On Sunday afternoon, September 18, the weather complied and the drinks flowed as an exceptionally large crowd gathered for a traditional Issaquah “Dock Alert” to bid two longtime residents farewell. Ric Miller and partner, Malia Daily, are moving to live in Palm Springs, wander the southwest deserts, and sample life in other parts of the country.
Ric is well known for his panoramic photographs (Ric Miller Fine Art Photography). He’s less well known for his connection with the Epic Efforts*—the efforts made by the floating homes community to create and foster thru numerous local, state, and federal review and approval processes; and to advise and monitor thru the permitting and construction process—what we know today as the Waldo Point Harbor Reconfiguration.
Here is what happened. The year was 1998:
Ric was President of the FHA. There was great concern over the fact that our BCDC (San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission) permits were about to expire and no solution to the “settlement agreement” (a legal settlement between WPH, Gates Cooperative, BCDC, Marin County, & State Lands)—at least not one that did not severely and negatively impact the residents—was in place.
Several community leaders had tried to get movement on this effort for years, so to amplify their efforts, a Waldo Point Harbor Residents Committee (WPHRC) was formed as a joint effort between the FHA and Harbor Equity Group (HEG) to find a solution that would be acceptable to all parties. This solution was called the Community Development Plan (CDP).
You can read about this multi-decade Epic Effort HERE. Numerous floating home residents participated in and contributed to the final plan, which was then selected as one of the first community-inspired and community-driven plans to be approved by the BCDC.
Ric was one of the community leaders of the task force, involving many people, that for years worked on developing a community reconfiguration plan that sought to be fair to all concerned. It is the plan we are now enjoying. Trust me when I say there were other plans none of us would have wanted.
Ric’s leadership for 20 years includes holding several officer positions with the FHA and as a board member and Chairman of Harbor Equity Group.
So …thank you Ric for all that you have done for our community. We will miss you. And Malia, your bright and ebullient personality will also be missed.
You promised that you’d come back to visit, so we will not say goodbye, but see you later.
*addendum for a detailed history, saluting all the players – written by Pam Bousquet for the Nov/Dec 2013 Floating Times GO HERE – Waldo Point Harbor Residents Committee Reunion