Tom Ewell said he wants to de-escalate confrontations and find middle ground, and he thinks he might be able to do some good when it comes to a discussion about Navy growth.
He’s arranged a public meeting for 7 p.m. Friday at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Freeland, 5217 Honeymoon Road.
Ewell, a Quaker who lives in Clinton, wants to have respectful discussion about what Navy growth means for the area, including infrastructure, public safety, traffic, housing, the ferry and health. The event is open to the public, and Ewell hopes people from north, central and south parts attend.
“All of us on the island need to pay close attention to how this may affect our quality of life,” he said. “It’s not just the number of jets and helicopters and P-8s — it’s the number of people. What is this all going to mean?”
It’s unclear whether a Navy representative will be in attendance at Friday’s meeting. Mike Welding, the base’s public affairs officer, said he was not aware of any invitation extended to the Navy to participate nor a notification that a meeting was being planned.
Concerning base growth, Welding said the base has had an “ongoing dialogue” with Island County, and Oak Harbor school and city officials; they are sources of “factual” information. He expressed a hope that whatever information is presented at the meeting is accurate.
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is expanding but by how much isn’t clear.
The Navy is replacing the P-3 Orion with P-8A Poseidon, which will bring additional squadrons to the base. Major construction projects are underway on base and more are proposed in next year’s Department of Defense budget, including $45 million for a EA-18G Growler maintenance hangar and $30 million for a Triton mission control facility.
It’s likely more EA-18G Growlers will come, too, although it’s not clear how many Growlers are coming to the base until the Navy completes an Environmental Impact Statement.
Growlers are a point of contention with many people in the region upset about the noise caused by the jets. People living on the Olympic Peninsula aren’t thrilled with the Navy’s plans to introduce electromagnetic transmitters to its electronic warfare training on the peninsula.
Ewell said this meeting isn’t associated with Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve, the grassroots organization opposed to Growler touch-and-go practices at the outlying field in Coupeville. He said the group’s tactics were aggressive at times and that turned off some people.
Ewell isn’t quite sure what the answer is but he wants to engage more people in “nonviolent direct action and mediation.”
“The local and federal government can’t allow this kind of damage to be done to people,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any question damage is being done to people.”
At the meeting, there will be sharing of information and small group discussion where everyone will have an opportunity to speak. Ewell said he’s not going to allow one person to monopolize the conversation.
For more information about the meeting, contact Ewell at 360-341-1457.
