ISLAND COUNTY: A Message from Commissioner Bacon [Mar. 22, 2024] (MELANIE BACON)

Island County Commissioner Melanie Bacon (D-Langley) sent the following newsletter on Fri., Mar. 22, 2024.

Thank you for reading my newsletter for the 12th week of 2024.

I served in the US Army during the Vietnam war and have had numerous conversations over the last couple of years with Rep. Rick Larsen about my experiences. Recently his office reached out to me to discuss an opportunity for him to present me with a Vietnam Veteran lapel pin and a copy of President Biden’s Proclamation on the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. I asked his aide how other Vietnam War veterans can also receive these items of recognition, then started talking with the Whidbey Veterans Resource Center and others, and now we are planning an event on Whidbey Island commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War to recognize Island County veterans of that war and the spouses of deceased and current veterans. A presentation of the proclamation and the lapel pins to Vietnam Veterans will be part of that ceremony. There will be lots of information coming out about this over the coming weeks, but I wanted to let you know that if you served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time during the period of November 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975, regardless of location, you are eligible to receive the lapel pin. No distinction is made between veterans who served in-country, in-theatre, or who were stationed elsewhere during the Vietnam War period. If you are interested in being on the mailing list for updates on our Island County event, please contact either me at district1@islandcountywa.gov, or the Whidbey Veterans Resource Center at whidbeyvrc@gmail.com.

Note: I remember well the public response to the Vietnam war and the additional burden that national dissension placed on these veterans. The focus of the Island County event will be to honor the dedicated people who committed to serve and defend our Constitution as uniformed members of the United States Armed Forces during a tumultuous period of our nation’s history.

You can read more about the proclamation here.

This is a fact sheet on the Vietnam Veteran lapel pin. This is a fact sheet on the Deceased Veteran Surviving Spouse lapel pin.

Shoreline Master Program (SMP). The Board of Island County Commissioners held two meetings on the SMP this week, one during our regular session and one during our work session (see below for links). My bare-bones cut-to-the-chase summary: we did not take any action and will hold at least one more work session to discuss it before bringing it to regular session for either a vote on the existing draft or another public hearing on a revised draft.

• My colleagues and I have spent many hours listening to public comments, reading the document drafts and public comments sent to us, discussing this in meetings, and poring over various scientific, engineering, and planning reports as well as SMPs from other jurisdictions.
• One item that came up during the work session that could result in a revised draft: errors in our shoreline zoning maps that we feel we should be able to resolve when they’re identified without needing to get approval from the Department of Ecology every time.
• The biggest item of contention for the public has been around hard armoring on the shoreline; citizens actually attended our Wednesday work session to hear our conversation about it, a truly rare event.
• After much thought about the various issues around hard armoring, I drafted my own personal resolution to help me articulate how I felt about the thing. I talked about it at both the regular session and the work session (links below). In the end, I said I feel that the Board of Island County Commissioners are obligated to take a stand regarding the tensions of pushing back against nature to protect public and private property versus our desire to protect our fragile natural ecosystems that are facing so many stressors to their continued viability, and that therefore the County should adopt this philosophy: (a) That hard armoring and other shoreline-impacting solutions will not be permitted in Island County along shorelines where IC GEO and US Fish and Wildlife maps indicate forage fish spawning sites or other similar sensitive marine activity, and (b) That hard armoring solutions may be permitted along shorelines that lack this type of sensitive marine activity, as long as those solutions are built abutting the homes. The reason for my recommendation that any hard armoring solution should abut the home and not be allowed very many feet past the home, such as on the other side of a patio? Just because our maps do not indicate forage fish spawning or kelp beds, that does not mean the nearshore is dead. I think that in a situation where a home is located along a shoreline that appears to lack a fragile near-shore marine ecosystem, we have a responsibility to permit homeowners to reasonably protect their homes from flooding (these are also the areas that seem to experience the worst erosion and flooding issues). But I feel no responsibility to protect someone’s deck chairs or barbeque grill from the impacts of storms or high tides.
• More to come on all this. At this time, I do not know when the next SMP work session will be scheduled, but I imagine in the very near future. I also do not know how my colleagues feel about my philosophical statement.

Regular Session.  The agenda and recording for the Tuesday March 19thRegular Session is here.

