Port of South Whidbey officials are continuing to seek a longer-term solution for the rebuilding of the concession stands located on the Whidbey Island Fairgrounds.

A few months ago, the port district asked the city of Langley to pause the port’s request to change the zoning at the fairgrounds to allow for workforce housing. Port commissioners agreed they needed to first confer with officials from the South Whidbey School District, since the stands are currently located on school district property and may require a boundary line adjustment.

Port commissioners have proposed building new stands with workforce housing on the upper levels as a way of increasing economic development, but they agreed the question of where the building should be located requires settling.

The foundation of the food booths has been impacted by burrowing rabbits over the years. As a short-term solution, the booths were structurally reinforced just in time for this year’s fair. But as officials emphasized, this is only a temporary fix.

The commissioners and the port’s executive director met with the South Whidbey School Board Wednesday night to discuss the issue. Multiple members of the community also weighed in during the school board workshop.

Port Commissioner Curt Gordon opened the presentation with some background information on the concession stands, which he believes were built in the 1940s. He said workforce housing could include someone making as low as 60% of area median income, or AMI, for Island County. The original parameters described for the project were between 80% to 120% of AMI. To be considered economic development, such bounds must exist; the port is not permitted to provide low-income housing.

The port has received $150,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from the county to conduct a feasibility study, part of which involved the surveying of property and the following discovery of the boundary encroachment.

“We need to solve the property line issue, and we want to have a discussion with you all about potentially taking the same funding that Island County commissioners have given us and looking into whether or not possibly part of your school district property could be leased for a long period of time, for some kind of workforce or affordable housing as well,” Gordon said.

South Whidbey School District Superintendent Jo Moccia said there is no such thing as adverse possession, since the school district and the port are both public entities. For the school district, she said, there certainly can’t be a cost since it’s the port’s problem. She said legal counsel would be needed to determine if the boundary line can be changed.

Board Member Andrea Downs wondered about the value of the land, while Board Member Brook Willeford said he had no interest in taking the land back from the port district.

Port Commissioner Greg Easton agreed that it was the port’s responsibility to do the research and bring back answers to questions pertaining to the value of the land, its size and fair compensation.

Throughout the meeting, the superintendent, board members and the public struggled to separate the issue of workforce housing from the issue of the boundary line. Gordon said it’s absolutely critical to do both and that this wasn’t a choice between them.

“We owe it to the public, as our mandate says, to try and provide economic viability,” he said. “And this is the biggest emergency we have out there, and most folks don’t probably look at it as an emergency, but we’re losing our workforce, and pretty soon it won’t be a comfortable retail community anymore.”

Clinton resident Doug Hofius, who is an architect in Everett, spoke about the work he has done for low-income housing units on surplus school district properties on the mainland.

“I’ve heard some comments from the board that they’re wanting money for all of this, but the board should have an eye to stabilizing some of the families in their district, because it’s an issue in the school rooms, and it’s something that school boards all around our region are doing now,” he said.

Downs said she has been waiting two years for accurate information and needs it before coming to a decision on the property line issue. Port Commissioner Jack Ng responded that they would be happy to get that information with the board’s permission. Moccia agreed she would run the information by legal counsel once she receives it from the port before bringing it back to the board.

The topic may appear on the agenda for the school board’s upcoming business meeting on Sept. 25.

Though a separate issue, the discussion also delved into the community center and the fields surrounding it as being a viable place for housing, which the port’s feasibility study could determine.

Moccia acknowledged that the school district has a lot of land – though the board has not been interested in selling it – and pointed out that other groups are also focused on developing housing.

“And it would be nice if maybe the school district is the unifier,” she said.