Island County Commissioner Melanie Bacon (D-Langley) sent the following newsletter on Tue., Nov. 22, 2022.
Thank you for reading my newsletter for the 47th week of 2022.
All county offices are closed this week on Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving. Most offices will also be closed on Friday—but the Solid Waste facilities in Coupeville and Camano will be open as usual on Friday.
Regular Agenda
We held the shortest meeting ever this week—only 4 minutes long. We approved the consent agenda, including the resolutions below:
| Resolution C-79-22 Amending Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual Policy XI.3. |
| Resolution C-80-22 Amending Resolution No. C-108-14 to adjust the salary for the Prosecuting Attorney and Sheriff. |
| Resolution C-81-22 (R-37-22) Initiating County Drainage Project designated as Midvale Road East of Maxwelton Road Fish Passage Culvert, Whidbey Island.. |
| Resolution C-81-22 (R-37-22) Initiating County Drainage Project designated as Midvale Road East of Maxwelton Road Fish Passage Culvert, Whidbey Island. |
| Resolution C-83-22 (R-39-22) Initiating County Drainage Project designated as Freeland Main St. Overlay to Harbor Ave., Whidbey Island. |
| Resolution C-83-22 (R-39-22) Initiating County Drainage Project designated as Freeland Main St. Overlay to Harbor Ave., Whidbey Island. |
On Monday, December 5th at 10:00 a.m., the Board will hold a Special Session to approve the 2023 Budget.
| The next regular meeting of the Board of Island County Commissioners will be Tuesday, December 6th at 10:00 a.m. |
| By Friday December 2nd you will be able to access the agenda for these two meetings, including how to attend virtually, here. |
We do not hold work sessions on the 4th or 5th Wednesdays of a month, so our next work session will be on Wednesday, December 7th. You will be able to access the agenda for this meeting here, by Friday December 2nd.
We usually hold Council of Governments (COG) and Island Regional Transportation Planning Organization (IRTPO) meetings on the 4th Wednesday but have cancelled them this week due to Thanksgiving. The IRTPO meeting will be held instead on Wednesday November 30th ; you can find the agenda, including how to attend, here.
Upcoming Public Hearings, Tuesday, December 6th , 2022, 10:00 a.m.
| Resolution C-75-22: Adopting the Island County Budget and Diking District No. 4 Budget for Fiscal Year 2023 |
| Ordinance C-76-22: Increasing the Taxing District’s Prior Year’s Levy Amount for the County Current Expense Property Tax Levy to be Collected in the 2023 Tax Year |
| Ordinance C-77-22: Increasing the Taxing District’s Prior Year’s Levy Amount for the County Roads Property Tax Levy to be Collected in the 2023 Tax Year |
| Ordinance C-78-22: Increasing the Taxing District’s Prior Year’s Levy Amount for the County Conservation Futures Property Tax Levy to be Collected in the 2023 Tax Year |
My colleagues and I have not yet had an opportunity to discuss our thoughts about the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) conference we attended last week. For myself, it was very worthwhile. A few of the meetings I attended were an update from the Puget Sound Partnership, updates on bills passed in the last legislative session, an overview of updates to the Growth Management Act (GMA), and a fairly reassuring session with an economist who does not believe we are facing a recession.
I have 4 Canvas Board meetings coming up. The Canvas Board is made up of the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners, the Prosecuting Attorney, and the Auditor, who hold two meetings to certify the results of elections after vote counts are complete. On November 28th and 29th , we will meet to certify the November 8th elections that do not require a recount (the PA and the Auditor, who were both on the ballot, will not participate in this certification but will instead send office representatives). A week or two after that (depending on how long the recounts take), we will certify the results of the elections requiring a recount.
At the end of next week, I will be out-of-state on behalf of Island Transit, touring a transit station that uses electric busses.
Monday Tea with Melanie: Next Monday at 3:00 p.m., I will be at the Canvas Board meeting mentioned above; the following Monday I will be returning from my trip to look at electric busses, so the next Monday Tea with Melanie will not occur until Monday December 12th. Because of the Christmas holiday, that will be the only time I will be holding this meeting in December. I will get back to my regular Monday Tea schedule in January, starting on January 2nd at 3:00 p.m. at the WiFire Community Space in Freeland.
I want to give a shout-out to my dear friend Bruce Rohm, who is retiring from Island County next Tuesday. You know how you look back on your career, and remember certain special people whom you will always treasure? Bruce is one of those people for me. I wish you and Joan many splendid adventures during the next phase of your lives, Bruce!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I’m actually cooking the meal this year—we’ll see how it goes .
Thanks,
Melanie
“What if today, we were just grateful for everything?”
~ Charlie Brown
