new developments in the City limits.

Gildroy said that the Department of Ecology reversed its process and doesn’t want the soils disturbed. He mentioned the Key Bay project that required the topsoil to be removed. “That was the worse environmental thing we could do because it put all the dust up in the air where you get the most risk exposure from,” stated Gildroy.

According to Gildroy, the North Lake plat approval has a minimized grading requirement. “You can’t grade until you have a building permit (for each lot). Ecology is saying at this time… don’t touch the dirt… grass caps it.”

Witt argued that people are digging in their lawns and gardens all the time. Gildroy replied that it is up to the developer to test the soil and let the homeowners know… let the potential buyers know of the potential risk.

“Does the City claim hold any liability in that?” asked Witt.

City Attorney Quentin Batjer said, “I don’t think so. There has been a difference of opinion about this. Right now, as Craig mentioned it, the soil is not to be disturbed, but I’m not familiar with SEPA if anything happens.” Gildroy added, “There is not much we can do at this point.”

Councilman Ray Dobbs said that the City reserves the authority to oppose new regulations. “Dr. Patterson (says the) issues are a serious threat to public health. I think we have an obligation to deal with that.”

Gildroy replied that even with Holiday Hills the consultant said not to disturb the soils. “Do you have that in writing as a part of this document file,” asked Dobbs. “I don’t quite have it in writing for Holiday Hills,” replied Gildroy. “You do on this one (North Lake)?”

“Yes,” answered Gildroy.

Gildroy went on to say that Ecology has a voluntary clean-up program that they administer. “I’m going to be talking to Ecology about that and potentially require Holiday Hills to participate in that,” he said. “But again, requirements drive costs up.”

“Holiday Hills was tested… soils tested, right,” asked Witt”

“No, I would not say that,” said Gildroy. He added, “I’m not going to argue Holiday Hills because it is still under review.”

Councilman Tim Hollingsworth stated that he wondered if testing these old orchard sites was something the City should be requiring in the application process. “I’ll take a look at that,” said Gildroy. “One of the other things we are looking at is raising the SEPA threshold levels.”

Hollingsworth said soils was an issue of concern for potential home owners. “I know the County typically has a statement that it is old orchard and probably… possibly has contaminated soils.”

Gildroy said to require the City at this time to test, they would have to go back to the hearing examiner… go back to the process and “we can’t do that. The period (to do that) has come and gone.”

Hollingsworth said that at this point he trying to figure out how they would deal with it in the future.

Gildroy said he would continue to work with Ecology on the issue and use Best Management Practices and said if that changes, the City would take Ecology’s advice.

The vote to approve the North Lake Division II development was 5- 1 with Ty Witt voting No. Councilwoman Erin McCardle was absent.

An estimated 60 people attended the Lake Chelan Water Quality meeting on Thursday, April 19.

by Richard Uhlhorn

Lake Chelan’s continued water quality was the theme of the City of Chelan’s Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, April 19 at the Chelan Senior Center.

Mayor Mike Cooney  and the City of Chelan hosted the Water Quality Town Hall at the Chelan Senior Center.

Mike Kaputa, Director of Chelan County’s Natural Resources Department

After Mayor Mike Cooney’s introductions, Mike Kaputa, Chelan County’s director of Water Resources and the head to the Lake Chelan Water Planning Unit told those assembled that “We need to understand what is going on in Lake Chelan. It is not too big to fail.” Kaputa stated that the Planning Unit is just now beginning to understand what is going on.

“We have all the interested stakeholders at the table,” said Kaputa. They include the City of Chelan, Chelan County, Lake Chelan Reclamation District, Chelan County PUD, Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife, Department of Ecology, Friends of Lake Chelan, Lake Chelan Research Institute, Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Chelan Basin Conservancy and RH2 consultants along with local citizens with an interest in keeping Lake Chelan clean.

Lake Chelan, as the third deepest lake in the country behind Crater Lake and Lake Tahoe, is considered a national treasure. It is ultraoligotrophic and as Phil Long stated during the meeting, the lake could be considered a slow moving river.

Lake Chelan is fed from numerous tributaries with the Stehekin River and Railroad Creek being the major sources of inflow.

Kaputa stated that the long term goal is to begin a long term monitoring program for water clarity; to investigate the aquatic invasive species potential of non-native plants, animals and pathogens, and to try and find out if they can even survive in Lake Chelan.

Because Lake Chelan is a reservoir controlled by the PUD, plants like Eurasian Water milfoil tend to die off in the winter when the water recedes due to power production at the Chelan dam.

The bigger worry is the potential of Zebra or Quagga mussels being introduced by recreational boats coming to Chelan. Currently, these invasive species have been kept out of Washington, Oregon and Idaho through diligent checking of recreational boats coming from other areas that have been infested.

Whatcom County has an aggressive boat inspection program where every boat, motorized and non-motorized is checked for invasive species and currently spends about $500,000 each year to keep invasive species from entering their waters.

While Lake Chelan doesn’t have a program yet, there is talk about beginning an inspection program at each boat launch on the Lake.

Phil Long, PhD, is the Director of the Lake Chelan Research Institute

Phil Long, director of the Lake Chelan Research Institute, gave a scientific presentation of where monitoring of lake conditions has been over the years and what the long term monitoring program is planned in the future. “It’s going to take the community to help fund this,” stated Long. Oregon State University and the National Science Foundation are supplying some funding.

