County proposes drainage study of Point Roberts

At the direction of Whatcom County County Council, the county public works department is preparing to conduct a drainage assessment of the Point Roberts watershed. Council acted upon the request of the Point Roberts Community Advisory Committee (PRCAC) who had received appeals from swamped residents during unprecedented rain events last November.

According to the Birch Bay Water and Sewer District which tracks precipitation at its office in Birch Bay, rainfall in November 2021 totaled 15.14 inches versus 4.9 inches, the average rainfall in the past 11 years. In one 48 hour period, the region received 6 inches of rain – the district considers an inch of rain in 24 hours to be a significant event.

County engineer Jim Karcher and stormwater specialist Kraig Olason appeared by Zoom at PRCAC’s regular meeting on February 17. The two outlined the steps that would need to be taken in order to hire a consultant, solicit bids and gain approval from county council.

Karcher estimated that the project would cost $150,000 for the consultant’s drainage assessment/inventory, another $50,000 for county staff time another $60,000-$80,000 for off-site stormwater analysis.

All but the off-site analysis would be paid using Point Roberts’ gas tax monies, Karcher said. Asked if that was an allowable use of the gas tax, Karcher replied that it had been given the OK by the county’s legal department. Responding to a followup email from the All Point Bulletin, Karcher said public works had consulted with Christopher Quinn, a senior civil deputy prosecuting attorney with the county prosecutor’s office.

Karcher’s email included Quinn’s analysis which cited Chapter 36.73 of the Revised Code of Washington as authorizing the use of TBD funds for transportation improvements that are consistent with any existing state, regional, or local transportation plans and that are necessitated by existing or foreseeable congestion levels.”

Contacted shortly before the All Point Bulletin went to press and asked if there had been recent changes to the law, Quinn promised to respond by the end of the day.

In the past, gas tax expenditures have been extremely limited. Point Roberts was one of just five jurisdictions in the county that were able to form a special gas taxing district. These districts were authorized in 1991 by the state legislature in response to high traffic levels from Canadian motorists.

In November 1991, Point Roberts residents voted 128 to 10 to authorize a special 1¢/gallon tax. Previous proposals to fund such activities as a ferry study were shut down due to the wording of the state law which explicitly states, “The entire proceeds of the tax imposed under this chapter shall be used solely for the purposes of border area jurisdiction street maintenance and construction.”

Moments before the APB was sent to the printer, Karcher called the paper to say that Quinn was withdrawing his opinion after further review and concluding that the gas tax law would not allow its use in this particular circumstance.

Karcher said public works would need to return to council to determine a way forward, adding that the need for the drainage assessment was real and needed.