Lummi Island, Washington

How Lummi Island is governed

Lummi Island appears to be an unincorporated community or a census-designated place, so it may have no city government of its own — services usually come from Whatcom County and its elected officials. The chart below is a generic template; readers can correct it if Lummi Island does have local officials.

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0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

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  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

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    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

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      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

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      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

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      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

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      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

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      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

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      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

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  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

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    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

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    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

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    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

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  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

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    Presides over the municipal court.

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History

The island was originally called Sa nam a o ("High Mountain") and Skallaham by the native Lummi people.

In 1792 Spanish explorers dubbed it Isla de Pacheco, and British colonists later called it McLoughlin Island. In 1853, the U.S. National Geodetic Survey charted the island as Lummi, naming it after the local tribe. Later British Canadians and Americans adopted this term. Some theories suggest the name was derived from a Lummi-language word.

The island's post office was established by the United States government in 1882. At that time the town and post office were named "Beach", after Wade S. Beach, a homesteader in the area, but today island mail is addressed to "Lummi Island, Washington". The Beach School and Beach Store Cafe have retained the older name, and the GNIS lists Beach as an unincorporated place.

By 1919, the Nooksack Fish Packing Company had a cannery on the island at Sunrise Cove.

Lummi Island Quarry

A rock quarry on the island was operated intermittently, but major operations started in 1964. By 1990 the pit was 3 acres, and mining rights were sold to James and Kyle Bride of Everett, Washington. The operation became Ace Rock, LLC in 1997, with the Brides, Dick Christopherson (Bremerton, Washington), and David Grainger (British Columbia, Canada). The underlying land was sold in 1999 to the Brides and Christopherson. In 2005, Valley View Sand and Gravel, Inc. (owned by the three families) assumed ownership of the land.

The Lummi Island Quarry was operated until 2013 by Aggregates West, Inc. of Everson, owned by Grainger. Aggregates West went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, having defaulted in 2012 on $3.5 million in Frontier Bank (inherited by Union Bank) loans originated in 2005. Aggregates West offloaded barges of excavated rock at Bellingham, Anacortes, Everett, and Seattle). By 2007 only 10% of the output was used on the island.

Lummi Island Heritage Trust, a land trust, sought to purchase the land for reclamation and conservation purposes. The trust successfully purchased the 105 acres in 2015 for $1.08 million. The purchase was also supported by Whatcom County, Puget Sound marine and Nearshore Grant Program, and the Rose Foundation, to restore the property. Some is still covered with forests and there are 4,000 feet of shoreline.

By 2019 the land trust named the area the Aiston Preserve, after an Aiston family that homesteaded the land in the 1940s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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• Everett 110,629
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