ISLAND COUNTY: A Message from Commissioner Bacon [Feb. 7, 2025]

Island County Commissioner Melanie Bacon (D-Langley) sent the following newsletter on Fri., Feb. 7, 2025.

Thank you for reading my newsletter for the 6^th week of 2025.

• Regular Session.  The agenda and recording for the Tuesday February 4^th Regular Session of the Board of Island County Commissioners is here.
  • There was no public comment.
  • The Board continued the public hearing for the Louis Saekow/Yaowapa Trongtham & The David L. Wood Living Trust sewer franchise transfer to a date uncertain.
  • This was Michael Jones’ last Board meeting as a County Administrator. We thanked him for his great work and many contributions in creating our County Administrator function. Mark 0:07:15 in the recording.
  • I read Sheriff Rick Felicia’s [sic] statement on the recent arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement of an undocumented individual on Whidbey, mark 0:11:12 in the recording. The statement is attached as a document in the agenda.
  • The next regular session will occur on Tuesday, February 11,^, The agenda for that meeting is here. There are five resolutions on the Consent  agenda: C-14-25, C-15-25, and C-16-25, all dealing with revoking authorities given to the County Administrator; C-13-25, which authorizes the commencement of litigation to bring an individual citizen into compliance with Island County code and State law; and C-11-25, amending a County drainage project on Camano Island. There are no public hearings or items scheduled for the regular agenda.
• Upcoming Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Public Hearings (held during Tuesday board meetings, beginning at 10 am):
  • February 25:       Ziply Fiber Telecommunications Franchise
  • February 25:       Comcast Cable Franchise
  • March 4:             Resolution C-09-25 to review and receive comments on Island County’s past performance using $605,579 in Community Development Block Grant–Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) Funds for homeowners and renters who were financially impacted by COVID-19 and were in arrears 

• Work Session. The next work session will occur on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. The agenda for that meeting is here. On that agenda: our federal lobbyists, Merchant McIntyre, will give a federal legislative update; we’ll discuss a proposition to the qualifying voters of Island County at the April 2025 Special Election for their approval or rejection of a two-tenths of one percent (0.2%) sales and use tax to fund costs associated with ICOM 911’s emergency communications systems and facilities; Budget Director Susan Geiger will give a presentation on the Island County Digital Budget Book (this is an exciting thing—making the Island County budget easily accessible by citizens—and I’ll talk more about it in next week’s newsletter); we’ll talk about our committees and advisory boards; we’ll discuss a temporary interlocal agreement for Whatcom County Juvenile Detention to house Island County youth; we’ll hear about the need to surplus two Solid Waste vehicles: a 1990 GMC 7000 Truck with Aerial Lift and a 2000 Ford Focus Wagon, both of which have exceeded their life cycles; Long Range Planning will present proposed changes to the Freeland zoning code to support workforce housing as well as past efforts to plan for and build a sewer in Freeland and potential options to support future growth; we’ll hear a request from Island Roots Housing for Affordable Housing Funds; we’ll review the new Affordable Housing Funds project online application; and we’ll hear a request from the Goosefoot Community Fund Affordable Housing Project for a contract extension.
• Next Tuesday, February 11 at 2:30 pm, the Board of County Commissioners will meet in a joint session with the Oak Harbor City Council to discuss the Oak Harbor Urban Growth Area. This meeting will take place in the Island County Commissioners’ Board Room. Agenda.
• 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 meets at 6 pm on the first and third Wednesday of each month in the Commissioners Hearing Room in Coupeville.
• I attended a meeting of the North Sound Transportation Alliance (NSTA) steering committee this week, and learned about the recently-released Washington State Ferry System Economic Impact Study.
  • The information on Island County begins on page 37. I was annoyed to read in the first sentence of the third paragraph of our section that “Clinton is a non-metropolitan urban growth area (NMUGA).” In fact, Clinton is NOT an NMUGA, and residents of that community are very sensitive about that fact.
  • That said, the report does provide an analysis of the economic impact of the Clinton-Mukilteo Ferry on Island County: “the estimated economic impact on Island County of Route 60 (MukilteoClinton) was nearly $18 million, at $17,906,887 in total output. Route 60’s total estimated impact to labor income in Island County was over $10 million. Route 60 impacted a total of 144 jobs in Island County in 2023.”
  • I was gratified to see that the report references the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) report that we spent so much time working on last year.
  • The report also gives data about the Coupeville-Port Townsend Ferry, primarily from a Jefferson County point of view—they assumed in their modeling “a 75-25 split on WSF expenditures between Jefferson and Island Counties” and reported “Given 25% of the input expenditures, the estimated economic impact on Island County of Route 70 (Port Townsend-Coupeville) was just over $4 million, at $4,067,223 in estimated total output in 2023. Route 70’s total impact to labor income in Island County was $2,296,505 in the same year. Route 70 impacted a total of 33 jobs in Island County in 2023. Of the two routes in Island County, Route 60 is therefore most impactful on Island County’s economy.”
  • They admit that “Route 70 (Port Townsend-Coupeville) has on average 60 trucks daily, hauling an average daily payload estimated between $138,199 and $276,399. Delays and disruptions to moving this freight could result in an array of challenges and negative impacts on Jefferson County and Olympic Peninsula businesses and residents.” Nevertheless, as I pointed out last week, replacing the second boat on this ferry route is near the bottom of WSF’s ferry replacement list.
  • Also during the NSTA meeting: WSF gave a presentation on the State’s Passenger-Only Ferry Study. This new study focuses on the routes recommended for further study by the 2020 study (got that?). Happily, a Whidbey-Everett route is the first on the list. They expect to have their final report by the end of May. During this month, they want to hear from the public on this issue. If you have any comments to make about the proposal for the State to sponsor or encourage (or pay for!) a Passenger-Only Ferry to Whidbey, send your thoughts to Hadley Rodero, WSF Deputy Director of External Relations, at Hadley.Rodero@wsdot.wa.gov.
• Today the Board of Island Transit held our regular monthly meeting. Agenda.
  • The Office of the Washington State Auditor presented their exit conference on the audit for January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023. The audit  (1) didn’t identify any material misstatements; (2) found no uncorrected misstatements in the audited financial statements; (3) had no Findings; and (4) did list three specific matters in a Management Letter, all of which have either been resolved already or are nearing resolution. So, a good audit for that agency.
  • We selected our new Chair (Coupeville Councilmember Jenny Bright) and the representatives from the Board to the Finance Committee and to the IRTPO.
  • We adopted a new Anti-Discrimination & Harassment Policy.
• Washington State Ferries will hold two public meetings next week, on Wednesday February 12^th at noon and on Thursday February 13^th at 6 pm. Registration in advance is required. To register to receive the zoom links and get more information, go here.
• After today’s Island Transit Board meeting, I attended part of the annual retreat of the Marine Resources Committee (MRC). The MRC is an advisory body of volunteers appointed by Island County Commissioners, whose vision is to sustain and enhance a healthy, resilient marine environment where individuals are engaged and strive to support life for all inhabitants of Island County. They do this by such projects as monitoring forage fish beds, working on shoreline restoration, working with the State to remove abandoned derelict vessels, and educating the public on a variety of topics. A great group of dedicated volunteers.
• I will be available Monday, February 10^th at Crabby Coffee WiFire in Freeland at 3 pm to meet with citizens.

Melanie 

“Nothing burns like the cold.”

~George R. R. Martin.