Q & A From Nicole P.

Q.  Hi,
First off, Index is one of my favorite places on earth.  I went around the country and explored many places but when it came down to it…index was my favorite place.

I am a climber and Index has the best climbing in the country (in my humble opinion).  The problem with Index.  Index has the worst camping in the country.
1-There is a group of people that live across from the town wall parking lot for free.  Their dog barks 24/7. The place is a mess.
2- People that visit Index looking for the best climbing place in the country are disappointed by the horrible camping situation.
3- Index is known as a beautiful wonderful place filled with a bunch of “tweekers”.
4-  Their is people going to the bathroom in the river, throwing junk all over the place.  ITS HORRIBLE!!

Don’t the people of Index care?????  The people of Index are wonderful, friendly, and make the town look like the small town that everyone wishes they lived in.

I ask you why then do they not mind the tweekers moving in for free and trashing the place?

I want to help.  I want to turn the camping area into paid camping.  I would love to initiate a fund to clean up that area and keep it clean and I know I can do it.

But I need some help with the details.  Who owns the area?  how can I get into contact with this person?  Do the people of Index even care?

Please help out and make Index the destination spot that people from around the country want to visit.

A.  Thanks for the email Nicole.

At first glance of your email, I thought you were shooting the piano player, however upon reading it twice; your concerns are more than valid.  They are a fact.

The Town Council is well aware of the issue(s) you talk about.  As a matter of fact our Mayor, Bruce Albert, has written a letter to the folks that actually own the property or portions thereof, in the past.

Some council members and residents have even been to the area and cleaned it up more than one time but the problem persists.  The Sheriff has removed “tweekers” as you call them (squatters is what I call them) but they show up again.

It’s your job Nicole, to call the Sheriff to have the squatters removed.

During a council meeting a few months back it came out that the area you are speaking of (I believe it is as you go up Reiter Rd. just out of town), is not town property and there is not a whole lot they can do except keep the Sheriff involved or we clean it up our self.  Check out some of the meeting minutes we have posted online and you will find well documented information about this issue.

Now to the meat of your email.  There is no doubt that you have valid concerns and that you are serious about raising funds to clean up.

That said, I would recommend that you show up at the Town Council Meetings and state your concerns during public comment (public comment is always at the first part of the meeting and you are welcome to leave after you have had your say).  You will be surprised at the positive responses you will hear.

As yesterday was a holiday, and the Town Council meets on the 1st Monday of the month at 7 PM at the old Fire Hall next to Town Hall, the meeting will be TODAY, TUESDAY, or next Monday at 7 PM.  I have not had a confirmation as of this writing.  You may call 360.793.2488 or email index@premier1.net to find out when the meeting will be.

Thanks again for taking the time to write to us.

UPDATE 08:15 AM.  Just got a note from Lisa, our Town Clerk and all around smart person!!  She said that yesterday was NOT the first Monday of the month.  Next Monday is!!  What was I thinking?  or NOT thinking?

• By David, June 2, 2010 @ 8:40 am

  Hey, Nicole. Good luck. The problem with the squatters has been ongoing for many years and has been addressed several times. Most of the property along the river is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service. Another section is privately owned by some folks from the Seattle area. Several years ago the problem got so bad that we, my wife Lynn and I, tried to get government agencies to do something about these deadbeats. This was after a couple of “homeless” people lived along the river for over a year and left behind an open latrine with a year’s worth of use, a couch and other furniture, a mattress, coolers with spoiled food and piles of trash. We contacted the Forest Service, The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department, Snohomish County Health Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. The response was discouraging. The government agencies just passed the buck from one to the other. The forest service and sheriff said that the property lines were not defined so they did not know who had jurisdiction over what site. The sheriff would not do anything without a complaint from the private property owner. We searched records and contacted those folks, letting them know what was going on and advised them to contact the sheriff. The owners took no action. (Since that time some concrete barriers have been put in place to block one site, however, the squatters feel that they have the right to use the area and simply cut a new path around the barriers and set up camp). NO TRESPASSING signs are ignored and torn down. The Forest Service has a 14 day limit to stay in an area and that is not enforced. After many conversations with the rangers at the station in Skykomish they told Lynn that she could volunteer to patrol that area. So, armed with a forest service shirt and some trash bags, she monitored it for many years, letting campers know that they could only stay for 14 days. She openly recorded license plates so that they would know that someone was keeping track. This was very effective for many years. When too much trash accumulated she would call the rangers and they would send a pick up to remove it. We had to pile it by the roadside for them. Usually, we removed it ourselves.
  She stopped monitoring the area after she had a run in with one of the creeps that parked his camper trailer at a site. She approached the guy and let him know what the regulations were. He went off on her, went into his camper and came back with a can of mace, pointed it at her face and threatened to spray her. At no time was she confrontational to this person. We left and contacted the Forest Service. They advised her to contact the sheriff. She did. The sheriff came to our home after talking to the creep. The creep told the sheriff that he did not do anything, that Lynn had lied about the mace and that he was being harassed by her. The sheriff told her to leave the guy alone. He said that he knew the creeps mother and that the creep had just gotten out of drug rehab and was trying to get his life together. The Forest Service took no action at all. So, after several years of taking abuse from “creeps” and getting no back up from the “good guys” when she needed it, she decided that this thankless volunteer job had run its course. You see the result of that today.
  Good luck, Nicole and keep in mind, the power of one can make a difference.

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