Padden Creek daylighting contract awarded to SAIC

The design contract for the Padden Creek Daylighting project was awarded to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) of Seattle in September. Designs for the project are currently underway, and removal is scheduled to begin in 2013.

            The Padden Creek Fish Barrier Removal project involves moving a stream from a 2,300 foot long tunnel to an actual stream bed. The stream was originally placed through the brick culvert to allow for the construction of a railroad in 1892. The culvert currently prevents fish from passing through and poses a threat to water quality.

            “This culvert creates a barrier preventing fish from reaching areas upstream in Padden Creek,” Chris Damitio, Project Engineer with Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), said.

            The removal of the fish barrier has the potential to remove the current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplain from areas of the Happy Valley neighborhood closest to Padden Creek. The removal of the FEMA floodplain would mean that approximately 80 residents would no longer be required to purchase flood insurance, according to Mueller.

            Happy Valley is a growing neighborhood with a high density of residents. The fact that a large portion of the neighborhood lies on a floodplain leaves a high risk for property damage in the case of a serious flood.

            “They tore down a lot of the woods in the area within the last ten years or so, and the density of people has really increased,” Jennifer Wilke, a Happy Valley resident, said.

            The daylighting project will also help to improve water quality in the area due to improved aeration and natural filtration of the water through the restoration of the areas and vegetation surrounding the creek, also known as the riparian restoration. The riparian zone, or the area of vegetation surrounding the stream, helps maintain a healthy habitat for salmon by maintaining cool water temperatures, stabilizing banks, providing food for the fish and filtering sediments, chemicals and resources.

Chinook, chum, coho, steelhead and trout all call Padden Creek home. The culvert acts as a barrier between the fish and the areas upstream that they need to reach to survive. By removing the barrier, fish will be provided with easier access to their spawning grounds.

            “There will be a viable, fish passable riparian environment in place of an old tunnel,” Craig Mueller, Project Engineer with the City of Bellingham said.

            The preliminary plan for the project is to build a 40-foot-long bridge, of the same width as the current roadway, on Old Fairhaven Parkway in 2013. WSDOT will be funding and building the bridge, which will also lead to the permanent closure of the 20^th Street and Old Fairhaven Parkway intersection. A new culvert bridge will be built underneath 22^nd Street and a new channel will be dug by 2014.

            Once construction is finished, the new channel will then be restored with native vegetation, which will provide a healthier habitat for fish and wildlife in the area.

            Currently, the culvert is located in the area between 16^th Ave. and 22^nd Street, along Fairhaven Parkway.  The culvert crosses the highway at 16^th Ave., which gets the highway department involved in the issue. WSDOT is partnering with the City of Bellingham to provide a new crossing at 20^th Street, which would daylight the stream.

            “The current crossing is in great shape, but with anything over 100 years old we are concerned about the long term impacts on the highway,” Damitio said.

            SAIC of Seattle, the company recently assigned to design the project, is currently negotiating the final works, as well as the engineering costs with the City of Bellingham. The firm interviewed and was awarded the project this September.

SAIC originally worked on the 2001 preliminary report for the City of Bellingham and Padden Creek Alliance, which is comprised of the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, public officials and residents of Happy Valley and Fairhaven. These preliminary reports were used in assigning grants and for budgeting purposes.

“In the 10 years since, the city has purchased needed properties along the corridor (and is nearly complete with this process), and has raised the necessary funds based on the 2001 cost estimates,” Mueller said.

Upcoming events at the Firehouse

West Coast swing isn’t the only entertainment you can get at the Firehouse Performing Arts Center. It also hosts a variety of classes and events each week. Here are a few of the upcoming events to check out:

1.      What: Film at the Firehouse showing of “Planet B-Boy”: This documentary follows break dancers in an urban setting as they follow their dancing dreams. The story travels between Osaka, Paris, Seoul and Las Vegas. The Firehouse will give out door prizes and YouTube pre-film teasers as well.

When: Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.

Cost: $5

2.      What: Bellingham Repertory Dance’s “Construct”: To celebrate Bellingham Repertory Dance’s sixth season, the show features six contemporary pieces being danced by the company’s nine dancers. Works vary from more classical dances to comical dance-theater pieces.

When: Nov. 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 6 at 5 p.m.; Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 12 at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. ; Nov. 13 at 5 p.m.

