Business booms in Bakerview/Hannegan
Light industry, manufacturing lead the way

by Christopher Key

 

 

When the Whatcom Transit Authority (WTA) christened its new headquarters in April last year, it served as an exclamation point to the message that the Bakerview/Hannegan business community has arrived. The area, which is zoned primarily light industrial and manufacturing, stretches north and south of Bakerview Road, mostly to the west of its intersection with Hannegan. It includes several distinct business parks such as Strider and Irongate.

The new headquarters facility marked a major milestone in the history of WTA, which goes back to the streetcar days. Up until the 1960s, mass transit in Bellingham was provided by a private business. When they could no longer make it pay, the city took it on and ran the system until 1992. In 1983, the state passed legislation allowing the formation of a public transit service area and WTA was formed that same year. WTA subcontracted the actual operations to the City of Bellingham.

Ferndale and Lynden were annexed into the system in the late 1980s and a general manager and staff were hired in 1990. Transit employees working for the city transferred to WTA in 1992 and the rest of that decade was devoted to building the infrastructure of a modern mass transit system. The Bakerview Spur facility enabled WTA to consolidate all of its operations under one roof. Now, they are looking ahead to the next 20 to 40 years of service.

“Three words sum it up for us,” said fleet and facilities director Pete Stark. “Safe, friendly, reliable. We have 175 employees here who really like their jobs. They want to serve the public.”

The future need for public transit is sometimes daunting.

“There are more needs out there than we can realistically provide,” said finance and support services director Steve Clancy. “We want our service to be as close as possible to hiring a taxi. One of the toughest jobs is balancing the high demand centered on Western Washington University (WWU) with the needs of the rest of the county. It’s our job to get as much as possible for the expenditure of public funds.”

WTA spends a lot of effort seeking input from the public it serves and pays attention to that feedback.

“Rapid population growth means growth in traffic and congestion,” Stark said. “In order to minimize those problems, we have to work closely with our constituencies.”

Transportation staffers at the university work closely with WTA.

“There were a lot of complaints about lack of student parking,” said Clancy, “so we leased the Civic Field lot, which can handle 850 cars a day.”

One of the keys to effective mass transit is good land use planning. Below a certain population density, mass transit won’t work. WTA has had some problems with public perception.

“Sure, you can see empty buses from time to time,” said Clancy, “but it’s a lot more complicated than that. The empty bus you saw may have just let off 75 people. It might be at or near the end of its run. Operating costs are the same no matter how many or how few people are on board. The vehicles must fit the desires of the community. That’s why we rotate buses according to demand.”

Stark points out that WTA has the second highest ridership in the state, behind the Pullman system, which serves Washington State University almost exclusively.

“We need to target our efforts toward those who are not dependent on mass transit, but have a choice” said Clancy. Those who move here from big cities are comfortable with mass transit. Those who move here from rural areas are not as comfortable.”

According to community relations and marketing director Maureen Camandona, there is a standard list of objections for people who are reluctant to use the bus. They worry about getting from work to home in an emergency and point to decreased evening and Sunday service. WTA is working on it.

“People are getting out of their cars,” said Clancy. “Our ridership is increasing by about six percent each year. As the baby boomers age, they’ll need our services more and more. We realize how important it is for older people to stay in their homes as long as possible. It’s also more expensive for them to move from home into assisted living.”

Funding for WTA comes exclusively from local sources and it is evaluated monthly for efficiency and effectiveness. That played into the selection of Bakerview/Hannegan for the new building.

“Bus maintenance is similar to heavy manufacturing,” Stark said. “We didn’t want to upset an existing neighborhood with our noise impact. Even though we owned this property and it seemed to fit our needs, we formed a selection committee that looked at eight or nine different sites. It took a long time, but we are sure it led to the right choice.”

There is no doubt that the WTA headquarters had quite an impact on the area. Many firms in the Bakerview/Hannegan district were involved with the construction process.

“It’s great to work with your neighbors,” Stark said. “We can get material delivered quickly. If there are problems, we can solve them by going to see someone close by. Doing business with people in this area saves us money.”

WTA plans to be in the community for a long time and brings with it a certain stability.

“We’re here 125 hours a week, 365 days a year,” Stark said. “That means a well-lighted presence that helps deter crime. Several of our suppliers are here: collision repair, parts houses, support trades, equipment rental.”

