Island County Commissioner Melanie Bacon (D-Langley) sent the following newsletter on Fri., Apr. 15, 2022.
Thank you for reading my newsletter for the 15th week of 2022.
- On Tuesday the Board of Island County Commissioners approved the purchase of a subscription to ClearGov, a cloud-based budgeting system. Once this system is up (planned for the 2023 budget), citizens will be able to easily go online and see exactly where County dollars are being spent on their specific items of interest, without having to wade through hundreds of confusing pages of narrative and spreadsheets. Implementation of such a system was a priority of my predecessor, Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, and I am so glad that we are finally taking action to put her vision into reality. Kudos to Island County Budget Manager Doug Martin for his work on this.
- We had some really interesting presentations and conversations at Wednesday’s work session. You can find the agenda and materials referenced below here https://www.islandcountywa.gov/Commissioners/worksessions/2022/04132022%20Agenda.pdf and listen to the audio here https://www.islandcountywa.gov/Commissioners/worksessions/2022/04132022WS%20Audio.MP3.
- Human Services: We heard a presentation on the upcoming “Recovery Navigator Program”. This new state-mandated program will assist those residents stuck in the drug abuse cycle by providing community-based outreach, intake and assessment, connection to services, long term case management, and recovery coaching. The presentation begins on page 39; audio begins at the 0:20:39 mark.
- Public Health gave a presentation on the Water Resource Advisory Committee (“WRAC”), which has been on hiatus since 2020 while they waited for the Board to review their recommended water resource plan update, an activity sidetracked at that time by our focus on COVID. The WRAC focuses on protection of fresh water resources. This week’s work session began a new conversation on the WRAC. Page 56 gives some info on the WRAC; the audio begins at the 1:06:00 mark; you can see the slides if you click on “Other” for April 13 here: https://www.islandcountywa.gov/Commissioners/Pages/WorkSessions.aspx.
- Planning, Public Health, and Public Works gave a combined presentation on permit times. A frequent issue seen these days that impacts timing is: most of the empty developable parcels left on Whidbey and Camano have challenging elements that complicate permitting. We discussed a number of possible solutions to improve permit times, including identifying process improvements and using contractors when staffing turnover is having a negative impact on citizens. The presentation begins on page 59; audio begins at the 1:30:00 mark.
- This week we held a public hearing on a PBRS application to classify most of the Whidbey Golf Club into the Public Benefit Rating System. At first I was opposed to this PBRS application—after all, this public golf club property was already constrained from development, so I didn’t see what the public benefit would be to reducing its tax liability. But when I reviewed the application more carefully, I realized that with all the residential development that has occurred surrounding this property over time–development that now uses the golf course as its storm water drainage basin–the golf club property is already providing a public water management benefit to the local area. With PBRS, that local area will now be expected to pick up those taxes on behalf of the golf course, which strikes me as only fair. We approved the application.
- Resolutions & Proclamations passed this week.
- Resolution No. C-24-22 (Consent Agenda): Surplus of County Property: 2004 Ford F450
- Resolution No. C-25-22 (Regular Agenda): Proclaiming April as Fair Housing Month in Island County
- Upcoming Public Hearings. All of these meetings will be open to the public at our regular 10 am Tuesday Board meeting, both in person and virtually at https://meet.starleaf.com/4919878603/app
- April 19: Public Hearing on a revision of the Planning Code, regarding Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).
- April 26: Public Hearing to amend the 2021 Island County Budget to fund unforeseen expenditures and recognize unanticipated revenue related to COVID-19.
- COVID. Great news: Although in the last week there were 67 new reported cases, for the first time in a very long time there were no COVID hospitalizations and no new deaths. This week’s COVID response newsletter can be found here: https://www.islandcountywa.gov/Health/COVID%20Manager%20Report%20Library/BOCC%20Brief%204-15-2022.pdf
Dang! This was a busy week!
Thanks,
Melanie
“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
–-Nelson Mandela