• Nine individuals spoke on their concerns about the SMP during our public comment period.
• Approved on the Consent agenda: Resolution C-15-24, Forming an Ad Hoc Jail Replacement Steering Committee.
• As I stated above, no action was taken on the resolution to adopt the SMP, Resolution C-03-24. The discussion begins at mark 00:34:07 in the video recording; my comments on hard armoring begin at mark 0:38:38.
• We held a Public Hearing on Resolution C-05-24 (R-10-24): Amending Title XIII, Chapter 13.02A-Solid Waste Disposal of the Island County Code, also known as our “Compost Procurement Ordinance.” This can be heard beginning at mark 00:48:45 in the recording. I use this public hearing in my example, below, on how codes get changed.
• We held a public hearing on franchise No. PW2023-0029. It was approved. Mark 1:14:48 in the recording.
• Last week Commissioner Jill Johnson went to the Pentagon with the delegation from Oak Harbor, as she tries to do each year. She came back this time with hopeful information about Growler noise, mark 1:25:10 in the recording; the Navy is working on the Growlers to try and improve the vibration to lower the sound. The Navy is also making significant capital investments at NAS Whidbey, so the future of the Navy base is secure.
• The agenda for our Tuesday,  March 26th regular session is here. We will hold the two public hearings shown below.

Upcoming BOCC Public Hearings (held during Tuesday board meetings, beginning at 10 am):

• March 26: Countywide Planning Policy
• March 26: Franchise Renewal Whidbey Country Club
• April 2: Opening an unopened County Right-of-Way known as Rowe Road (Camano)
• April 2: 2023 Budget Amendment
• April 16 (pending BOCC approval of date): Crescent Acres Water System
• May 14 (pending BOCC approval of date): Franchise Renewal Saratoga Beach (Whidbey)
• May 21 (pending BOCC approval of date): Marshall Drainage District Assessment

Upcoming IRTPO Public Hearing

• March 27, 10 am: Regional Transportation Plan

Work Session. The agenda for the Wednesday, March 20th work session is here.  The recording is here. The presentations from Public Works and Planning (SMP) are here

• We moved up the franchise discussion from Public Works to the beginning of the meeting, in order to give us more time for the SMP discussion. This franchise information can be found on page 1-3 of the above presentations link.
• The SMP conversation begins at mark 0:15:06 in the recording. The presentation that Planning walked us through begins on page 4 of the presentations link above. The list of issues that the Board asked Planning to look into after our Public Hearing on the SMP held on February 6 can be found on pp 4-5 of the agenda above. My work session comments on hard armoring begin at mark 1:48:24 in the recording.
• We spent the afternoon finishing our discussion on changes to the Housing Element of the Comprehensive Plan. This discussion begins at mark 1:57:07, and the Housing Element itself begins on page 6 of the agenda.
• There will be no work session next week (4th week of the month). The agenda for the April 3rd work session will be posted by Friday, March 29th, here.

Board of Health (BOH) met on Tuesday, March 19th; this is the agenda and this is the recording.

• The first item on the BOH agenda was our acceptance of an appeal of a decision made by Public Health. The appeal hearing will be held at the beginning of our May Board of Health meeting.
• Jen Schmitz, our Department of Natural Resources Manager, gave a presentation on the different functions of DNR, including the Island Local Integrating Organization (ILIO), our Noxious Weeds program, Salmon Recovery, Surface Water Quality, the Shore Friendly program, the Conservations Futures Fund (CFF), and the Marine Resources Committee (MRC). The presentation can be found beginning on page 7 of the agenda and the discussion begins at 0:12:48 in the recording.
• The BOH got a first look at proposed additions to the Natural Resources Element and the Climate Element of the Comprehensive Plan, beginning on page 27 of the agenda, mark 0:38:27 in the recording.
• We also received an update on Public Health’s Strategic Vision, Public Health legislative initiatives, and Public Health finances, beginning on page 35 of the agenda, mark 1:08:55 in the recording.

Next Wednesday, March 27th, the Council of Governments (COG) and the Island Regional Transportation Planning Committee (IRTPO) will meet.

• COG (9 am): Agenda here. On that agenda: a continuation of our discussion on Rural County Economic Development Funds, and a round-table discussion on the Value Statements of members of the COG (for the Comprehensive Plan).
• IRTPO (10 am): The IRTPO will hold a public hearing on the draft Regional Transportation Plan.

