To the editor:

We have a home in Possession Shores at the south end of the island. We walk the Dorothy Cleveland Trail on a regular basis for exercise and to enjoy being outdoors.

Enjoying the outdoors is a major reason we bought our first place on Whidbey Island in 1987 and bought our current home in 2004.

We know that in these difficult financial times that government, like everyone else, must look at ways to control expenses and look for new revenue sources to make ends meet. We agree with cutting budgets and getting rid of assets or services that should not be part of government.

We also feel that being a steward of our public lands is a service that cannot be deferred or neglected. The cost of stewardship is so small compared to the loss of opportunities to the current citizens and future generations. 

The South Whidbey port commission’s consideration of cutting land out of the Dorothy Cleveland Trail park to sell off the land for funding of current development needs of the commission is in direct conflict with the idea of public stewardship. If the commission cannot find funds to make a development self-sufficient other than surplusing public park land, why are you looking at the development at all?

Taking the commission’s current consideration, should Washington state surplus Fort Casey? Maybe the commissioners should be looking at surplusing the Langley Marina. The marina value is much higher than vacant park land. We are sure that developers could see a better or expanded use of the marina that would not be a cost to the taxpayers. With that new thinking, we would not need a port commission, and look at the money the taxpayers could save by surplusing that asset.

We need the small amount of public land that is currently being held for the citizens. We do not want the commission to take action to surplus what little public land we have.

Cliff and Debbie Ridgway
Possession Shores