We met a wonderful hero today. He has pledged to take up our cause, to charge into the den of frustration and obstruction, and to help us to be victorious.

After yet another delay, which came in the form of a late spate of questions from the Building Department, most of which were on subjects already addressed or inappropriate to our application, we finally called on some help.

Dr Duncan Milloy was introduced to us in a welcome letter from the mayor of Kirkland as an advocate for businesses focusing on business retention. But I told him our story anyway, my voice quavering with frustration, and when he’d heard our litany of issues, he volunteered to come to our site immediately to review our concerns and provide us with advice and direction. He was here within 15 minutes.

With his reassurance that we are truly doing everything correctly, we were able to refocus and respond to the questions posed, confident that the end result will be positive and forthcoming.

Dr Milloy’s approach is decidedly genteel, intelligent, respectful and thoughtful, and he has offered to be our advocate and intermediary if ever we cannot speak for ourselves. He is our hero.