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.

SJI Fire District meeting of April 13

During Citizen Comment and Correspondence, a letter was read from John McDowell about a Fire Training Facility. Planning work was done in the past, and at one point the Commission authorized a cost estimate. More recently a potential site was discussed with Port of Friday Harbor on their property. He asked the commission to pursue the issue of a training facility. The Commission added discussion of a training facility to a future agenda.

Maureen See read out a statement. The entire statement will be part of the official minutes. She had considered running for the Fire Commission seat now vacated by Albert Olson at his suggestion. Considering that, she had attended Fire District meetings and workshops and was concerned about the state of the department and raised these concerns with Commissioners. A letter of no-confidence from some fire staff which was discussed at a recent Executive Session with the fire chief present, but without consultation with those who signed the letter. She stated the friendship between the Commission chair and the chief was a conflict of interest. She will apply to fill the remainder of Olson’s term through December 2023.

The Letter of Resignation from Commissioner Albert Olson was noted and added to the record. No reason for the resignation was stated, but it was noted that he has now moved out of the state. The negotiations with Friday Harbor for the Fire District to handle certain business inspections and fire investigations are proceeding. When a draft is complete it will be submitted for legal review and then come to the Commission for approval.

The SAFEBoat is beginning its sea trial this month and delivery is expected in May of early June. Training will be here on-site in the county.

First-quarter expenses were 20% of the budget versus the expected 25%, while revenues were at 42% as tax payments came in. In operations, a commissioner requested a breakdown of calls and response times by the responding station to help look at the disposition of equipment among stations. There is a new dispatch agreement with the Sheriff’s Office and the service provider Codan is fixing the issues that have plagued the system and quality is improving.

In response to a question from the press, the chair of the commission said no decisions were made at the March 24 Executive Meeting. The chief said he has been conferring with family about possibly retiring before the year’s end, but that was not discussed at the Executive Session on March 24.

County Council meeting of April 18

The Council Proclaimed April as volunteer month and recognized the hundreds of volunteers that support the county on advisory boards and commissions and in direct service with many departments. The Council was briefed about a well in a class A water system in Hannah Heights that was found to be contaminated with PFAS. The well has been shut down and the system is operating on a much lower capacity uncontaminated well. The state Department of Health is managing the response and oversight to the crisis along with the Department of Ecology, including disposal of the contaminated water. The county is communicating with those in the affected area and surrounding areas, going door to door. They will hold a meeting with those impacted on April 19. They have an e-mail PFASquestions@sanjanco.com to answer questions. Healthcare providers have been notified.

Department of Emergency Management Director Brendan Cowan briefed the council on their role in county emergencies. Including the in and outs of a disaster declaration and the Incident Command System. He said earthquake/tsunami and wildfires were the two most likely natural disasters to affect the county. He listed the kinds of help available to the county in an emergency. An after-action review has been done of the handling of the Covid Emergency and a report with lessons learned will be forthcoming.

Washington State Ferry staff briefed the Council on prospects for addressing ferry issues faced by county residents. The San Juan Route with no alternative travel option is the first priority for service. Vessel issues will continue to affect service. With only 21 vessels and 19 needed for full-service schedule, there are simply not enough boats to run routes. It will be four years until new boats come into operation. Staffing shortages are a major challenge but are being addressed and will improve over time. The options for getting Sydney service back before 2030 are slim.

A task force will develop a new schedule for the San Juans. It will include the Ferry Advisory Committee and have 25 public members. Riders are evenly split on prioritizing on-time sailings vs. more sailings.

The Council set a public hearing for May 16 on a 2023 budget amendment that update final 2022 numbers and add in new grants and other funding and the projects they will be used for. REIT and retail tax income is down from last year so far.

Several members of the public spoke regarding the Argyle Lots RFQ. The Council voted to direct staff to open negotiations with the Home Trust. Council member Wolf thanked Favor 34 for their submission and expressed the need for the community to be open-minded as the [community works] to solve the housing crisis.

Board of Health meeting of April 19

The North Sound Behavioral Health Organization sent a letter to Governor Inslee laying out the shortages of mental health services in the region.

Dr. Fishaut briefed the Council on fentanyl. A third county resident died of an overdose while in Whatcom County. Fentanyl deaths now equaled Covid deaths in the county. An education program took place for the Hispanic community through the JLSFRC. One is coming up for Friday Harbor High School and Middle School students. Fishaut will attend the next Public Hospital District meeting to speak on the issue. EMS is thinking about positioning Narcan in key places throughout the community. There is a growing threat from a horse tranquilizer Xylazine known as “tranq” for which there is no antidote.