The zoom link for both meetings is here.

Planning Commission and the Comprehensive Plan Update: This is a link to the Planning Commission page. You can find details on their meetings and minutes, including Zoom info, here. The Planning Commission meets at 6 pm on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month; the agendas are published at least a week in advance.

• During the March 20th work session the Board finished our discussion of the Housing Element; see above for link.
• The Board of Health had a great conversation on the Natural Resources and Climate Elements Goal & Priorities this week; see above for link.
• The Comprehensive Plan Update public engagement website is now live: https://www.islandcounty2045.com/. I encourage you to join and participate.
• The next meeting of the Planning Commission will be held Wednesday, March 3rd.

Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve is updating their design guidelines and would like your input. You can read about the project, learn about public meetings on the guidelines, and read the existing guidelines here, and then please offer your thoughts in their survey, here.

Earth & Ocean Month 2024 is coming fast, and it’s going to be big! I encourage everyone to follow Whidbey Island Earth and Ocean Month on Facebook, here, to stay informed on events. The calendar shows 7 events on April 20th alone!

Clinton Community Council will meet on Monday, March 25th, at 6 pm at the Clinton Community Hall. This is the link to attend.

How progress happens in County Government: Fifth in a series

• Week 1: Where do I start?
• Week 2: What will the Commissioners do with the information I’ve given them?
• Week 3: What’s the value of public hearings—haven’t the Commissioners already made up their minds?
• Week 4: How does a code get changed? (part 1)
• Week 5: How does a code get changed (example)
  • This week we saw a great example of how a code gets changed, so I’m using “Amending the Solid Waste Disposal Code” as my example instead of my usual “I want Orange” example.
  • In 2022, the Washington State Legislature passed the Organics Management Law, which requires diversion of organic materials away from landfill disposal and towards food rescue programs and organics management facilities. By 2030, 75% of total organic waste must be diverted from landfills.
  • This law has ramifications for three groups: residents of cities larger than 25,000 people, businesses that generate more than .25 cubic yards of organic waste per week, and governments. As a local government, Island County is required to take action in response to this law.
  • The local government’s piece of the law, RCW 43.19A.120, says that “When planning government-funded projects or soliciting and reviewing bids for such projects, all state agencies and local governments shall consider whether compost products can be utilized in the project”. The law goes on to say that if compost products can be used in a project the government must use them except in certain circumstances, which they list.
  • The Department of Ecology wrote guidance for jurisdictions for compliance with this new law 

• Island County’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee discussed the ramifications of the organics management law and its impact on residents, businesses, and government, on April 17, 2023, determining that only Island County government and the City of Oak Harbor are required to write plans (the Department of Ecology has resources to help business that produce organic waste, like grocery stores, know whether the requirements apply to them or not).
• Island County has a code, Chapter 13.02.A, “Solid Waste Disposal”. In response to RCW 43.19A.120, our Solid Waste group drafted an amendment to this code, a new section, Chapter 13.02A.085, “Compost procurement and use” (see link in regular agenda, above).
• The Prosecuting Attorney’s office reviewed and approved the code change.
• The Board of Island County Commissioners discussed the draft section in work session on January 3, 2024.
• During a regular meeting, the BOICC approved a date for the public hearing. A legal notice was posted as required by law.
• The BOICC held a public hearing this week on the proposed code change. No public comment was received. The code change passed unanimously.
• As a result of the passage of this code change, Island County intends to purchase compost products, subject to certain conditions, when we embark on public projects.

You can find all of my newsletters since January 2023 here.

I have expanded my Monday meetings with citizens to include an hour each week in Coupeville. These are opportunities for you to meet in an open group to discuss anything County-related with me and anyone else who drops by.

Below is my normal Mondays with Melanie schedule:

1. 1:30 – 2:30 pm, Cedar & Salt Coffee House, 200 S. Main Street, Coupeville
2. 3:00 – 4:00 pm, WiFire Community Space, 1651 E. Main Street, Freeland
3. 4th Monday of the month: 5:00 – 6:00 pm, Clinton Community Hall, 6411 S. Central Avenue, Clinton—note: I will be there at 5 pm this next Monday, March 25.

Melanie

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”

~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg