ISLAND COUNTY: A Message from Commissioner Bacon [May 16, 2025]

Island County Commissioner Melanie Bacon (D-Langley) sent the following newsletter on Fri., May 16, 2025.

 Thank you for reading my newsletter for the 20^th week of 2025.

Regular Session.  The agenda and recording for the Tuesday May 13^th Regular Session of the Board of Island County Commissioners is here.

• This week we welcomed new employees in IT and Public Works, and recognized Kyle Peters of the Bayview Road Shop for his 10 years of great service to the County.
• We received public comment from two individuals. One person was unhappy about our code enforcement on a particular case. The other was concerned that the public might not have sufficient time to comment on the Comp Plan elements due to the compressed timeline presented by Planning.
• We moved this item from the Consent to the Regular Agenda: a resolution establishing the weeks including Christmas and New Year’s Day as weeks when the County is closed to the public except by appointment, in order to allow Human Resources to speak to the reason for it. Mark 00:12:31 in the recording.
• The next regular session will occur at 10 am on Tuesday, May 20, The agenda for that meeting is here. There are no regular agenda items or public hearings scheduled for that meeting.
• Upcoming Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Public Hearings (held during Tuesday board meetings, beginning at 10 am):
  • June 3           Emergency Moratorium
  • June 3           C-28-25, amendment to the Sales & Usage Tax related to Affordable Housing
  • June 10         Franchise renewal, Race Lagoon Water Association
  • June 10         New franchise, Sandberg Water Association   
• Work Session.  The work session was cancelled this week. The next work session will be held on Wednesday, May 21. This will be a full agenda, scheduled to last until 3 pm but may go longer. Agenda. On that agenda:
  • Sheriff’s Office– Renewal of 60-month contract for body-worn camera, digital evidence storage, redaction software, and associated devices and accessories;
  • Admin Building parking lot improvement–3-inch-deep demolition and resurfacing to modernize the County’s Administration site through 2050;
  • Camano Administration–Update to the current facility use property to be better aligned with the cost to maintain the multipurpose room as a rentable space;
  • Long Range Planning will give an update on the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update schedule;
  • Long Range Planning will discuss the Emergency Moratorium language with the Board and consider an exemption to allow commercial properties to make minor improvements;
  • The Board will review and discuss what updates are needed during the periodic update to the Capital Facilities & Utilities Element as well as the Capital Facilities Plan;
  • 2025 Conservation Futures Program: Acquisition Recommendations;
  • Noxious Weeds 2025 Program Update;
  • LTAC: The Board will discuss the funding budget for the 2% Hotel-Motel Lodging Tax Revenue grants for 2026;
  • Review and prioritize order of Code amendment items;
  • 2025 Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element Goals & Policies;
  • Options to improve safety and reduce accidents/fatalities with signage on South Ebey’s Road.
• The Board of Health will meet next Tuesday, May 20^th. Agenda. On that agenda: a draft letter to congressional leadership elevating the importance of Medicaid Financing; Health in All Policies update; and an update on the Coordinated Water Systems Plan. At the end of the meeting, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place immediately to unveil Island County’s new mobile outreach van.
• The Spring Health Matters newsletter includes information on blood pressure and diet, flu, and colorectal cancer.
• Shellfish Harvesting update:
  • Penn Cove, Holmes Harbor, and West Whidbey Island are now open to harvest of all species of shellfish
  • Port Susan, Deception Pass, Similk Bay, and Skagit Bay, Saratoga Passage, and Possession Sound remain closed for butter and varnish clams due to biotoxin.
• From May 19 – June 20, the Department of Ecology is seeking comment on documents related to the Whidbey Marine & Auto Supply cleanup site in Freeland. The hazard involved fuel contamination. To date, groundwater monitoring has not detected any contamination at several monitoring wells located downgradient of the site. This indicates there is no immediate threat to the drinking water supply, but ongoing monitoring and cleanup is essential. See this link. On Tuesday, June 3, the Department of Ecology will sponsor a 2-hour in-person and online open house on this.
• The Island Regional Transportation Planning Organization (IRTPO) is taking Public Comment on the draft Comprehensive Safety Action Plan (CSAP) through May 21. Send your comments to Malcolm Roberts, malcolm.roberts@islandcountywa.gov. For more information on this document and process, including a slide presentation:
  • The full document
  • The appendices
  • The Comment Form
• 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 May 21 meeting will be virtual only. Agenda and zoom info. On that agenda: 2025 Comprehensive Plan Schedule Update
  • June will be a big month for the Comp Plan. The County is releasing multiple draft elements for public comment at the end of May, and both the Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners will hold three meetings in June to discuss these elements.
• The Clinton Community Council will meet on Monday May 19^th at 6 pm in the Clinton Community Hall.  Agenda. Zoom. On that agenda: the EDC and role of CEDS; Wash Dot dump property; project updates, and member/organization updates.
• I will be available on Monday May 19^th at the WiFire Community Space in Freeland at 3 pm and at the Clinton Community Hall at 5 pm to speak with citizens interested in community conversations about county matters. I will not be available the following Monday, May 26^th, the observance of Memorial Day.

Melanie 

This afternoon I’m attending the regular meeting of the Steering Committee for the North Sound Transportation Alliance, a coalition of concerned citizens, elected officials and professional staff of transportation agencies from Washington’s five northwestern-most counties. Interestingly, today, the 3^rd Friday of May, is National Defense Transportation Day, which was established by Congress in 1957 to recognize the importance of our country’s transportation system and the maintenance of its facilities to serve the needs of the United States in times of peace and in national defense. We take our many transportation modes for granted most of the time (except when we hit a pothole or are stopped for road maintenance or have to stand in airport security or our ferry broke down)—but just imagine what our lives would be like without our many mostly-smooth modes of transportation. My sincere gratitude to all of you who work in our nation’s transportation industry.