Cost: $15

3.      What: Jim Page, a Seattle-based musician, will be performing his folk-style music at the Firehouse. Page has recorded 21 albums and has toured in 13 countries. He was named “One of the 50 most influential musicians in Seattle history” by Seattle Metropolitan Magazine. Hosted by Veterans for Peace and Whatcom Peace and Justice.

When: Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.

Cost: $5 to $15 donation

4.      What: Film at the Firehouse showing of “Amelie”: Amelie is a film about a shy waitress living in Paris, who tries to change the lives of people she meets for the better. It won best film at the European Film Awards, four Cesar Awards and two BAFTA awards. It was nominated for five Academy Awards.

When: Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.

Cost: $5

5.      What: Susan Conrad will be presenting a 90-minute slideshow of her sea kayak expedition of the Inside Passage. Presented by the Community Boating Center, “Oceans of Uncertainty to a Sea of Revelations” features photographs of Conrad’s paddling marathon and encounters with creatures such as a 700-pound grizzly bear and 40-ton blue whale.

When: Friday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.

Cost: $10 suggested donation

Residents dance away their differences with a little bit of swing

On the quiet street where Happy Valley ends and Fairhaven begins one can find Western students and 70-year-old couples socializing, laughing and dancing the night away as one community.

In an old firehouse on a Tuesday night, Top 40 songs are playing and people are West Coast swing dancing. It is a partner dance with its roots in lindy hop. The dance relies heavily on the connection between partners and allows for improvised dance moves. It’s a slotted dance, meaning that participants dance within a long, thin slotted area, about eight feet long if a slow song, shorter if the song is more upbeat.

That night, Mike Posner’s “Please Don’t Go” was among the featured music, and it’s not uncommon for popular songs to play during West Coast swing dancing sessions. At the Firehouse Performing Arts Center, the Happy Valley community comes together every Tuesday night to learn about and experience West Coast swing dancing. This unique form of swing has followers of every generation.

“West Coast swing as opposed to East Coast swing is what I like to call the slinkier dance of the two,” Michelle Bruncks, a Western Washington University student and dancer, said. “It’s a very linear dance. You make a line with your partner.”

People from many different areas of Bellingham and of all ages come to the West Coast swing classes at the Firehouse. There are people who come to the lessons in their 20s all the way up to their 70s, according to Whitacre.

In a community where students and permanent residents often disagree, the Firehouse dance sessions offer a place where all the Happy Valley residents can come together for a night of fun.

Some West Coast swing classes at the Firehouse offer a lesson with a professional West Coast swing dancer, which costs $10. Other classes, which simply offer space for community members to come practice with one another, cost $5. The Firehouse is a recently renovated 1927 Historic Fire Station, which is now a café and performing arts center. Julie Whitacre and Paul Olmstead founded Bellingham West Coast Swing, and had been struggling for years to find a nearby venue for the classes. At first, they would travel as far as Seattle every week to dance, but with the recent renovation of the firehouse, dancers have had less of a commute.

“It was so hard to find a place to dance in Bellingham. But look at this floor; this is a beautiful dance floor,” Whitacre said.

Older residents who have seen Happy Valley transform from a small community to a densely populated college town have had some issues with noisy college students who want to be able to throw parties at their apartments. The community of Happy Valley changes drastically from summer to the school year, when students come back to Bellingham. But all differences are set aside on Tuesday nights at the Firehouse.

“There was a 12-year-old boy once who wanted to dance with me and then there will be people in their 70s that just had hip replacements that are still there wanting to dance and its great!” Bruncks said.

The street outside is dark, except for the firehouse, which is aglow and bustling with dancers. Two large, wooden doors are propped open and the sounds of upbeat music and shuffling feet drift outside.

Inside, dancers of all ages mingle, sip drinks and socialize. Whitacre stands in the back DJing and chatting with dancers. The atmosphere is carefree, warm and welcoming.

“They have a coffee shop and events. I went to one where poets read their poetry while dancers danced to it,” Jennifer Wilke, a middle-aged Happy Valley resident, said.

In addition to its classes, workshops and performances, the Firehouse also offers film showings and is home to a café and space for massage therapy.

“Tell people to come and dance because no one is going to make fun of them,” Bruncks said.