The location means slightly more deadhead time for buses, but that will decrease as the community grows toward Bakerview/Hannegan. WTA designed the facility to handle future needs for bus maintenance and parking.

“Our facility is designed to be as self-sufficient as possible,” Clancy said. “We have sufficient generator capacity to keep operating in case of power failure. That means we can serve as an emergency shelter for people in this area.”

WTA believes in the future of the Bakerview/Hannegan district.

“There are still many good parcels available in this area,” Clancy said, “with the right zoning and utility service. We’re like a family here. We have a neighborhood block watch. Access is much better with the improvements to Sunset Drive and we’re high enough to facilitate a microwave link to downtown offices.”

Western Roofing is celebrating its 65th year and used to be located at the corner of Iowa and Woburn Streets. Winton Smith and his family realized that the property would be more valuable if utilized by a business that could profit from that high traffic location. That’s how a car dealership ended up there.

Smith’s father started the business in 1938. He was a farmer and insurance man who did a bit of roofing on the side. The demand for roofing services was such that he took it up as a full time occupation. The post World War II construction boom helped push the company to new heights.

Winton Smith learned to drive on his Dad’s trucks while working his first job, which involved cleaning those vehicles. When he graduated from college in 1973 and needed a job, he didn’t have to look far.

“This is an extremely competitive business,” Smith said. “There are a lot of one-man operations that have given the profession a bad image. They are usually undercapitalized and don’t last very long.”

His business philosophy is based on a tried and true concept.

“I treat customers like I want to be treated,” Smith said. “I look at how a property is going to be used before I make a recommendation about the roof. Some people need an economical solution. Others need one based on longevity. We want customers to get the best value for their money. We want to enhance the value of their homes and respect the basic architecture.”

Western Roofing employs about 20 people, depending on the season, and grosses between one and two million dollars a year. Smith said that it’s an up and down business.

“When the economy is hot, we do a lot of commercial work,” Smith said. “When the economy is down, we do more residential jobs.”

Getting and keeping skilled workers is always a challenge.

“If you want to keep good people, you have to pay more,” said Smith. “That means you have to charge more, which can result in less business. It’s a juggling act every contractor goes through.”

Mechanization of the business was one of his best moves.

“When I started,” Smith said, “we had no forklifts or lift-bed trucks. Mechanization makes the job a lot easier, but it’s gambling on the future. You can’t write off equipment with just one job.”

There are some technical innovations that Smith has been quick to embrace.

“We were among the first to use torch-dam roofing,” Smith said. “It’s an unfortunate name for a great product. The material has the same characteristics as hot tar, but comes from the factory in rolls. We then use torches to weld it together. That’s why you don’t see those hot tar kettles being dragged behind our trucks very often.”

Another recent development is single ply roofing.

“This allows us to use just one layer of a membrane-like material,” Smith said. “It’s a vinyl product that looks a bit like sheets of rubber. It’s easier to install, weighs a lot less, and, again, eliminates the hot tar kettle. It has the advantage of being both easier and much safer to work with.”

According to Smith, single ply was a response to the last oil crisis.

“It uses a lot less petroleum in the manufacturing process,” Smith said. “Single ply TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) products dominate the trade shows these days.”

Smith sees both advantages and disadvantages in his location at the end of Irongate Road.

“We don’t have anything like the traffic problems we had on Iowa Street,” said Smith. “The down side of that is that we get less drive-by business. So we have to advertise more. The area is pretty deserted after business hours, so security is a big expense. On the other hand, it’s a good setup for business with a lot of truck traffic. There’s a lot of elbow room out here. A lot of distributors and wholesalers are here, and that helps cut costs.”

He’d like to see Bakerview Road widened from Deemer to Hannegan to accommodate more traffic.

“There’s a wide variety of businesses here and a huge number of people working in the area,” Smith said. “Eventually we are going to need some of the amenities like day care, a laundry, more restaurants. The Guide is close to capacity. Hannegan is the natural alternative route north. If your business depends on traffic count, Bakerview/Hannegan may not be the ideal location. If you have to go to your customers, it makes sense.”

According to Smith, the lack of high-speed Internet service is hampering the area’s growth.

“This is one area where light industry can grow,” Smith said. “It’s not ideal for retail, but for support businesses.”

For Western Roofing, the future appears bright.

