Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Drive Safe This Holiday Season

With the holidays upon us, many more folks will be out and about on our area's roads and those roads are sure to be slick. Please exercise care and patience when driving and allow a little extra time to arrive at your destination. If we all slow down just a touch, we can all arrive safely at our destinations. And as always, please don't drink and drive.

A Safe and Happy Holiday Season to All!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Volunteer Recoginition Celebration - October 22nd

The Town of Winthrop invites everyone to a celebration of the volunteers and groups that have given of their time over the last year to help the Town make Winthrop a great place for all of us. The celebration will take place on Wednesday October 22nd, 2008 from 6pm to 8pm at the Winthrop Barn. The evening will begin with a social hour from 6pm to 7pm with refreshments being served. At 7pm, the volunteer recognition presentation will begin. The evening will conclude around 8pm with dessert being served. Please join us to recognize these invaluable volunteers. For more information, please contact Town Hall at 509-996-2320.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Marshal's Office at Town Trailhead ???

At a recent Town Council meeting, the possibility of locating a building to house the Winthrop Marshal’s Office at the Town Trailhead parking lot was discussed in relation to a grant and loan opportunity available to the Town. This discussion and a subsequent article in Methow Valley News has led to numerous comments and feedback from those concerned about this possibility. Due to some of the concerns expressed, we agree that this site would not be an appropriate location for a new Marshal’s Office building. We will most likely continue to pursue the grant and loan opportunity, but will seek a different site for a new Winthrop Marshal’s Office building. We appreciate all of the immediate feedback on this issue. It is much better to hear from folks early when we are on the wrong course than at the end when everything is nearly finalized. Sometimes the appeal of a simple solution to a difficult challenge blinds us to some of the unintended effects of our solution. Thanks for keeping us on the course that our community desires.

Dave Acheson
Mayor of Winthrop

Monday, September 22, 2008

Recent upgrades to Town of Winthrop website

We're happy to announce that we have recently added a "Planning" page to the Town of Winthrop website (www.townofwinthrop.com). The page includes a roster of current planning commission members, e-mail links to the planning commission and town planner, a link to view the current planning commission agenda, and a place to sign up to have the planning commission agenda e-mailed to you. We hope you'll find this page a useful addition to our website.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

In Memory of Former Mayor Stan Peterson

Recently, former Winthrop Mayor and Councilperson Stan Peterson passed away. He served as Winthrop's mayor from January of 1990 until March 1992. Stan's service and ongoing commitment to his community were greatly appreciated. On behalf of the Town, I would like to express how much we will all miss Stan and that our thoughts are with his wife Susan and their family during this difficult time.

Mayor Dave Acheson

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Fire Halls and Fire Trucks

Recently, the Methow Valley News ran a story on the upcoming ballot issues being run by the Town of Winthrop and Okanogan County Fire District #6 to get voter approval for bonds to be issued to pay for a new fire truck (Town of Winthrop) and a new fire hall (Okanogan County Fire District 6). The article contained some inaccuracies as to who was being asked to approve and pay for each item. The correct information is as follows:

Town of Winthrop Fire Truck bond proposition (August 19th ballot):

Voters within the Town of Winthrop will be asked to approve a bond issue to pay for a new pumper truck to replace the current pumper owned by the Town which is over 23 years old and does not meet current National Fire Protection Association standards. Only voters within the Town of Winthrop will vote on this measure and only they will pay for the bond if the measure is approved.


Okanogan County Fire District 6 Fire Station bond proposition (November 4th ballot):

Voters within Okanogan County Fire District 6 (which does not include the town of Winthrop) will be asked to approve a bond issue to pay for a new OCFD6 fire station. Voters within the Town of Winthrop will not have this proposition on their ballots and will not pay for the bond if the measure is approved.


The Town of Winthrop and Okanogan County Fire District 6 enjoy a close working relationship and currently share a fire station. The Town contracts with OCFD6 for the operation of the Town's fire department. This close relationship benefits the Town's citizens by providing access to more equipment and personnel than the Town could otherwise afford on its own. However, to the casual observer, it can occasionally cause some confusion as evidenced by the recent MV News article. Hopefully, this post will clear up who is being asked to approve and pay for what.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Winthrop Ice Rink wins award

On June 19, 2008, the Town of Winthrop was honored with a Municipal Excellence Award from the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) at their Annual Conference in Yakima.

