ISLAND COUNTY: A Message from Commissioner Bacon [June 20, 2025]

Island County Commissioner Melanie Bacon (D-Langley) sent the following newsletter on Fri., June 20, 2025.

Effective this morning, Island County is in a Type 1 Burn Ban. This means no outdoor burning of natural debris, even with a permit. Recreational fires are allowed in approved fire pits. For more information, see this link.

Today is the longest day of this year. Happy Solstice and first day of summer! Thank you for reading my newsletter for the 25^th week of 2025.

• Regular Session.  The agenda and recording for the Tuesday June 17^th Regular Session of the Board of Island County Commissioners is here.
  • We received two public comments. One was from a representative of the Audubon Society, expressing a desire for more County Parks management of Deer Lagoon. The other was from a representative of our local aviation industry, asking that the Commissioners include additional airport guidance language in the comprehensive plan.
  • The Board made two Conservation Futures Funding awards, both to the Whidbey Camano Land Trust. The first was a $300,000 award toward their $7.5 Million acquisition of 257 acres at Double Bluff; the second was a $250,000 award toward their $1.1 Million acquisition of 40 acres to be used as a public access to the Holmes Harbor Community Forest. Discussion begins at mark 00:07:16 in the recording. For more information, click on the links embedded in the agenda URL above.
  • The next regular session will occur at 10 am on Tuesday, June 24, The agenda for that meeting is here. On that agenda: a continuation of last year’s deliberation on opening the County right-of-way on Rowe Road on Camano Island.
• Upcoming Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Public Hearings (held during Tuesday board meetings, beginning at 10 am):
  • June 24    Rowe Road—continued discussion from Public Hearing held last year
  • July 8        Replacement moratorium
  • July 15      Pleasant View franchise
  • July 15      Camano Colony franchise
  • July 15      Saekow & Wood franchise
  • July 22      Vafeezdah franchise
  • Aug 5         Delcoure franchise
  • Aug 5         Allen franchise
  • Aug 19       Witham franchise
  • Aug 19       Solvang franchise     
• The Board of Health met Tuesday, June 17. Here is the agenda; here is the recording.
  • We received one public comment, an update on the positive financial situation at WhidbeyHealth. We were also informed that the OR at WhidbeyHealth will be closed for 4 – 6 weeks this summer, starting in the next week or so. However, they remain prepared to handle obstetrical OR emergencies as needed.
  • Representative Dave Paul gave us a legislative update on public health matters, mark 0:17:25 in the recording. He was successful in funding the continuation of the Island County Youth Mental Health Project. He commented on his concern about Medicaid cuts, and the importance of funding behavioral health and mental health. He noted his concern about tariffs because Washington is the most trade-dependent state in the Country.
  • We heard an update presentation on our Community Health Improvement Project, mark 0:34:16 in the recording. You can find the documents beginning on page 6 in the agenda.
• Work Session.  This week’s work session was 5½ hours of pretty intense work on a wide variety of important topics. The agenda is here; the recording is here; the presentation used by Long Range Planning is here.
  • We started with Treasurer Tony Lam’s monthly report. The Treasurer has held extra cash in the bank to cover the expected spend by Oak Harbor for their upcoming school construction—a good example of the value of having an experienced, forward-thinking accountant in this position.
  • Public Works brought us the first draft of the 2026 – 2031 Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP), mark 00:19:29 in the recording, beginning on page 14 in the agenda.
  • Public Works also brought the long-awaited first discussion on the public comments received in 2023 on the County-wide Speed Study. The comprehensive report on the comments begins on page 27 of the agenda; the discussion starts at mark 1:08:31 in the recording. The study considered 144 segments of road, with recommendation made by our consultants to change speeds on 69 of those segments. This is such an important topic, and there was so much disagreement between the public and the consultants, that the Board will have to spend a lot of time discussing specifics. We asked our new Traffic Engineer to travel on each of the segments that were recommended to be increased, in order to provide her input on the recommendations (most of the disagreements with the public are on recommended increases). We will meet regularly at work session on this topic through the rest of this year, and plan to hold public hearings on Camano and Whidbey in January-February 2026 before we enact any changes.
  • Public Health brought us the 2024 Surface Water Quality It includes a great deal of informative and occasionally troubling data. Please note: of the 200+ streams in Island County, the report only covers those the County samples in their monitoring—which are the 25 that seem to have the greatest potential for pollution, streams and watersheds representing a range of land uses and ecological functions. Each site was assessed monthly for temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, and discharge. The report starts on page 65 of the agenda and includes a lot of detail for public consideration. The recording starts at mark 2:02:32. The Board is anticipating that next year’s report will provide us with sufficient trend data to identify if we need to raise our level of corrective action. 
  • Approximately 72% of Island County residents utilize an Onsite Sewage (septic) system, and those need to be inspected every three years for a gravity system/every year for all other systems. Public Health told us about a program that exists to incentivize people to get those inspections done (on a first-come first-served basis). To be eligible for the On Site Septic Inspection Incentive Program you must be an Island County property owner who owns a private residence with a septic system—and incentives are not restricted to low income homeowners. Go here for more information (bottom half of page). The page also includes a list of participating licensed septic maintenance service providers. This discussion begins at mark 2:50:30 in the recording.
  • We spent the afternoon reviewing the draft Land Use goals and policies for the Comprehensive Plan update, beginning at mark 2:56:57 in the recording, page 156 in the agenda; the presentation is linked above. Things got a little heated over whether or not to revise one of the aviation policies, mark 4:59:31 in the recording; we’ll talk about it again at a future meeting.
  • The next regular Work Session will occur Wednesday, July 2, 2025. The agenda for that work session will be available here by Friday, June 27.
  • HOWEVER: we have cancelled the June Elected and Department Heads Round Table, previously scheduled for next Tuesday afternoon, June 24 at 1 pm, in order for the Commissioners to use that time to hold a special work session with Long Range Planning to talk about the draft Natural Resources element for the Comp Plan. Agenda with zoom link here.
• Next Wednesday morning June 25 the Council of Governments (COG) and the Island Regional Transportation Planning Organization (IRTPO) will meet. Zoom for both.
  • COG, 9 am: Agenda. On that agenda: a presentation by the Washington State Department of Transportation, and a discussion on available Rural Counties Economic Development (RCED) funding.
  • IRTPO, 11 am: Agenda. On that agenda: 2026 – 2027 Unified Planning Work Program, and a discussion on the Surface Transportation Block Grant spending plan.

