Submitted by the League of Women Voters Observer Corps.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization encourages informed participation in government. The Observer Corps attends and takes notes at government meetings to expand public understanding of public policy and decisions. The notes do not necessarily reflect the views of the League or its members.

FH Port Commission, Special Meeting June 2

The Commission accepted the Jensen Boatyard historic insurance settlement for $683,500. The Commission rescinded the mandatory Covid 19 vaccine requirement for Port employees.

The Commission authorized a Travel-Lift Pier Design task order and authorized the purchase of precast concrete planks for the barge landing.

The Commission amended the Whale Totem placement from the Clock Tower to Jackson Beach. The non-profit who made the initial offer of the sculpture had requested the Clock tower but the tribal nations, and especially Lummi requested the Jackson Beach where is could be incorporated into canoe journey ceremonies. The tribe hopes to take the sculpture on occasional journeys, and the Jackson Beach Location will make that easier and less costly.

A commissioner proposed that they start to take steps to develop a plan and process to better use the Clock Tower building and surrounding location. They want to get public input and to think about what potential uses they would be interested in, while keeping in mind the need not to interfere with passenger ferries that use the area, and which can get shoreline permitting approval. In the meantime, they will renovate the existing aquarium and put out tables and umbrellas for the public to use for lunch and possibly as an event space.

Three people have applied to be the interim Port commissioner for the current vacancy, none of whom are one of three candidates who filed to run for the open position. The Commission will have a Special Meeting the week of June 5-9 to interview the applicants and make a selection.

Town Council meeting of June 2

The Town recognized the work of the Water Department in installing new smart meters at all 1422 town water-connected residences. They have installed most of the more complex commercial connections with 65 remaining, which they will complete this year. The smart meters produce 15-30 alerts per day, which allows leaks to be quickly located and fixed.

Public Works attended a Transportation Improvement Board workshop on project funding. In the next cycle they will favor road maintenance and restoration projects vs. capital projects.

Some priority Town projects may not meet TIB criteria. The Council will review and update priority road projects in the 6-year Transportation Improvement Plan at the June 15 meeting. The Council approved standard streetlights for the Nash Street project. They awarded the contract for the Nash Street improvement project. They authorized a task order for the design of Malcolm St. sewer improvements to connect a line to the main, that connected to a disused main in decades past. They accepted the emergency repairs made at 125 Spring Street.

The Friday Harbor Arts Commission has one open position. The 2023 Poetry Garden Project is complete. Most past plaques were moved to the Sculpture Garden. They considered a public art plan but decided to stick with guidelines. The Welcome Pole proposal is tabled while the Port decides on a competing proposal.

The Council heard a report on the Employee Wellness Program which met Well City standards for the eighth year and achieved a strong 58% participation rate. The Council rescinded the mandatory covid vaccination requirement for town employees and volunteers.

The Town Administrator said the town and county need to develop a plan to support stranded visitors in case of ferry cancellations and delays as the tourist season arrives. They need to get the WSF to contact the Administrator on evenings and weekends so that the town can take steps to extend public restroom hours and make other services available through community groups.

In other updates: a food truck survey is out for public response; on June 7 th a labor practices issue will go to mediation; on June 8, the town staff will meet with county staff about Fairgrounds water usage. On January 12 there is a meeting with various potential funding for the new sewer project, which will be the town’s most expensive project to date. On June 15 County Council member Minney plans to attend the Town Council meeting.

County Council regular meeting of June 6

The interim director of the Department of Community Development, Norm Gollub, was introduced to the Council.

A citizen commented on the Douglas-Bailer Hill Road project worried about loss of trees and the impact on north-side homes. The Council rescheduled the public hearing on the project to

June 27. They set a public hearing for June 27 re amending the County Code on dangerous dogs. The code has stronger restrictions for “potentially dangerous” dogs than for dangerous dogs.

Staff reported on the results of the Department of Ecology-mandated Shoreline Cumulative Effects Evaluation report. While deterioration was documented, there was no clear pattern linking specific permitted development to deterioration or improvement. Issues affecting the accuracy of the survey are the exclusion of unpermitted development from the survey, and lack of access to properties along the shoreline.

An environmental health officer updated Council on the Hannah Heights PFAS situation. So far, all test results shared with the county from the potentially affected area are negative, indicating the contamination is limited. In Hannah Heights, residents are using delivered water and exploring options for a new well. They have applied for state for financing the new well and got information on a program that could help cover the current cost of delivered water.

State Legislators Deborah Lekanoff and Alex Ramel attended virtually and reviewed legislative action on affordable housing, public school funding, state ferry issues and changes in drug laws. While they reduced regulatory barriers for housing, the other issues had some progress but needed much more work. Both planned to take part in the June 21 Transportation Committee meeting in Friday Harbor. Senator Lovelett later joined briefly and plans to visit the three larger islands in the coming weeks. The Council approved the Juneteenth Declaration for the June 13 meeting on Orcas. They sent the proposed Lodging Tax grant recommendations back to the advisory committee as two recommended grants proposals did not conform with state law. The Community Theater grant proposal was determined to be compliant.

The Public Works survey showed broad support for County marine facilities, high use of road shoulders and support for improving conditions for non-motorized transport either by widening shoulders or building separate bike and pedestrian paths. Routine maintenance had a lower priority among respondents, perhaps because they rated road quality as good.