Island County Commissioner Melanie Bacon (D-Langley) sent the following newsletter on Fri., Oct. 14, 2022.
Thank you for reading my newsletter for the 41th week of 2022.
Regular Agenda
You can watch this week’s Tuesday meeting at this link.
Resolutions Approved
| Resolution C-63-22 (consent agenda), Sale or Disposal of County Surplus Property in accordance with Island County Code chapter 2.31. |
| Resolution C-64-22 (consent agenda), Initiating County Road Project designated as Baker Way Landslide Slope Stabilization, Camano Island. |
| Resolution C-65-22 (consent agenda), Amending Island County’s Annual Road Construction Program for the year 2022. |
| Resolution C-66-22 (consent agenda), Adopting Island County’s Annual Road Construction Program for the year 2023. |
| Resolution C-67-22 (consent agenda), Adopting Island County’s Six-year Capital Improvement Program for the Years 2023-2028; public hearing listed below. |
| Resolution C-68-22 (regular agenda), Sunsetting Resolution No. C-15-20, County Commissioners County Proclamation of Emergency. The Board voted to rescind our COVID Proclamation of Emergency effective October 31, 2022, in response to Governor Inslee’s September 8, 2022, announcement rescinding the State’s emergency proclamations. The resolution acknowledges that through the efforts of Island County Public Health, we will continue our work to avoid and mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 as we do other infectious diseases. This week’s HEALTH MATTERS newsletter discusses this proclamation and what it means for our community. |
| Here is the agenda for our October 18th meeting, including how to attend virtually. |
| On Tuesday, the Board of Island County Commissioners took action after an Executive Session as allowed under RCW 42.30.110(1)(b) to consider the acquisition of real estate by lease or purchase to authorize the purchase and sale agreement and addenda for purchase of property located at 1215 Swantown Avenue, Oak Harbor, in the amount of $2,200,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, pending feasibility and inspection. You can listen to the audio here. |
Reminder:
| The Board intends to award Affordable and Workforce Housing grants totaling approximately $9.5 million to establish more affordable housing in the county. The funding source is American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars received from the federal government for COVID-19 response and recovery. These projects for Affordable Housing can consist of both rental and home ownership strategies. Applications are being accepted online at this link. More information can be found at this link. |
| When the Board talks about “affordable housing”, we mean the entire gamut of affordable housing, including both subsidized housing and workforce housing (“workforce” housing is defined in our conversations as housing for people making between 80%-120% of the mean average income for Island County). See the work session discussion below with the Port of South Whidbey regarding one proposed workforce housing project. |
Upcoming Public Hearings
Tuesday, October 18th, 10 am:
| Resolution C-57-22 – Expanding the Boundaries of the W & B Waterworks 1 Water System, and Incorporating the Service Area Boundaries into the Coordinated Water System Plan. |
Tuesday, October 25th, 10 am:
| Franchise Renewal PW2022-0013 – Beverly Beach Improvement Club for water distribution line (Whidbey Island). |
| Resolution C-67-22, Adopting Island County’s Six-year Capital Improvement Program for the Years 2023-2028 |
Tuesday, November 1st, 10 am:
| Franchise Renewal PW2022-0103 – Sandy Point Owners Association for a water distribution (Whidbey Island). |
| Petition to Open County Road right-of-Way known as Ander Park Road, Parcel No. 23035-220-2270 (Whidbey Island). |
Work Session
The agenda for this week’s Wednesday work session can be found at this link; the audio is here.
| The Planning and Community Development department talked with the Board about an upcoming code amendment on Rural Service RAIDs (Rural Area of Intense Development). There was an interesting discussion on density opportunities in these areas. Starts at mark 00:01:13 in the above audio. |
| The Port of South Whidbey is requesting $150,000 in ARPA funding for a feasibility study for their proposed workforce housing project at the fairgrounds. Port Commissioner Curt Gordon joined the Board at our work session table to answer questions. Discussion starts at mark 01:57:05. |
| Here is the agenda for our October 19th work session, including how to attend virtually. |
Budget: We held four budget meetings this week—10 hours’ worth. This is the schedule of Budget meetings, including topics for each session.
This week’s Budget meeting recordings:
| Monday the 10th |
| Tuesday the 11th |
| Wednesday the 12th |
| Thursday the 13th This was a particularly interesting discussion with the Sheriff. We talked about Road Deputies, vehicles, impact of drugs on our community, and other impacts to our law enforcement system if the Sheriff can put more deputies on the road. If you are trying to decide which of our meetings from this week you want to listen to, this the one I’d recommend. |
Next week: We will have 2 budget meetings next week:
| Wednesday the 19th, 1:00 p.m. Use this link. Passcode: Vzwpqu or by telephone: 1-323-433-2396 Phone Conference ID: 276 406 27# |
| Thursday the 20th, 10:00 a.m. Use this link. Passcode: Vzwpqu or by telephone: 1-323-433-2396 Phone Conference ID: 276 406 27# |
The county has moved from Starleaf to Teams for our virtual/hybrid meetings. The Courts have transitioned to Zoom. We are experiencing some initial technology pains, and I ask you to be patient as we try to work those issues out.
Helen Price Johnson, the State Director of Rural Development for Washington State for the US Department of Agriculture, let us know that the USDA has expanded the resources available for emergency home repairs for low-income residents impacted by last winter’s disaster events in Island County. Island County applicants for the Home Repair program must: own and occupy their home located in a rural area; have a household income at or below $44,600; and if they want a grant instead of a loan, they must be age 62 or older. For more information on this program or to apply, contact Benjamin Reynolds, USDA Rural Development Washington Western Area Director, at 360-704-7753.
Monday Tea with Melanie: 3 p.m. at Crabby Coffee in Freeland in the WiFire Community Space, 1651 E Main St, Freeland. Tea is on me.
Thanks,
Melanie
This Sunday is National Bosses Day. I want to use this opportunity to thank Virginia, Jennifer, and Taylor in the Commissioner’s Office. Your bosses are only as successful as we are in serving our bosses (the public) because the three of you make it possible for us to get so much accomplished. You are awesome!
~ Melanie Bacon, Chair, Board of Island County Commissioners
