The Future is Now

Mayor and Others Feel Committed to a Burlington That’s Growing Better Day by Day

by Janet O’Mara

The Burlington mayor’s position is officially only part-time, but for Mayor Roger “Gus” Tjeerdsma, the enthusiasm and involvement are pretty much full time.

“I’m a hands-on mayor,” he says, as he shows a visitor around in his dusty, four-wheel-drive pick-up. Fresh from working on his farm, but briefly wishing he’d changed out of jeans for this tour, he says, “I should have changed into my ‘mayor clothes.’” Then, smiling, he comments, “These are my mayor clothes.”

Tjeerdsma admits he’s not afraid of getting his hands dirty and pitching in on just about every project. “I was taught by my dad, ‘If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all.’” He recalls that his father used to own the only backhoe in Burlington, and he helped install sewer and water lines all over town. As a result, he says, “I know this city from the underground up.”

In many ways, the personality and priorities of the mayor, in his sixth year of office, symbolize Burlington today. Retired from the construction business, he still farms and volunteers hundreds of hours on community projects. He’s been a volunteer fire fighter for nearly 30 years and was on the planning commission for 12. He’s personally involved in what he calls, “my city,” a sentiment he pronounces with sincerity and affection.

The mayor is proud of a lot of things about Burlington: the exploding commercial development on Burlington Boulevard, the revitalization planning for the old downtown along Fairhaven Avenue and the residential remodeling in the old neighborhoods. There is a new fire hall in place and a police station just going in, and the farmers’ market has opened next to the old fire station, brightly painted red and now home to the city’s chamber of commerce. But what really sparks Tjeerdsma’s passion are all the new parks and recreation areas around town, open to all.

 

Fishing at Johnson’s Bar

The wide, paved, Gardner Road boat ramp on the Skagit River off Rio Vista Avenue, for example, was built with virtually no city funds and mostly volunteer work. The mayor himself personally raised $15,000 to get the project rolling, by cooking and selling meals at the Skagit Eagles lodge. He knew how important the area, including Johnson’s Bar, has always been to local fishermen. The sand bar is now connected to the ramp by an intentionally rocky road to protect it from damage.

“My dad used to bring me here,” he says, reporting that the fishing’s still good, “and now I bring my grandsons here, too.” It was a $250 million-dollar project built for a lot less, he says. Later, there may be a primitive RV park at one side, where the old ferry landing was. And ATV enthusiasts now have a separate area to drive around in.

“Parks can be costly,” he admits. “The land is the easy part; it’s the maintenance that’s expensive. But it’s important to preserve it.”

Tjeerdsma has lived in Burlington all his life — in the same house for 56 years — and can point to changes happening here, many of which he has helped bring about. On the one hand, he’s passionate about preserving some of Burlington’s history and on the other, he can be just as passionate about acquiring land for future generations — such as the property for parkland along Whitmarsh Road, purchased from National Frozen Foods for $2.4 million — and other new parks and projects.

“That 100 acres along the river will be here forever,” he says. It took him a year and a half to convince the city to commit the funds, he says, instead of letting it be developed for increased tax revenues. “I get to talking about it; I get a soft spot in my throat that I was able to pull it off.”

As the tour continues, there’s no lack of enthusiasm here. “The new skate park is a total success,” he says as he extols the features of the park, called “SK8.” “We have people who travel here from Oak Harbor, Bellingham and other areas.” Next stop, the 135 acres of soccer fields, a huge area also built mostly with volunteer funds and labor. These attract huge tournaments, bringing in hundreds of teams and thousands of dollars, significantly offsetting maintenance costs. The Evergreen International Soccer tournament, with teams of young players ages 10-18 from 13 states and provinces, last year brought 188 teams and at least $2.5 million into the community. More teams are expected this year. Two more tournaments, the Firecracker Invite and the Labor Day Kick, each attract 100 teams from Washington and Canada. Then there are the 24, brand-new tournament quality horseshoe pits.

 

More parks and planning

“Over the last four years, we’ve really developed a lot of park property,” Lorne Cavanaugh, Burlington Parks and Recreation director, proudly admits, “and we have a lot of plans.”

Cavanaugh and Tjeerdsma are already talking about plans for next year’s Berry Dairy Days, tied into the city’s centennial celebration, and plans for restoring Gages Slough.

“We’re trying to change the concept,” explains Cavanaugh. “Rather than parks in the city, we have a city-within-a-park system.”

But parks are not the only new features in the city this year. The sewage disposal plant is undergoing a $13 million upgrade. Downtown revitalization plans are moving ahead, slowly but persistently.

“We want to make it a place where people enjoy living,” says Dick Irwin, director of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce and member of the Downtown Revitalization Coalition. “We’re becoming a commercial area. We’re proud of our downtown and we also want to carve out some neat places where you can sit down, with park benches and trees.”Commercial development up and down Burlington Boulevard is a big part of the success and congestion in Burlington. The two newest retail developments, Pier 1 and Haggen Foods, are now in construction, adding to an assortment of retail stores and restaurants that draw people from several surrounding counties.

“I definitely feel in this valley that people are enjoying a terrific quality of life,” says Bob Penney, assistant superintendent of Burlington-Edison schools.

“I don’t know of anything that doesn’t exist in this valley that I would travel a great distance to try to find. We’re blessed with a lot of things,” he says, with an air of contentment that’s common in this small town.

Tod LeHecka, Realtor with Brown-McMillen Real Estate and a 22-year resident, agrees. He and his wife, Bonnie, did not grow up here; instead, they literally traveled around the world, just looking for a place to live. “We came back here to stay,” he reports. “We still travel a whole lot and can’t see any reason not to live here.”

Just like these “more recent” immigrants, Mayor Tjeerdsma is firmly planted in Burlington. His seven children and 10 grandchildren all live within a mile of his home. “If I were to move, I don’t know where I’d go to that’s as good as Skagit County,” he admits.

“There are a lot of great things I’m proud of in Burlington,” the mayor acknowledges. “I have a commitment to my city.”