The agenda for this Birch Bay Incorporation Association community meeting is packed with important updates and discussions, including presentations by our working committees on recent research findings, the introduction of a survey (see below) to assess service level expectations for estimating core city operating costs, strategies for enhancing community engagement, and potential updates to the 2008 Feasibility Study.
Featured Speakers
County Executive Satpal Sidhu will be a guest speaker to share his perspective on Birch Bay and the possibility of it becoming a city. Also, we are excited to announce that Sen. Sharon Shewmake will be joining us to share her insights. This will be a valuable opportunity to hear her perspective on this important discussion. To ensure a thorough and productive dialogue, we encourage you to submit your questions for them in advance. This will allow them time to prepare meaningful responses, although there will also be an opportunity to ask questions during the meeting.
Join us in person:
North Bay Community Church (4895 Birch Bay Lynden Rd, Birch Bay)
Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device via Zoom:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84283891941
Map To Meeting Location
Birch Bay Incorporation Association (BBIA) is exploring the feasibility of Birch Bay becoming a city. As part of this exploration, it's important to collect and share with the community detailed information to consider while deciding whether or not to support incorporation. For example, it's important to know the level of services the community desires, so that operating expenses can be estimated.
It's also important to involve the whole community, and understand if part-time and permanent residents have different concerns and needs that a potential city should address, and whether or not the community might be in favor of incorporation if taxes didn't increase and services stayed the same as now, but we'd have local decision making about land use, zoning, and permitting. Answers to these and other questions will be widely shared and help all of us decide whether or not incorporating is both feasible, and a good idea.
So, this 12-item survey is different from the very basic surveys that came before, and includes space for written comments and suggestions. It will also inform a formal, independent, third-party feasibility study by the County.
Ultimately, it will be Birch Bay residents who will decide whether or not to incorporate, and surveys such as this one will provide information to consider while making that decision. Please share your thoughts, as your feedback is crucial to compiling and sharing important information with the community. Thank you!