The complainant said the issue centers on accountability and legal process rather than patriotism

Cade Barker
The Reflector Newspaper

The patriotic striping project in Yacolt, completed earlier this month by local contractor All Seal, transformed portions of Amboy Road, Yacolt Road and Railroad Avenue through the town with red, white and blue centerlines in celebration of America’s upcoming 250th birthday.

In a previous interview with The Reflector, Mayor Ian Shealy said, “A local company, All Seal, did a community art project to try and celebrate America’s 250th at no cost and bring joy to the town.”

However, questions from one individual about Yacolt’s patriotic community art project, completed entirely free of charge by All Seal, have intensified following an interview with The Reflector. The individual, who wishes to remain anonymous in print, shed new light on concerns about whether the project complied with state and federal roadway regulations and whether the process was conducted thoroughly.

A previous Reflector article in the May 27 edition detailed the project and the community support it generated, as well as concerns raised by an anonymous individual through public records requests submitted to the town of Yacolt. Upon publication of that article, the town released the full May 11 email sent by the complainant, which cited Washington state law and federal traffic standards.

“RCW 47.36.030 (Traffic Control Devices): Requires the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to adopt uniform standards for all traffic control devices, including markings,” the email stated. “WAC 468-95-010: Officially adopts the federal MUTCD as the legal standard for all highways, roads, and streets open to public travel in Washington State.”

The email continued: “MUTCD Section 3A.05 (Colors): Specifies that pavement markings shall be yellow or white, strictly prohibiting unauthorized colors like red or blue for centerlines.”

The complainant then wrote in all capital letters: “YOU ARE WILLINGLY BREAKING WASHINGTON STATE LAW, COSTING THE TOWN ANYWHERE BETWEEN $15,000-$45,000! Who approved this?”

The previous records obtained by The Reflector only contained the “Who approved this?” portion of the first May 11 message to the town of Yacolt.

A second email was sent one minute later on May 11, asking, “I would also like to know who you contracted out to do the painting!”

Additional emails sent May 13 repeated the same questions: “Who approved of the painting of the centerline in town? Who was the contractor that painted the center line in town?”

Town staff later clarified that the complaints were not submitted anonymously, despite earlier records released to The Reflector that omitted identifying information. The individual later told The Reflector they wished to remain anonymous due to backlash received after the initial story was published.

“My reason for staying anonymous is public lash back,” the complainant said during an interview with The Reflector. “Already from the original report from the original news article, there have been death threats and people wanting me to move out and get out of this country. There’s hate. It is not fun.”

Despite the original complaints in the messages sent to the town of Yacolt, the individual repeatedly emphasized that the complaint was not rooted in opposition to patriotic displays or to the colors themselves.

“To be clear, I do not care that the road was painted,” the complainant said. “My concern is that the town appears to have moved forward without obtaining or even pursuing the required approvals, authorizations, reviews, permits, exemptions, or waivers that exist specifically for roadway modifications and traffic control deviations.”

The complainant added, “My concern is not the existence of the patriotic artwork. Again, my concern is not the existence of the patriotic artwork. My concern is whether the public officials knowingly bypass established procedures that are designed to ensure roadway consistency, legal compliance, public safety and liability protection.”

According to the individual, public records requests submitted to multiple levels of government did not uncover any evidence of permits or exemptions for the project.

“I look for permits to the county, to the state, to federal — like a general public works public records request — and there’s no permits, waivers, or anything anywhere,” the complainant said.

The town clerk also confirmed to The Reflector that no records were found permitting this center-line striping project.

The complainant said the issue centers on accountability and legal process rather than patriotism.

“If government officials can simply ignore established regulations because a project is popular or symbolic, then it raises legitimate concerns about how serious other laws, standards and procedures are being treated behind the scenes,” the complainant said.

The individual also raised concerns about potential confusion on roadways during periods of poor visibility in Yacolt.

“Yacolt is also known for heavy dense fog in certain circumstances,” the complainant said. “If there’s a young driver who just got their license and they were informed that you keep the white on the right, and they come into that town and it’s super foggy, well, there’s white in the middle now. ‘Uh-oh, which way am I supposed to be on?’”

The complainant added, “We live in a mixed melting pot of all sorts of people from all across the world. These rules are here for reasons.”

While criticizing the town’s handling of the project, the individual said they believed the original idea itself was positive.

“The person’s idea, whoever the owner of the painting company when they came up with the idea, that’s a great idea,” the complainant said. “Cool. Congratulations. Let’s follow the paper trail to make sure that we do it legally.”

The individual, who confirmed he is not associated with a company that does roadway striping or any contractor work, also said they would not have objected if proper approvals had been secured beforehand.

The complainant compared the situation to permitting requirements faced by residents.

“If the town of Yacolt can stop me from building a house because I didn’t have a permit, why does that give them the accessibility to not get their permit that they need to do what they need to?” The complainant said. “I need a permit to do something; they need a permit to do something.”

The individual also rejected accusations circulating online suggesting the complaint stemmed from political motivations or anti-American sentiment.

“I am more patriotic than most of these people combined that say that they’re this way,” the complainant said, later adding: “… This should have never been made personal. Raising concerns about compliance with state and federal law is not creating drama. It’s civic accountability. Citizens are supposed to question government actions when regulations are knowingly ignored. This is part of how responsible government works.”

The complainant ended the interview with a direct message to community members.

“Don’t threaten somebody because they’re trying to correct their government’s actions,” the individual said.

The controversy stemmed from one individual, who, prior to the May 27 Reflector article, was not known by The Reflector until an interview with All Seal owner Patty Clark.

“Unfortunately, of late, we have one individual who’s threatening the (town) because we are not conforming with (the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices) coloring of the yellow and the white and looking to make it miserable,” Clark said. “And they don’t even live in Yacolt.”

After reviewing numerous Facebook posts in Yacolt-centric groups, word of the questions regarding the striping project was brought to light prior to the May 27 article, as well.

Despite the controversy, Shealy previously told The Reflector that the project received strong support from many residents.

“A lot of people really enjoy it, a lot of people stop and take photos with their kids,” Shealy said. “It boosted the small town spirit.”

As of press time, the town had not announced whether the striping project would remain in place throughout the summer celebrations or be removed.

This report was first published by The Reflector Newspaper.