Letters to the Editor

Letter to the editor | State Parks thinks vehicle to help those with disabilities might be a good idea

I just came across a very interesting article on the Washington State Parks’ website.  You can find the article using this link:

Action Trackchair comes to Lake Sammamish | Washington State Parks

In a prior Letter to the Editor, I addressed PenMet’s costly, damaging, thoughtless, and needless plan to make the DeMolay Sandspit ADA accessible.  In that letter, I mentioned that PenMet wants to:

• Spend millions of dollars
• Close the DeMolay Sandspit for months
• Disrupt the lives of those living on Bella Bella even more than it already does
• Irrevocably damage the Sandspit’s status as a “nature preserve” (PenMet’s own characterization) and
• Make things even worse in the long term for those living on Bella Bella

My suggestion of acquiring some type of vehicle to help those who need assistance to get to the beach has the following advantages:

• Costs only a few thousand dollars
• Provides ADA access in days rather than years
• Avoids closing the DeMolay Sandspit ever
• Does not disrupt the lives of those living on Bella Bella
• Leaves the Sandspit in the natural state it is now in — as the Recreation and Conservation Office clearly intended by the numerous restrictions it placed on PenMet’s usage of the property at the time of purchase
• Does not make anything worse for those living on Bella Bella

I thought that saving millions of dollars, keeping the Sandspit open, preserving its status as a nature preserve, and continuing to assist the Sandspit’s neighbors in their plight just might be a good idea.  At least it deserves to be investigated. To date, PenMet has ignored my suggestion and is now in the process of filing for approvals and permits from various state and local agencies and tribes.

My idea was supported by another Letter to the Editor (from a lady I have never met) written by a local citizen who apparently is quite knowledgeable in the ADA arena. She even suggested that PenMet might make my idea a profitable one as well by renting out the vehicles. Thanks to her for writing that letter.

My idea was labeled on Gig Harbor Now’s Facebook page as being “literally the worst idea ever.” As usual, the poster provided no facts to support her opinion.  I would love to see how this poster justifies spending millions, closing the park for months, exacerbating the parking problems that already exist, and quite possibly violating several limitations imposed by the state on PenMet’s purchase of the Sandspit when an easy alternative exists.

It appears that the Washington State Parks disagrees with that Facebook poster and PenMet as they are conducting a pilot program using a Trackchair (purchased with grant funds) at Lake Sammamish State Park.  Hmmm … it seems that Washington State Parks sees the potential for addressing ADA issues with vehicles rather than millions of dollars.  Why can’t PenMet show the same wisdom?  If PenMet was spending its own money rather taxpayer and grant dollars (that could be better used for other projects), it might reconsider my idea which the Washington State Parks has found so full of potential.  What does it say when a state agency is showing far more common sense and fiscal responsibility than a special park district?  I’ll let you answer that question for yourselves.

The article refers to the Outdoors For All Foundation, the Bronco Wild Fund, and the Washington State Parks Foundation.  Did PenMet reach out to any of these entities in its stated desire to address ADA issues at the Sandspit?  I don’t remember seeing a representative from any of these entities at the Advisory Committee meetings, and I attended all of them.  I wonder why PenMet didn’t seek their advice and input as experts in the ADA field?

Do you think PenMet is acting rationally with regard to its DeMolay project?

Craig McLaughlin

Fox Island

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