Western Front - 2004 July 8

              OUT & ABOUT
Bellingham offers a plethora of
outdoor activities.
Sports, Page 5
DONE WITH HUNG
"Idol" reject should leave the entertain­ment
business while he is still ahead.
Opinions, Page 6
iQJJE PASA?
Western student plays Latin punk,
hip-hop and salsa on KUGS.
Accent/Features, Page 4
ISSUE 3
VOLUME 130
- " Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington The Western Front THURSDAY
JULY 8, 2004
Bloated cost projections delay
Arnzten Atrium eatery remodel
By Laura McVicker
The Western Front
Western will postpone the
remodeling of the Arntzen
Atrium eatery, originally
planned to take place this quar­ter,
until next summer because
of higher costs than previously
expected.
When Western solicited bids
on the project, contractors pro­posed
larger estimates than the
design team, Wise Miller
Architects, had originally pre­dicted,
said Robert Schmidt,
project manager of Western's
Facilities Management. Schmidt
Lauren Miller/The Western Front
Former President Bill Clinton signs a copy of his new book,
"My Life," at Costco in Issaquah.
By Tess Hembree
The Western Front
Hidden behind a fortress of
Coca-Cola cases and nestled
between aisles of hair dryers,
blenders and ceiling fans, Bill
Clinton signed copies of his new
memoir, "My Life," at the Costco
in Issaquah on June 30.
Thousands of enthusiastic fans
greeted the former president,
some of them waiting in line as
long as 18 hours to get their
copies of his 900-page tome per­sonally
autographed.
Costco guaranteed signatures
to the first 1,000 people in line
and handed out wristbands to
1,500 people, Costco representa­tive
Richard Galatei said. Those
without a wristband were not
allowed into the event.
Costco employees said the
wristbands ran out at approxi­mately
10:30 that morning —
with people lined up as early as
9 p.m. the previous night to
secure their positions in line.
Organizers limited the event
to Costco members and allowed
just one signature per member­ship
card.
"I wanted the opportunity to
meet a former president, some­one
who influenced policies and
was the leader of the free world,"
Whatcom Community College
student Jeremy Groves said.
SEE Clinton, PAGE 8
and the design team now will
have to modify the eatery's
design to fit the architects' cost
projections, he said.
"The design may need to
change to fit the budget,"
Schmidt said.
SEE Eatery, PAGE 8
Courtesy of Wise Miller Architects
The remodel of the Arntzen Atrium eatery would have
expanded the food service court to 2,000 square feet.
Clinton at Costco County council will buy parking lot on Lummi
Island for walk-on ferry commuters for $495,000
By Emily Nuchols
The Western Front
The Whatcom County Council
approved the purchase of a 1.7-
acre parcel of land on Lummi
Island to serve as a parking lot
for ferry passengers.
The motion passed 5-2 on June
29, with councilmembers Barbara
Brenner and Dan McShane voting
against the proposal.
Councilman Sam Crawford
said ferry commuters have a
need for parking, and the lot
would fill that demand.
The proposed parking lot will
accommodate the increase in
walk-on passengers who com­mute
from Lummi Island.
The county decided to buy the
land for $495,000, though the
appraised price was $465,000.
"I don't feel right about buy­ing
(the land) for over the
appraised value," Brenner said.
"It is too much money."
The additional $30,000 will
cover the cost of moving a
house located on the property,
Brenner said.
The Whatcom Chief, the ferry
that serves residents and busi­nesses
on Lummi Island, is the
only link to the mainland at
Gooseberry Point. The small
ferry holds 100 passengers and
18 vehicles.
Since 1991, the ferry has
undergone a 27.6 percent
increase in traffic. In 2001, the
ferry transported more than
381,000 passengers.
McShane said this has been a
long-term project that the county
has been moving toward, but it
was the first time the council
voted on the issue.
Crawford said the council
would like the land that was pur­chased
to be the equivalent size of
the lot acquired from the Lummi
Nation at Gooseberry Point,
which has more than 80 spaces.
McShane said that by approv­ing
the space for a parking lot,
the council is supporting an
increase in the number of cars
and walk-on passengers who
use the ferry. He said that before
beginning construction of the
parking lot, the county should
evaluate the alternatives to
encouraging more vehicles on
the roads.
"The island is small enough
that people could walk or
bike," McShane said. "But once
again, the county has decided
to subsidize cars."
The Whatcom County Road
fund will finance the project.
Federal building changes hands
By Rick Swanson
The Western Front
The Bellingham Federal Building, which served
as Bellingham's first federal courthouse, is changing
management after 91 years of private ownership.
Tenants of the building, including the U.S. Postal
Service and various government agencies, now will
pay rent to the city.
Bellingham took ownership of the Bellingham
Federal Building, located at 104 W. Magnolia St.,
from the U.S. General Services Administration on
July 1, in a public ceremony, which Sen. Patty
Murray, State Rep. Rick Larsen, Bellingham Mayor
Mark Asmundson and GSA Regional
Administrator Jon Kvistad attended.
The "no-cost public transfer" turned ownership
from GSA over to the city, Kvistad said, and GSA
will carry out $2.61 million worth of renovations,
which a state grant will fund.
The GSA is a landlord to the federal government,
according to the company's Web site. Kvistad said
cases involving surplus buildings such as this often
end in the sale or demolition of the building.
The Bellingham Federal Building was built in
1913 and added to the National Register of Historic
Places in 1979 and is a Bellingham landmark,
Kvistad said.
Murray said she helped raise $2.61 million to
allocate toward repairs to the Bellingham Federal
Building/Postal Office.
"This never would have happened if it wasn't for
Patty Murray," Asmundson said. "It will benefit the
community for decades to come."
Murray said Asmundson sent her a request for the
grant two years ago, and explained the importance of
the building to Bellingham. Murray said she urged
the GSA to reconsider renovating and promised a
smaller budget. The $2.61 million is less than one-third
of the original budget, Murray said.
"This building is too important to be sold or
destroyed and is a symbol of Bellingham's past."
Murray said.
In addition to renting office space to paying ten­ants,
the city will use portions of the 39,110 square
feet for security, Larsen said, and it will "serve as a
home for security to^discuss needs on all levels."
Rick Swanson/The Western Front
John Kvistad, Patty Murray, Mark Asmundson
and Rick Larsen gather around a $2.61 million
check at the July 1 building transfer ceremony.
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