“Last year was our best in a decade,” Smith said. “I can’t wait to see what happens with the growth expected here. There are lots of dynamic changes on the way. Smart people will take advantage of them. Some may see it as paving paradise, so we have to work hard to maintain the quality of life as we build.”

Not many people know that there is a jail and an animal shelter in the Bakerview/Hannegan area. They’re both part of a business called Security Services Plus (SSP) owned by Greg Rustand. He was born in this area, but spent many years in the military as a security specialist. He retired from the Air Force in 1978 and moved back to Bellingham in 1980.

“I started as a process server,” Rustand said, “and it just expanded from there.”

The firm offers full service security for industries, schools and residences. He was hired to help transport mental patients and that led him to another opportunity.

“Back in the early 1990s,” Rustand said, “I saw the need for better corrections facilities. I took a gamble and built this 6,000 square foot alternative corrections building.”

The gamble paid off. Since the facility was opened ten years ago, the county has contracted with SSP to house minimum security prisoners.

“We can house about 50 low-risk inmates,” Rustand said. “We can handle both men and women above the age of 18. Most of them are on work crews or work release.”

When offenders are convicted of minor crimes, they are required to pay the county for incarceration in a private facility. If they are to pay, they need to keep their jobs. SSP fills the bill.

“I saw another need in 1997,” Rustand said, “when the county was looking to contract for animal control and shelter services in the unincorporated areas.”

Taking another gamble, he built what he calls “the most modern animal shelter facility in the state of Washington.” It features a high tech ventilation system that gives the animals fresh air and holds down odors.

It’s no easy task to staff an animal shelter.

“You have to hire people who have been in the field,” Rustand said. “Most people can’t handle it. It’s a very tough, emotional business.”

Rustand speaks from experience. The shelter still has the two cats it started with.

“We get 10-12 dogs and cats a day,” Rustand said. “In the breeding season, we can take in as many as 250 animals a month. Obviously, we need adopters. We also need to teach kids how to treat animals and be responsible for them. People who are not responsible force us to euthanize a lot of animals if they’re not adopted. It’s very hard on the staff.”

Whatcom County, according to Rustand, has a major problem with unwanted animals. Expected population growth will make it worse. So he puts ads in the papers and on the Internet, begging for people to adopt animals. The Web has been a big success, bringing in adopters from as far away as New York and Texas.

“I have just three officers to patrol 700 square miles of unincorporated county,” Rustand said. “It’s not just dogs and cats. We have to deal with cows and horses that have gotten loose. Then there’s animal abuse. That keeps us in court constantly. We need tougher animal control laws with some bite in them.”

The SSP businesses employ 60 people and it’s a constant challenge.

“It takes time to hire good employees,” Rustand said, “especially in corrections. They have to be trained and go through background checks. In order to retain them, you have to pay a living wage.”

Like many other businesses, SSP is suffering because of steep increases in insurance rates.

“We can’t keep up,” said Rustand. “We have to put the increases on our clients. It puts everyone into a bind.”

Rustand believes in conducting his operations as professionally as possible and giving his client, the public, 110 percent.

“We have a great working relationship with the county,” Rustand said. “These public/private partnerships are working well. We save the taxpayer a lot of money because we can do this work for one third less than government can. Government needs to have this option.”

SSP saves primarily on labor costs, paying a lower hourly rate and offering less costly benefits than government-run corrections facilities.

Presently, no medium or high security inmates are allowed in private corrections facilities and Rustand would like to change that.

SSP was one of the original businesses to locate in this area of Bakerview/Hannegan.

“There’s lots of good people here,” Rustand said, “and good access. We’re not in the boonies anymore. It’s a good, central location for the county. We have good neighbors here; everybody looks out for each other. If you’re looking at Bakerview/Hannegan, it’s a very good value for the dollar.”

Peggy Hinton of the Strider Company agrees with that sentiment wholeheartedly. In 1986, she and her late husband bought three parcels of land on the northwest corner of the Bakerview/Hannegan intersection. Later, Hinton acquired more parcels so that she controlled the whole corner. As a landowner and developer, she leases most of her property, but recently sold parcels to DeWaard & Bode and to Northwest Health Care Linen.

“It’s just me running the show now,” Hinton said. “My cell phone is my secretary.”

She now has nine buildings under lease and is available 24 hours a day if need be. Her business philosophy is old-fashioned.