The Town of Winthrop won the Small City Successes category for the Winthrop Town Trailhead and Ice Rink. The Winthrop Town Trailhead and Ice Rink represents the culmination of years of effort by the town and two nonprofit groups, Winthrop Ice and Sports Rink Association and Methow Valley Sports Trail Association (MVSTA) to create a vibrant recreational hub in the heart of our community.

Planning for the project drew a great deal of public attention and input. Winthrop’s new 3.8 acre trailhead and ice rink now stands as the cornerstone in realizing a handful of long held community visions. Over the winter, hundreds of people, old and young alike, enjoyed skating on the new facility and warming their toes in the new building; while other folks used the new trailhead as a departure point to guide along the MVSTA ski trails.

Out of 62 entries, Winthrop’s entry was one of eight projects selected to receive an Excellence Award at AWC’s 75th Annual Conference. Entries are judged by subject category and each category has one winner. The awards are judged by individuals outside of AWC, who are selected for their knowledge of and enthusiasm for local government.

The Municipal Excellence Awards are presented to cities that have demonstrated outstanding achievements in promoting community excellence. The competition recognizes a community’s achievement and encourages other cities to develop similar programs. The hard work and dedication proven in each of the projects makes a community stronger especially when the focus is on improving tomorrow.

The Town of Winthrop wishes to thank all of the community members who volunteered and supported this project. This award is because of all of you and your unselfish hard work.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Traffic Note: MV Tour Bike Race

This Sunday, June 15th, the Methow Valley Tour bicycle race will be passing through downtown Winthrop frequently throughout the day. The race will be using portions of Hwy 20, Bridge Street, and Bluff Street. Motorists are encouraged to watch for cyclists and obey traffic control flaggers directions to ensure the safety of all. Thank you.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Town Council and other meetings at the Barn

The Winthrop Town Council will be holding its meetings (which take place on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month at 7pm) at the Winthrop Barn until further notice. The change of meeting location is part of an effort to provide needed additional work space for town staff. The Winthrop Planning Commission will also be moving its meetings to the Barn soon as well. For more information on the change, please contact Town Hall at 996-2320.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Winthrop Planning Community Workshop

These days Winthrop is changing and yet staying the same. It is still a small town. Its citizens are still friendly and care deeply for the place they live. Although its population is still about 370 people according to the State of Washington, just an increase of 21 people since the 2000 census, few would argue that Winthrop isn’t growing. New commercial buildings and many new residential development proposals have citizens wondering if the town is adequately prepared to handle these changes and some of the related issues and challenges they pose. These citizens are not alone, the Winthrop Town Council and Planning Commission have been eyeing these changes and considering the need to perhaps revisit the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and possibly make some improvements to it and/or Winthrop’s zoning code. As part of this consideration, the two groups held a joint meeting a several weeks ago to discuss what they felt some of the key issues and challenges facing the town and its citizens are. Also discussed was the desire and need for a public workshop to gather input from the citizens of Winthrop to make sure that their concerns and issues could be considered and addressed during this re-examination of the Comprehensive Plan.

This is where you come in. On Tuesday, May 13th, at 6pm, the Town of Winthrop will host a public workshop at the Winthrop Barn to gather public input and opinion on the issues and challenges facing Winthrop. This workshop is intended primarily as a community brainstorming session with an emphasis on generating a list of issues, challenges, and possible solutions to be investigated and worked on by the Town Council, Planning Commission, town staff, and citizen committees as necessary. The workshop will be facilitated by Winthrop’s Building Official Dave Sandoz who also happens to be a trained facilitator. Please come and join us and share your ideas and opinions on the issues and challenges that Winthrop and its citizens face. Be part of helping Winthrop effectively meet the challenges of the future so that even as it faces change it can stay the same wonderful place we all love.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Arbor Day Celebration and Park Clean Up

On Wednesday, May 7th at 4pm in Mack Lloyd Park, the Winthrop Tree Board will host an Arbor Day Celebration. The ceremony will be followed by a park clean up event lasting until about 6pm. Anyone interested in helping with the clean up is invited to bring work gloves, rakes, brooms, and other useful tools to help Town get Mack Lloyd Park ready for the busy summer season.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Carboard Recycling Drop Off open for the season

The corrugated cardboard recycling drop off site on Horizon Flats Road is open again now that the snow has receded. The bin is for flattened, corrugated cardboard only. The Town wishes to thank Methow Recycles for making this service available to the citizens of Winthrop and the upper Methow Valley. To volunteer with this project or other Methow Recycles projects contact Betsy Cushman at 996-2696 or e-mail her at betsy@methowrecycles.org