News Briefs | April 24 edition

Published 1:30 pm Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Spinnaker down

After months of waiting, the Spinnaker building in Vashon Town is now in the process of being demolished — a major step in the project by Sea Mar Community Health Centers to build a new primary care clinic on the site.

Demolition by the Seattle-based contractor, Demolition Man, started last Friday and is ongoing, said Noah E.G., a lead worker on the site who asked that his surname not be used in the paper. Noah said he was hopeful that most of the debris will be removed from the site by the end of the week, but that it might take a bit longer.

He asked islanders to steer clear of the site, as it could contain materials including hazardous liquids and pathogens. The building, he said, had already been scavenged by scrappers who had removed copper and other metals.

Two gracious maple trees — now fully leafing out in front of the demolished building — have yet to be removed, Noah said. Demolition Man would like to hear from any islanders interested in saving and relocating the trees to their property. Workers will be at the site until 3:30 p.m. each day through May 2, he added.

According to island historian Bruce Haulman, the Spinnaker building was built by islander Don Cunningham and his brothers in 1972 as a cocktail bar and restaurant, called The Spinnaker — a destination watering hole and eatery still fondly remembered by many longtime islanders.

The building’s most recent former owner, Spinnaker Building LLC — an entity controlled by Scott Shapiro — had owned the building since 2008, when it purchased it for $1.1 million from Spinnaker Associates LCC.

Spinnaker Associates LLC was associated with the late islander Wayne Holt, who founded a software company, Software Research Northwest, which began a long tenure in the building in the late 1980s. Those operations were referenced by Noah, who — unaware of the software company’s occupancy — said that the building had contained such a vast amount of cable wiring that he and other workers had speculated someone had once mined Bitcoin there.

Sea Mar Community Health Center purchased the property in November 2022, for $1.15 million, announcing its intention to build and operate a clinic on the site. Sea Mar’s current island clinic now operates, under a sublease agreement with the Vashon Health Care District, at Sunrise Ridge.

Wastewater plant malfunction

An estimated 9,100 gallons of water that had been treated but not disinfected were released from an outfall pipe 2,700 feet off the eastern side of Vashon Island on Friday, April 25 due to a brief malfunction in the disinfection system of the Vashon Treatment Plant.

Crews discovered the malfunction at about noon and by 1:30 p.m. had stopped all flow from leaving the plant, according to the county. By 5 p.m., crews had restored the plant to normal operation, including the ultraviolet light (UV) system that disinfects the water before leaving the plant.

The Wastewater Treatment Division immediately notified regulatory agencies Friday afternoon, according to the county, and Public Health – Seattle & King County determined that water sampling, signage, and beach closures were unnecessary due to the depth of the outfall pipes and the distance from the shoreline.

King County Wastewater Treatment Division has begun replacing the fuse boxes at the treatment plant and intends to replace the aging equipment that caused the disinfection system to temporarily malfunction.

Pool pulls down bubble

Vashon Island Fire & Rescue members helped take down the seasonal “bubble” roof at the Vashon’s public pool in April. The pool will remain uncovered for the summer months until October. This was the last year planned for the current bubble, as the Park District and Vashon Seals swim team raised money for a new bubble that will go up in mid-October.

Ferry rates

From May 1 through Sept. 30, a peak season surcharge is added for vehicles and drivers paying full fare on Washington State Ferries. In most cases, that means drivers and motorcyclists will pay $4 to $8 more per trip. The walk-on and multi-ride commuter pass costs will remain unchanged.

For more information, visit wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/fares.

Filing week approaches

It’s almost time to file as a candidate for this year’s November election. Online candidate filing this year opens 8 a.m. Monday, May 5 and closes 5 p.m. Friday, May 9. Learn more by visiting elections.kingcounty.gov.

Superintendent search

Vashon Island School District is about to embark on its search for its next superintendent to succeed Slade McSheehy.

From 6-9 p.m. Thursday, May 1 at the District Office conference room at Chautauqua Elementary, the school board will virtually host three recruitment firms. Each will have 20 minutes for a presentation followed by 10 minutes of questions from the board. The public is welcome to attend in-person or virtually via the district’s YouTube channel. The firms will not be taking questions from the public.

Islanders can provide feedback by visiting tinyurl.com/VISDfeedback — the survey will open May 1 and should be completed in real time, as board members will review the survey feedbacks immediately after the presentations and announce their selection at the end of the meeting. The firms are Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA); Human Capital Enterprises; and Tradition Search Partners.

Questions? Visit tinyurl.com/VISDsearch or email Board Chair Juniper Rogneby at jrogneby@vashonsd.org.

Public meetings

• Vashon Island School District regular board meeting: 6 p.m., Thursday, May 8 at Chautauqua Elementary School, Room 302, 9309 SW Cemetery Road. The board meets the second and fourth Thursday of each month. Visit vashonsd.org.

• Water District 19 regular board meeting: 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 13 at 17630 100th Ave SW. The board meets the second Tuesday of the month. Visit water19.com.

• Vashon Park District regular board meeting: 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 13 at the Ober Park Administration Building, 17130 Vashon Hwy SW and via Zoom. The board meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. Visit vashonparks.org.

• Vashon Cemetery District regular board meeting: 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 14, at 19631 Singer Rd SW. The board meets the second Wednesday of the month. Visit vashoncemetery.org.