Chamber recycles holiday garlands

The Vashon Chamber of Commerce this year will avoid throwing away more than 4,000 feet of its holiday cedar garland, which is hung up around businesses in town yearly, thanks to a new collaboration with local community members to recycle the garlands, according to the chamber.

The chamber historically discards the garlands after the season, Executive Director Nichole Banducci said. But this year it is instead working with a local family, which wishes to remain anonymous, to reuse the material for indigenous ceremonies.

Cedar is considered a sacred resource for many Pacific Northwest tribes, which use the plant for building, clothing, transportation, medicinal and ceremonial purposes.

Ferguson signals new ferry philosophy

Incoming state Governor Bob Ferguson in a community meeting on Whidbey Island last week said he’s willing to postpone ferry electrification or buy diesel-powered boats if necessary to address the state’s ferry crisis.

Those statements were reported in-depth by local media including CNL2 Media and The Seattle Times. Similarly, on the campaign trail last year, Ferguson broke with outgoing Governor Jay Inslee by signaling openness to putting more diesel boats in the water, if it would be the fastest solution to adding boats.

Washington State Ferries (WSF) has operated with diminished service for years, due to a surge of pandemic-era retirements and employee separations which collided with a global mariner shortage, failed negotiations with ferry builder Vigor Shipyards and two decades of atrophying investment.

Recent legislative cash injections to boost hiring are helping, according to WSF, but it takes time to train the new deck officers and seamen needed simply to keep up with attrition. Meanwhile, the fleet is getting older and costlier to maintain.

Vashon’s Triangle route has been reduced to two boats since 2021, although last year saw the addition of a third “ghost” boat which occasionally makes unscheduled runs to keep the route’s schedule on time.

The state is pursuing construction and delivery of up to five new hybrid-electric ferries, but the first isn’t estimated to arrive until 2028 at the earliest. Meanwhile, the state is converting some of its diesel boats to use hybrid-electric engines.

Hitting pause on ferry electrification isn’t ideal, Ferguson said last week, according to media reports, and he’d wait to make such decisions until having more discussions with stakeholders. He said he would keep up the project to electrify the fleet.

Still, he told the public, getting more boats on the water as soon as possible is the first priority, even if they must be diesel-powered.

But when it comes to the ferries, instant gratification is hard to find.

According to a WSF project website, “delays from design, funding, and legislation mean that the earliest a new diesel-only vessel could enter service would be 2030, two years after the first hybrid-electrics.”

Meanwhile, WSF ridership increased by more than half a million in 2024, with some of the biggest increases happening on Vashon’s ferry routes, the agency announced this week.

The Point Defiance/Tahlequah route saw the greatest year-to-year total ridership surge of all WSF routes — a 5.8% increase. Vehicle ridership increased 3.6% and walk-ons rose by 9.8%. On the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth “Triangle” route, total riders rose 2.8% and vehicles increased 1.8%. The triangle route saw the biggest year-to-year rise of any WSF route in walk-ons — a surge of 11.4%.

Overall WSF ridership for the year was more than 19.1 million.

Parks posts executive job

Want to guide the future of Vashon’s public parks? A job opening as executive director at the Vashon Park District might be right for you or someone you know.

Executive Director Elaine Ott-Rocheford announced her plans to retire from the Park District in the fall last year. Ott-Rocheford, who has been the agency’s executive director since February of 2013, will leave her position on May 5.

VPD is governed by a five-member board of commissioners, operates with an annual budget around $2 million and employs nine full-time employees and up to fifty part-time or seasonal employees. The district manages 16 parks and facilities and oversees 418 acres of property.

The new executive director will oversee all aspects of the district’s operations — including finances, staff recruitment and supervision, relationships with government agencies and the public, grant funding and upholding district policies.

The position requires a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience. Five years or more of previous government management experience is strongly desired, and a master’s degree is preferred, according to the posting. The new executive director will be required to live on Vashon and ideally relocate here within six months of their start date, according to the job posting. The salary range is $125,000 – $150,000.

Apply by visiting prothman.com/open-recruitments/?jobId=3259.

Public meetings

The following taxing districts, government bodies and citizen groups have civic meetings coming up.

• Friends of the Vashon Library: This member-driven, independent nonprofit organization raises funds for library activities that support the Vashon community. The group meets next from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at Vashon Library. Learn more at kcls.org/friends. Registration not required.

• The next Vashon Ferry Advisory Committee meeting takes place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22, at the Vashon Land Trust building, 10014 S.W. Bank Road, as well as virtually. The meeting will cover service issues, the Fauntleroy terminal and dock project, the status of the two boat schedule revision and questions for Washington State Ferries representatives. Join on Zoom by visiting us06web.zoom.us/j/81673166237. Future meetings this year are scheduled for the fourth Wednesdays of March, May, July, September and November.

• The Vashon Groundwater Protection Committee next meets from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22 over Zoom. Attend by visiting this link.

• Vashon Island School District’s next regular board meeting starts at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23, at Chautauqua Elementary School, Room 302, 9309 SW Cemetery Road. Visit vashonsd.org for more information.

• Vashon Island Fire & Rescue: The board will hold an information session on its Mobile Integrated Health program from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Vashon Library (17210 Vashon Highway SW), no registration required. It will then hold its next regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 10019 SW Bank Rd, also accessible on Zoom. Visit vifr.org/events for more details.