Gwen Berry

It’s been several months since the idea of building a bird blind in memory of Jake Jakabosky first came up. Many community members were struck by his sudden loss; and the bird blind idea appealed to them. It would be an appropriate way to remember Jake, an avid birder who introduced many in this community to the enjoyment of birds and birding. It would be a nice purpose for a little-used corner of the HP Fire District’s property; and it would be a gift to the community that Jake (and I, along with many of his friends) valued, supported, and served.

The Fire Commissioners approved the idea at their meeting in June. Preliminary drawings were available at Jake’s memorial service in July, and the response was generally enthusiastic. Many made donations to the project. Everything looked promising.

After fine-tuning the drawings, architect Rick Carlson contacted the Klickitat County Planning Department to sound them out about what they might need for the project to go forward. That’s when it hit the first major snag. The Planning Department wanted everything – conditional use permit, environmental review, complete ADA accessibility, complete site drawings, and an engineer’s input and approval of the building design. And that was before the Building Department and Public Works Department had a chance to tell us what else they might require! Obviously our view of the project and the County’s didn’t match. We had envisioned a small, simple building; they were seeing a major public facility.

That stymied us for some time as we searched for ways to comply while still being able to afford to build the bird blind. Then, Rick was reminded that a simple outbuilding under a certain square footage shouldn’t need a permit. Rick found it in the Washington State Building Code (which Klickitat County had also adopted), and sure enough, a simple building like a storage shed or playhouse doesn’t require a permit if it’s under 120 square feet. Minor adjustments to the design brought the bird blind to under 120 square feet, and once again things looked promising.

That’s when it hit major snag #2. Although the Fire Commissioners had been supportive and interested in the bird blind project at every Fire Commissioners meeting since June, sometime in December things went awry. After discussions with members of the HPCC Board of Directors, they agreed to develop a new joint operating agreement with HPCC where the two groups would share decision-making about the property west of the Community Center. At the December Fire Commissioner meeting it came out that they had reversed their approval of the bird blind project, and  approval would now have to come from the new joint decision-making committee once it was formed. Serious setback, to say the least!

In the weeks since then, however, the HPCC Board has indicated that they’re willing to work with us to find a way for their plans and the bird blind to coexist; and it doesn’t seem like the Fire Commissioners have an actual objection to the project itself. So although there may be another delay, it looks like we’ll eventually be moving forward again. It would help if the HPCC Board and the Fire Commissioners know there is community support for the bird blind project. Their contact info is on page 1, so if you like the idea, let them know.

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