• 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.
  • Revised Goals and Policies on eight elements have been released for 45 Day Public Comment Period, through July 14; see this link. 
  • As noted above, the Board of County Commissioners will review the Natural Resources element next Tuesday afternoon
• Emergency Preparation news:
  • The Island County Department of Emergency Management has a number of training and volunteer opportunities coming up in which you can participate. Beginning next week, all future events in which the County is part will be posted on the DEM training calendar, which can be found at this link.
  • Tomorrow, June 21, 2025, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM @ Trinity Lutheran Church, Community Points of Distribution Exercise.
  • This year’s International ShakeOut Day is October 16, when millions of people worldwide will participate in earthquakedrills at work, school, or home. For businesses and individuals who want to learn more about this and prepare to participate, Washington State is sponsoring a free webinar on June 26th 12pm – 1pm. Go here for more information.
  • Tuesday, July 15, 2025: ATC-20: Post-earthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings. For more information and registration, go here.
  • Thursday, July 17, 2025: FEMA P-2055 Post-disaster Building Safety Evaluation Guidance. For more information and registration, go here.
• The Public Health Director told me that the septic study report will be completed by the end of June and will be presented to the Board of Health in July.
• I will be available to meet with interested citizens on County matters next Monday, June 23^rd at 3 pm at the WiFire Community Space in Freeland. But for family reasons, I will NOT be available the following week on Monday, June 30^th to meet with citizens either in Freeland or in Clinton.

Melanie 

“…This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight, the year’s threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go of and becomes the future; the place of caught breath, the door of a vanished house left ajar…”

~ Margaret Atwood