Long said that the long term monitoring was being conducted by students at Manson and Chelan schools, and that Chelan County Sheriff’s Department is allowing the use of its marine patrol boat for sampling services.

Phosphorus and Nitrogen loading are two major indicators of what is happening in the lake. Most phosphorus and nitrogen come from natural sources and in 2017, phosphorus loading jumped from the normal 2.6 to 4 ug/l (µg/L. micrograms per liter) levels to a massive 20 ug/l level after the Wolverine Fire. This level of phosphorus was measured between May 17 and August 17, 2017. Another factor in this high measurement could have been Pine Pollen deposition into the lake.

“If we get a lot of phosphorus, we are going to get a lot of algae,” said Long. Algae growth has been observed on rocks along the lakeshore in recent months. The question is whether or not the lake has undergone some sort of transformation.

Back in the 90s, the Department of Ecology stopped the Lake Chelan Sportsman’s Association’s net pen operation at Field’s Point because of phosphorus loading from the juvenile salmon defecation. That operation was successfully moved the Chelan River by the powerhouse.

Other natural functions affecting water quality is sediment re-suspension, bird defecation (geese) and precipitation along with spring runoffs.

The human factors in lake quality includes leaky or failed septic systems, agricultural runoff, storm water runoff, fuel hydrocarbons from personal watercraft and boat traffic, shoreline erosion and the introduction of invasive species.

Marcie Clement, Water Resources Program Manager at the PUD

Marcie Clement, Chelan County PUD’s Water Resources Program Manager presented the PUD’s FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) license requirements on the Lake Chelan Hydroelectric Project.

Under the new 50 year license, the PUD is required to maintain the following license requirement on Lake Chelan:

• An Erosion Control Plan
• A large woody debris plan
• A Stehekin area plan
• A Fishery plan
• A Lake Chelan Level plan
• A Wildlife Habitat Plan, and
• A Recreation Plan, along with Chelan River activities.

John Olson, Friends of Lake Chelan, would like to see the City of Chelan purchase the Three Fingers property for public access.

John Olson, Friends of Lake Chelan, presented an outlook on growth in Lake Chelan. He stated that the Chamber of Commerce reports over 2 million visitors a year are coming to the lake and that they are spending $420 million dollars. “We all use the same water source and sewer system, drive the same roads, use the same electrical systems and access the same parks,” said Olson.

Olson pointed out that 99 percent of the lake shore is privately owned, but that the public owns 10 percent of the lake. “There is only one piece of property left on the lake for suitable for public access,” Olson said.

The Three Fingers, owned by GBI (Goodfellow Brothers) was just released from the court system for development. GBI has a development plan for the fingers that includes 54 condominiums and 300 boat slips However, Olson would like to see the City of Chelan purchase the land under an general obligation bond for the public’s benefit.

Jake Youngren, Assistant Public Works Director, commented on the City’s public works including the existing septic systems. “They (Chelan Hills) do monitor their septic tanks and at this time there is no affect on the lake,” said Youngren.

Jake Youngren, Assistant Public Works Director

The Lake Chelan Valley has 100 miles of sewer line feeding the sewer treatment plant on the Columbia River with peak flows in the summer reaching 1.3 million gallons per day.

Domestic water treatment in the City of Chelan and Urban Growth Boundary reaches 42 million gallons per day. All of the City’s production chemicals used in the process of treating domestic water is discharged to the sewer system for treatment. “None of those chemicals ever goes into the lake,” stated Youngren.

More problematic to lake quality, however, is the storm water sewer system. According to Youngren, storm water pollution is treated at the outfalls by sedimentation tanks and oil/water separators.

Councilman Tim Hollingsworth asked if there was a plan to check boats at the PUD, County and City boat launches. Long replied, “We need to do a risk assessment real soon.” He said that Whatcom County charges $50 to launch a boat into Lake Whatcom. NOTE: To date Zebra and Quagga mussels have not been introduced into the State, but the impacts of these invasive species to the water treatment facilities, dams, pumps, irrigation intakes would be economically devastating.

Shawn Sherman, a Lt. at the Chelan Fire Department has taken matters into his own hand and has been picking up garbage on the shoreline of Lake Chelan and says he will continue that work throughout the summer.

Shawn Sherman, a Lt. at Chelan Fire and Rescue, was asked to speak about his efforts in keeping Lake Chelan clean. He has been walking the beach along Riverwalk Park picking up garbage. Since he began, he has collected over 100 pounds of garbage off the shoreline.

“There is garbage everywhere,” said Sherman.

Sherman, who has also started Pilgrim Lake Services, plans on creating a platform to collect garbage from underwater around the lake. The plan includes continuing work at Riverwalk Park in April and May. Then in May and June he plans on working the area from the Woodin Avenue bridge uplake. In July and August he will be diving the public docks and then moving uplake.

Scott McKellar explained that every boat moored at Sunset Marina is required to have absorbent pads placed in the boat’s engine well to soak up any oil or gasoline.

Shawn Sherman, who has started his own company (Pilgrim Lake Services) was at this year’s Earth Day Celebration with the 100 pounds of garbage he has picked up off the shoreline in Riverwalk Park.

If you are interested in becoming involved in keeping Lake Chelan clean and healthy, you can contact Phil Long at 509.531.2987 or by Email at phillong@nwi.net. If you are interested in helping Sherman clean up the garbage littering the shoreline, you can call him at 509.670.0911 or by email at pilgrimlakeservices@gmail.com.