The San Juan Island Prevention Coalition briefed the Council on the Healthy Youth Information Survey. The good news is that most youths in the County do not use drugs and use has been falling. Youths use alcohol and drugs to self-medicate when they struggle with mental health issues. Depression and anxiety are issues for 36-42% of those in grades 8-12. There is an increased suicide risk among youth. Covid represents a break in trends and more years of data and more analysis are needed to learn what is happening and why, but the impact on children is clear as they return to the classroom, which also affects their teachers. County programs focus on reducing risk factors that can predict drug use and boosting protecting factors that buffer against it. Mentoring programs in the county are using more group mentoring and peer-to-peer mentoring which have increased participation and retention.

Ellen Wilcox, Healthy Communities Manager updated the Board on the contamination of the water system in Hannah Heights on San Juan with PFAS. Experts from the state Department of Health are managing the response to the contamination and the Department of Ecology is handling the investigation. The County Health Department is managing communication and support to the affected households and to those in areas of potential concern. They notified people in the area door-to-door on Tuesday, have been working with the HOA, and are holding a meeting with those affected on the evening of Wednesday, April 19. Council member Christine Minney will attend. The Health Officer provided information resources to local medical practitioners to help those potentially affected understand possible health issues. With the well out of commission, a supply of safe drinking water in the affected area will be a challenge.

Friday Harbor Town Council meeting of April 20

A citizen resident on Nash Street read a letter making a case for the town to place a single additional streetlight on Nash instead of the three called for by town engineering standards. With the existing streetlights on adjoining streets and the parking lot lights at Marketplace and the Mullis Center the area has abundant light and more could affect the frog population.

The Town Council authorized a licensing agreement to purchase and install new cloud-based financial software that will integrate electronic payments into accounts. The software costs $15k per year, but will save expenses of maintaining and replacing the current server, staff time, and fees for cloud storage.

Council discussed town standards for streetlights and light poles. They agreed that for Nash Street they would use warmer 3000 vs. bluer 4000 heat lights and the pole style now on Blair. They also chose to get colored concrete rather than yellow plastic ramps for the ADA pavers.

The Council approved a planning department practice for multi-family density zoning to round up for all plot sizes rather than down from 0.5 and up from 0.51. The Planning Department director went over a list of possible incentives the town could grant to encourage development of affordable housing to get Council input on those they wished to explore. Possible incentives include transferable density credits, increased height, adjusting square footage ratios of ancillary housing, adopting pre-approved designs/design standards, creating a new high-density zone, fee waivers, and reduced parking requirements. The Council will explore several of these further including design standards, high-density zones, and fee waivers. Some incentives are already available to developers meeting historic preservation standards and the Council wants to revisit what is required to get those incentives.

The Council agreed to the planning director’s suggestion that the project approval process be re-evaluated and possibly changed to get earlier Council input. A council member noted that the county is expanding water use at the Fairgrounds and will put the issue on a future agenda. The Council is seeking to strengthen regular communication with County Council on issues affecting town and county.

Friday Harbor Port Commission, April 26

The Commission approved legal expenses to move a property line where a small portion of a road in Shipyard Cove is on a neighboring property, and for initial design work at Shipyard Cove. The Commission approved a grant application and a contract for the Southwest Development Area Environmental Assessment. It will cover many proposed design elements so that individual assessments for those elements will be in place when the project moves forward.

The Commission set a limit to allow certain customers at Jensen’s Marina to transfer moorage with vessel sales through December 31, 2024. District 3 Commissioner Victoria Compton resigned her position. The Commission gave the executive director bill pay authority until the position is filled. The Commission has 90 days to appoint an interim Commissioner until the next election. They will publicize the vacancy and seek expressions of interest to fill the position by May 18. They will review and interview applicants, discuss selection in an executive session and appoint an interim commissioner at an open public meeting. Whoever is elected in November will fill the remaining four years in the term. The commissioners thanked Compton for her work. The Commission approved final revisions to rules and regulations for all marinas and live-aboard policies. Changes include a 10-day to accept a slip offer or go to the bottom of the waitlist: the time someone may sublet a slip after selling a vessel if they intend to close their account was reduced from six months to 30 days; the institution of background checks to get moorage.

The Port director had informed the five tribal groups affected about marina expansion plans and received comments from the Lummi and Suquamish. So far, only the Suquamish have requested accommodation in compensation for the impact on fishing areas. The Port hired a negotiator with tribal experience to open conversations with all tribes with a potential stake, seeking to get an agreement that meets the needs of the tribes and keeps the marina project economically viable before beginning the permitting process.

The Commission supported the Port developing covered bike storage, especially for electric bikes. The Port Director proposed rolling this into a proposal to seek permits to build kiosks on the main pier.

The Port auditor reviewed 2022 financial performance. Revenue exceeded expenditure, helped fund capital projects, and allowed the Port to increase reserves and set aside funds for future loan repayment. The funds are invested in a local government investment pool earning $.75 return annually while leaving funds liquid for use as working capital. While most operations are profitable, the boat yard is running at a loss, as the Port works on taking on deferred maintenance.

The Port Director reported issues involving lay days and long-term-dry storage at Jensen’s and how to use space there more efficiently.