April 14, 2011 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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Thursday, April 14, 2011
Year 125 -- Week 15 -- 8 Sections -- 54 Pages -- Pub!ished in She!ton, Washin on -- $1
Mason becomes fourth-fastest growing county instate
By SHEPHARD
Mason County grew at a
rate of 22.9 percent in the last
10 years, earning it the title of
fourth-fastest growing county
in Washington state, accord-
ing to U.S. Census data re'-
leased to the county last week.
The population of Mason
County rose to 60,699 people
i in 2010, up from 49,405 people
in 2000, with most of the pop-
ulation growth occurring in
Cimnty Commissioner Lynda
Ring Ericksen's District 1.
' District 1 -- which encom-
ptmsee Allyn, Grapeview,
Hars tine Island, the Lake Lim-
erick area, the Johns Prairie
area and much of north Shel-
ton -- increased by 4,555 peo-
ple, while COmmissioner Tim
• Sheldon's District 2 (which in-
dudes Be]fair, Tahuya, Union,
Mason Lake, Hoodsport and
~ Lgltwaup) grew by 3,505 peo-
' pie.
Journal photo by ~ Shepfl~lrd
' Mason County Auditor Karen Herr. See the Bclfair
Herald for North Mason census resultS.
The two districts now have
roughly the same population:
District 1 at 20,759 people and
District 2 at 20,784 people.
Commissioner Jerry Lin-
gle's District 3, which covers
south Shelton, Taylor Town,
Squaxin Island and Matlock,
grew by 3,283 people, bringing
its total population to 19,156
people.
County Auditor Karen Herr
said she was surprised.to see
how fast Mason County had
grown in the last 10 years.
"To be the fourth-fastest
growing county surprisedme,,
she said. "I was surprised that
See Mason on page~A:-7
• • , ,. - ,
-The Evergreen Square clocktower keeps Shelton on time year round.
Journal photo by Dean Siemon
more in
By NATALIE JOHNSON
';~ ~": :A presentation by BRC
Acoustics to the Shel-
ton City commission last
week seemed to show that
the 160 acre Shelton Hills
property near Sanderson
kField would be compat-
with residential use,
about the
: are still ringing
el ,:
The city held a public
hearing on the topic dur-
ing its meeting Monday
night, which drew much
attention from the com-
mtmity.
Births B-8 city received six
Community Calendar B-3 letters since the last pub-
Entertainment/Dining B-3 tic, meeting, several of
Journal of Record A-6 Which were from groups
"It's truly about
noise and it's about
incompati
BRC Acoustics' findings,
and his concern over noise
levels in the property in
dispute.
One of the tenets of
the BRC report was that
the FAA has determined
that residential land use
is compatible with an av-
erage sound level of 65
DNL. Many of the corn-
reenters against the re-
zone argued that the 65
DNL number was artifi-
ble noise."
south of the airport from. .
commercial/industrial to
he.hood/residential.
The Port of Shelton
appealed the decision to
the Western Washing-
ton Growth Management
Hearings board, saying
that• the rezone created
Neighborhood Residen- anin~ompatibleiand use.
tial would significantly The boardinval-
increase the amount of in- idatt~t..tlaeoomprehensive
compatible development plaiaupdate, saying that
adjacent to Sanderson more information about
Field," the letter states, sound levels in the area
Port of Shelton Execu- needed to be provided.
tire Director John Dob- City staff believes
son also spoke during the that the BRC Acoustics
public hearing, saying study satisfiesthegrowth
that the port was con' ~d's req~ment, and
cerned that an influx of recommended adopting
sound complaints could the rezone from commer-
negatively affect airport cial/industrial to neigh-
Shelton grows
by almost 1,400
according to census
By NATALIE JOHNSON
While the economy may have slowed, the
population of the city of Shelton has steadily
grown over the past 10 years, according to the
2010 census.
According to the census, the city of Shelton
grew by about 16.5 percent, or 1,392 people,
from 8,502 to 9,834, between 2000 and 2010.
The population density also increased by
almost 12.5 percent between 2000 and 2010,
from 1,519 persons per square mile to 1,708 per
square mile.
Along with the rest of the Mason County,
which with Franklin, Whatcom and Clark
County is one of the four fastest growing coun-
ties in the state, voting precincts in Shelton
face redistricting in 2011, Mason County Audi-
tor Karen Herr said.
=We're going to redistrict and redraw the
See Shelton on page A-7
Port of Shelton
propping up
dilapitated
fairgrounds,
By NATALIE JOHNSON
There are a lot of de-
mands on the old and
depressed buildings on
the Port of Shelton's fair-
grounds, most notably the
Mason Area Fair and Oys-
terFest, but by 2013, those
events, and many others,
will need to find a new home
and new shelter.
"I promised the FAA
(Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration) that the buildings
would be gone by 2013,"
port executive director John
Dobson said.
The FAA requires that
the land on which the fair-
grounds sit be repurposed
back to airport use by 2013,
but until then, the fair and
OysterFest must go on.
Recently the port accept-
ed a donation of free work
to help make the buildings
habitable for a few more
years. According to Dobson,
the buildings on the fair-
grounds have been main-
rained using donated labor
and services for the last 47
years, an arrangement that
saved everyone money in
the short term, but is now
going to cost the port about
$15,000 to fix the wiring in
the eight main buildings.
"The L&I inspector ...
came and found all kinds of
things wrong with the fair-
ground," Dobson said.
Among the things wrong
with the buildings, the wir-
ing did not have ground
wires, he said. While the
• buildings will only be in use
for a few more years, Dob-
son said the expenditure is
worth it to make the build-
ings safe for fair and Oyster-
Obituaries B-7 writing on behalf of the cial and inaccurate, operations, borhood/residential. Fest patrons.
Oninions Letters A-4 Port of Shelton, ques-The Washington State "It's truly ,about noise ~e many people [ "In good conscience I
ii ? the validity, andDepartment of Trans- and about incompa rezone, : don't feel I can rent the fair-
:Weather -~ ~-6 ~''~BtBty of the BRC portation (WSDOT) also ....... ~'~ :':~:~';~ :~ : ~';' : ........ :' ' :
~ble noise, he said. ~~4t,to bring ~1 grounds to anyone without
Acousitics report.
• . ~s~.~ 05: D_NL ~ent
............. :; ; :. ~i :e~.ft.~4~, ;,.:•
Kraus said.
._~ ause also sent the
;~:~.~fi-~~ l~r regarding
- - . . :
came out against the re-
zone in a letter to the city.
"WSDOT Aviation is
concerned that the re-
zone of 160 acres from
Commercial/Industrial to
In April 2010, the Shel- construction jobs and new l sorting out the electrical is-
ton city commission ad- ~,.,.~t~.-,~t!le:.. Shelton I sues," he said.
opted an ordinance whlcl~ ~.~,~e:~ ~., .. ..... " [ Port staff hopes that the
updated the city's compre- The city will discuss a l $15,000 should also cover
hensive plan, and rezoned possible vote on the re- l
160 acres one half mile.,~ ~ ~i~y:~:: , / See Fairground on page A-7
&