Island County Commissioner Melanie Bacon (D-Langley) sent the following newsletter on Fri., Apr. 11, 2025.
Thank you for reading my newsletter for the 15th week of 2025.
- Regular Session. The agenda and recording for the Tuesday April 8th Regular Session of the Board of Island County Commissioners is here.
- Four individuals made public comment this week. One spoke about the Whidbey Environmental Action Network’s (WEAN) work getting the community involved in the Comprehensive Plan, including their upcoming workshop on May 3 in Oak Harbor; one spoke about her concern that we don’t have sufficient data on the biodiversity along our shores; one spoke to the importance of our prairies and suggested we include prairies in our Public Benefit Rating System (PBRS) code; and one spoke on the benefit of Island Transit as well as their support for the Navy and the County’s comp planning work.
- This was Public Health week, so we spent a few minutes talking about County public health funding. Mark 00:15:21 in the recording.
- We held a public hearing to amend the 2024 Island County Budget. There was no public comment. Mark 00:21:52 in the recording.
- The next regular session will occur at 10 am on Tuesday, April 15,, The agenda for that meeting is here. There are 15 Consent Agenda items but no Regular Agenda items or public hearings, so it should be a pretty short meeting.
- Upcoming Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Public Hearings (held during Tuesday board meetings, beginning at 10 am):
- May 16: 2025 Budget Amendment
- Work Session. The agenda for this week’s work session; the audio recording.
- We heard an update from Citizens Against Domestic & Sexual Abuse (CADA) on their programs and a discussion of possible areas to partner with the County. This is one of my top issues of concern. The presentation begins on page 5 of the agenda. CADA is the County’s sole agency supporting victims of domestic and sexual violence, and they have lost 1/3 of their budget as of July 1. CADA serves around 400 people per year in Island County. They are actively seeking volunteers to help provide some of the services they have previously provided with paid staff; for more information, go here: https://www.cadacanhelp.org/.
- We discussed two affordable housing projects—one a contract to provide funds to the Housing Authority of Island County for the purchase and repair of an existing 6-unit multi-family property to operate as affordable housing for households at or below 60% of AMI and the other an opportunity to buy property for potential development of affordable housing. Mark 0:46:56 in the recording; documents begin on page 13 of the agenda.
- The Board discussed guidelines for employees who work from home; the draft guidelines can be found on page 46 of the agenda, with discussion beginning at mark 1:32:55 in the recording.
- Assessor Kelly Mauck brought a request for a software purchase, mark 2:04:20 in the recording; you can read about what this software would provide to our residents beginning on page 49 of the agenda.
- During our conversation on broadband, we reviewed the current maps of internet under-served areas and planned expansion areas. The presentation including maps begins on page 61 in the agenda. If your area will still lack adequate internet after the expansion despite what the maps show, you should contact Cody Bakken at the County to discuss steps you can take to make sure your home/area is included in upcoming service plans. The discussion begins at mark 2:36:42 in the recording.
- Long Range Planning presented proposed housing solutions to meet our housing allocations as part of our 2025 Comprehensive Plan periodic update. The summary and presentation begin on page 71; the discussion begins at mark 3:01:50 in the recording.
- The agenda for next Wednesday’s work session is here. On that agenda: update to the County’s multipurpose facility on Camano, to better align use of the property with the cost to maintain the multipurpose room as a rentable space; review and discussion on a request from Coupeville to create a UGA for two parcels adjacent to their city limits, and a request from Langley to change their Potential Growth Area designations within the JPA; preliminary overview of the 2025 Conservation Futures Fund applications; and the March Treasurer’s Report.
- The Board of Health (BoH) will meet next Tuesday afternoon, April 15, at 1 pm. Agenda here. On that agenda: a draft letter from the National Association of Counties (NACo) to congressional leadership elevating the importance of Medicaid Financing; a discussion on the Health in All Policies proclamation signed in 2023 and a review of the progress made to date; and a Community Health Advisory Board (CHAB) update.
- Next Friday, April 18, as part of our country’s Semiquincentennial celebration (the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence), Island County Historical Museum is recognizing the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. Bring your lanterns and gather outside the Island County Historical Museum at 7:45 p.m. to hear urgent news from the Sons of Liberty.
- Also next Friday, join Americans across our nation in commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by hanging or displaying two lanterns from dusk to dawn in observance of the ride that heralded the beginning of the Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord. I plan on setting two lanterns in the window of my 2nd floor office at the County.
- 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 agendas are published at least a week in advance. The Planning Commission usually meets at 6 pm on the first and third Wednesday of each month in the Commissioners Hearing Room in Coupeville.
- The next Planning Commission meeting will be held next Wednesday, April 16. Here is the agenda. On that agenda: a review and discussion on changes to the forestry policies as part of the PBRS program; and a continued discussion of the Housing Memo dated 3.19.25.
- April is Whidbey Earth and Ocean Month. To stay abreast of the many events, go here.
- Registration is now open for the 2025 Chum Run, a fundraiser for the Healthy Island Youth Initiative scholarship. The 5K Chum Run will be held on Saturday, May 3rd at Fort Casey State Park, and includes a run for adults and another for kids.
- South Whidbey Fire & EMS is holding a Preparedness Conference Call to Action on Earth Day, Saturday, April 19 from 9 – 4 pm at South Whidbey High School. This is a free conference, for people who want to learn what they and their neighborhoods can do to prepare for emergencies. You can register here.
- I have a family commitment this upcoming Monday and will be taking vacation the last two weeks of April, so I will not be available to meet with constituents again until Monday, May 5. I will be available at 3 pm that day at the WiFire Community Space in Freeland, to talk with citizens interested in community conversations about county matters.
Melanie
“One if by land, and two if by sea.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Paul Revere’s Ride