“My word is good,” Hinton said, “and I take pride in that. I’ve been in business here for many years. With me, it doesn’t have to be on paper. I stand by my commitments.”

She points out that small business is the engine that drives the economy.

“I love people,” Hinton said, “and I want to help others. New businesses, branches, I’ll work with them to help them succeed. If I can’t help, I’ll call other landowners who can.”

Over the years, she’s lost only one tenant and that was because they outgrew their space and had to relocate.

“This isn’t just about money,” Hinton said. “It’s about image. I’ve never had to advertise much, people just walk in.”

Hinton doesn’t think Bakerview/Hannegan has any disadvantages.

“We’ve got all weather roads,” said Hinton, “and access to the border up Hannegan. I-5 is close. There’s a marvelous cross-section of businesses here and we all work together well.”

She keeps a low profile intentionally.

“The location draws people here,” Hinton said. “People come to me because they’ve heard good things by word of mouth.”

There’s an interesting story behind the name of her business.

“When we first bought the property,” Hinton said, “we worked on a name for months. One day my late husband saw a truck with a name on the side: Strider Transport. He thought the name was perfect and so did I. We called our business the Strider Company. Strider Transport was a Canadian company that used to have offices down on Roeder Avenue. They were apparently in trouble and vacated their offices abruptly. For weeks, I was fending off angry truckers who thought we were the same company and wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. It got pretty ugly once or twice.”

There’s nothing ugly at Bergen and Company Embroidery works. Their mission is to place beautiful designs on various items of clothing. Much of their business involves putting company logos on shirts, hats and jackets. Their motto, appropriately enough, is “We keep you covered.” In addition to the embroidery work, they offer a full line of other promotional items, from pens to mugs to calendars.

Owner Jan Heath got started by doing some seamstress work in her home. Eventually, she went to a trade show and came home with an embroidery machine. Soon, she had her own shop on Champion Street named after her dog, Bergen. The company was so successful that they had to build their own facility on Irongate Road. Corporate sales manager Beth Ward notes that the company will celebrate its twentieth year in 2003.

“We don’t have a corner on the market yet,” Ward said, “but we’re working on it.”

They keep 10 employees occupied on the big machines in the back.

“It can be a bit up and down,” said general manager Deana Reynolds. “Business is pretty consistent in the winter, but drops off in the summer when people have other things on their minds.”

It’s a labor-intensive operation.

“First, we have to get the company’s logo,” Reynolds said. “Then it has to be digitized onto software that controls the machines. We produce a sample of the design so that the customer can approve it before we put it onto the garments.”

If you don’t have a logo or design in mind, that’s not a problem.

“We have thousands of items and ideas,” said Reynolds. “We have catalogues of stock designs in literally thousands of categories. Pick out one of those, add some lettering, and presto! Instant logo. We can refer you to professional graphic artists, but sometimes it’s better to choose stock art.”

Companies can purchase their own garments or buy them from Bergen.

“We can get next day delivery on a huge stock of garments,” Reynolds said.

If you’re interested in some stunning original artwork on your jacket, Bergen features Lummi artist Dan Lewis. They can also digitize photographs and transfer them to items of clothing. There are even new techniques that create a 3-D effect similar to relief renderings.

“We strive to interpret what the customer wants.” Reynolds said. “We spend an enormous amount of time on customer service. There are so many designs, colors and details to choose from; it requires a lot of interaction.”

Just don’t tell Reynolds that something can’t be done.

“Sometimes we use a combination of techniques,” said Reynolds, “utilizing screen prints, embroidery, appliqué. We like making people feel good about what they’re wearing.”

They can even do reflective decals and striping for construction industry jackets.

“One of our biggest challenges is the number of variables in cost calculations,” Reynolds said. “I worked up a spreadsheet that could handle those calculations. Automated pricing was a big step.”

Bakerview/Hannegan has many advantages for Bergen & Company.

“You’ve got so many businesses here and we help each other,” Reynolds said. “For instance, we needed some pallets of clothing moved and the welding shop across the road brought in their forklift and did it for us. The area is growing and changing so fast that you need to drive the streets once in a while just to see what’s out here.”

That’s good advice for anyone who hasn’t spent much time in Bakerview-/Hannegan. The area offers a fascinating mix. And according to the businesses that work there, it’s a very friendly neighborhood.