ISLAND COUNTY: A Message from Commissioner Bacon (MELANIE BACON/Jul. 28, 2023)

Island County Commissioner Melanie Bacon (D-Langley) sent the following newsletter on Fri., Jul. 28, 2023.

Thank you for reading my newsletter for the 30^th week of 2023. It was a pretty quiet week for us—hopefully everyone’s out enjoying this beautiful weather.

• Regular Session.  The agenda and recording for the July 18^th regular session can be found here.
  • The Board of Island County Commissioners take public comments during our Tuesday meetings. This week the public had comments on the Oak Harbor Airport, LIHI/Harbor Inn, and homeless encampments on North Whidbey. Public Comment begins at mark 00:01:44 in the recording. During the commissioner response time, Commissioner Jill Johnson spoke informatively about homelessness and homeless camps, at mark 00:21:46 in the recording.
  • Two resolutions were approved on the consent agenda: C-40-23, Approving Plans & Specifications and Authorizing Call for Bids for Saratoga Road Culvert 371 Replacement; C-41-23, Approving Plans & Specifications and Authorizing Call for Bids for Baker Way Landslide Slope Stabilization.
  • On our regular agenda we approved a grant and contract to furnish and install energy efficiency measures for the Coupeville Administration Building. I’ve spoken about this before, during the planning stage—with this project, which will refurbish our 80-year-old administration building to make it energy efficient (including solar panels), Island County is modeling environmental protections and ideas for our citizens. You can watch this conversation beginning at mark 00:30:59 in the video recording. Kudos to Facilities Director Ryan Beach for all his work getting us to this place.
  • The agenda for the August 1^st regular session is here.                              

• There was no work session this week. The next work session will be held at 9 am on Wednesday, August 2. The agenda for that work session is here. Most of this work session will focus on administrative issues like internal HR policies and Human Services contracts with the North Sound Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization and with developmental disabilities agencies—but we will also talk about the upcoming Lagoon View Drive Shoulder Stabilization project, which will involve completely closing the roadway for eight weeks, as well as a permit application that Public Works has received to locate two camera systems within County right of way.
• The Council of Governments (COG), the Island Regional Transportation Planning Organization (IRTPO), and the Island Local Integrating Organization (ILIO) met this week.
  • COG: Commissioner Janet St. Clair gave a presentation on Broadband.
  • IRTPO: Island Transit gave a presentation on their Fleet Transition plan. Washington State Ferries told us that they’re trying to get demographic information on ridership—so if you’re riding a ferry and you see a QR code posted, please fill out their survey. The recording and minutes of this meeting are not posted yet; to learn more about IRTPO, go to this link.
  • ILIO: We talked about funding for projects and how to bring the Ecosystem Recovery Plan process into the County’s 2025 Comp Plan update. Minutes of this meeting aren’t posted yet; to learn more about ILIO– use this link.
• 2024 Budget: The Board will hold our first Budget Workshop next Wednesday, August 2, at 1 pm, here: https://tinyurl.com/ICWorkSession Meeting ID: 957 0144 6335 Passcode: 969196.
• The latest edition of Public Health Matters includes articles about preparing for wildfire smoke dangers, the ABCD dental program and Island County Watch Me Grow. Pages 8-9 show the County’s wonderful Non-motorized Trails & Biking Map which many people use regularly to safely enjoy biking and walking around the islands.
• As I’ve mentioned before, segments of the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail are in Island County. The Forest Service has now made the Draft Decision Notice, the Environmental Assessment, and the Comprehensive Plan available for public review. You can find these documents and provide your comments or objections here.
• Every  Monday I hold Monday Tea with Melanie at 3:00 pm at the WiFire Community Space, 1651 E. Main Street, Freeland. This is your opportunity to catch me out in the wild, so to speak—at these meetings I listen and respond to citizen concerns and questions, and several times issues that were initially raised at these meetings have ultimately resulted in action by the Board of County Commissioners.
  • On Monday July 31 at 5 pm I will also be available for citizen conversation at the Clinton Community Center, just before the Clinton Community Council monthly meeting. 

Melanie

“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.”

~Sam Keen