MELANIE BACON: A Message from Commissioner Bacon (Jul. 1, 2022)

Island County Commissioner Melanie Bacon (D-Langley) sent the following newsletter on Fri., Jul. 1, 2022.

Happy Independence Day! Thank you for reading my newsletter for the 26th week of 2022. 

• You may wonder how I plan what I’m going to put in this newsletter each week. Most of the time, no planning is involved. I just sit down at the computer on Friday morning, as I have done now, with my folders and calendars from this week’s various meetings in front of me for reference, and I start typing. So, let the adventure begin!
• On Tuesday I sat in on two different meetings related to equity. One was an informational roundtable on “Equity in Transportation & Infrastructure” sponsored by Rep. Rick Larsen; the other was a Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion workshop sponsored by the Island Local Integrating Organization (ILIO), a group focused on watershed programs in Island County. I mention these meetings to you because I want you to know that your government is very serious about ensuring equitable access for all citizens in everything we do, including equity in investment, equitable access to services and resources for citizens, and equitable access to employment opportunities at the county.
• The Board did not pass any resolutions, proclamations, or hold any public hearings this week. Despite that, our Board meeting was pretty interesting. You can watch it at this link.
  • At mark 00:10:10 Assistant Director of Public Works, Fred Snoderly, talked about the issues we’ve been having with the Solid Waste closures that have been occurring due to a train and shipping container problem. Our shipping container vendor will meet with the Board at our work session on July 6^th, scheduled for 10:00 a.m. (it might start sooner than that, so if you want to listen, I recommend you call in to the meeting earlier than that; the phone number for the work session on Wednesday July 6^th is 1-669-800-5335 Meeting ID 481 746 6323).
  • Immediately after the container conversation, I allowed a member of the public to present his comments about the proposed LIHI project with the Sheriff in the room to respond to his concerns. Sheriff Felici’s response begins at 00:24:06; the Board then offered additional comments.
• I know there are a lot of people who are interested in seeing the current draft contract the county is considering with the Low-Income Housing Institute (LIHI) in regard to the purchase of the Harbor Inn in Freeland. The Board is planning to discuss that contract with Human Services, Public Health, and Planning, on next Wednesday morning, July 6^th.  You can review the contract here starting on page 82. As I noted above, the phone number for the work session on Wednesday July 6^th is 1-669-800-5335 Meeting ID 481 746 6323. It’s scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. but it’s always safer to call in early, in case we get ahead in our agenda.
• At our June roundtable on Tuesday (the monthly meeting of all the elected officials and appointed department heads in Island County), our Budget Manager Doug Martin gave us a presentation on ClearGov, the software that is going to make our budget more accessible to you. I will talk about that a lot once it’s implemented online for citizen viewing, probably around December. After the budget conversation we heard a presentation you might be interested in on preparing a Family Communication Plan for emergencies. Emergency Manager Eric Brooks gave that presentation, which you can hear beginning at mark 00:37:16 of this audio. For more information on this and other topics on emergency preparedness, go to this link and click on “Preparedness” at the left side of the page.
• Whidbey and Camano Island Tourism has just published a FREE field guide, “24 Trails off the Beaten Path”. The intent is to provide people with instructions on how to enjoy some of our lesser-known trails and parks, like Camano’s English Boom Trail, the Del Fairfax Preserve Trail in Oak Harbor, and the Dorothy Cleveland Trail in Clinton. You can get a copy of this great little book at your local Chamber of Commerce.
• Yesterday the county held our annual Employee Appreciation Luncheon for the first time since COVID (thank you, Island County employees, for all your great work!). During that luncheon I visited with retiring Assessor Bernie Upchurch and asked him what he’s planning to do as he tries to retire for the second time. Turns out, he spends a lot of his time refereeing high school sporting events and is very concerned because there aren’t enough refs out there to cover sports for kids in all the grades. He said that Island County and our surrounding counties are in desperate need of both football and basketball high school officials this fall and summer.  If you love sports, want to give back to the community, stay in shape, earn a little extra money, and take up a new hobby for our long winter months, this may be a great opportunity for you!  It is open to men and women who are out of high school and physically able to run up and down the court or field for a few hours a couple of times a week. If you are at all interested, please send an e-mail to Bernie Upchurch at bernieupchurch4@gmail.com and he will coordinate with you on how to get started.
• The US FDA has begun the process that will result in annual COVID vaccine for most people. Much the like the annual flu vaccine, the COVID vaccine will likely target the variant of most concern. The first of these is likely to be available in October or November of 2022. Weekly COVID report. Because I live with someone who came down with COVID last week, I’ve been testing every day (still negative!). I finally ran out of tests in my house, but when I went to my local pharmacy to buy more, I learned that they had none available until next week. So, I did a little research on how people can access tests if they can’t find them at the pharmacy.
• • 8 free test kits can be ordered from Washington State once a month, and can be ordered separately from the United States Postal Service two or three times in total. BTW: The test expiration date has been extended by the US Federal Food and Drug Administration an additional 6 months from the expiration date shown on the box. 
    • State of Washington free home test distribution: https://sayyescovidhometest.org/
    • United States distribution of free home test kits. https://special.usps.com/testkits
• If your free tests have not yet arrived and your pharmacy is out of tests, I encourage you to call Island County’s COVID Response Call Center at 678.2301. They answer phones M-F, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., and should be able to direct you to where you can find tests.
• Upcoming Public Hearings: On July 12^th there will be two Public Hearings held in association with Ships Haven Drive: one to vacate a portion of the county road right-of-way and the other to open an unopened county right-of-way.
• You can find the agenda for next Tuesday’s regular Board meeting, including how to attend virtually, here.
• You can find the agenda for next Wednesday’s work session, including how to attend by phone, here.
• I will NOT be at Crabby Coffee this Monday—I will be celebrating the holiday at home.

Thanks,

Melanie

“A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.”

—Bill Vaughan, American columnist