Submitted by the League of Women Voters Observer Corps

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.

Friday Harbor Town Council regular meeting of June 6

The mayor noted the town proclamations for Pride Month and for the upcoming Juneteenth holiday. The Mayor and Town Council recognized the extraordinary service of nearly 18 years by outgoing Town Clerk Amy Taylor and the mayor sworn in Jennifer Krembs as the new town clerk.

During public comment, David Medford of the water hauling company Sweetwater and a county resident who depends on occasionally hauled water spoke in opposition to proposed ordinance 1796 to end bulk water sales, asking that the town explore other options, or at a minimum provide a grace period to allow water haulers and their customers to arrange alternate supply sources.

The town council approved the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee’s recommendation to increase the budget available for the round of grants to $70,000. Through May lodging tax receipts were down 17% vs. the same period in 2023. The committee is hoping to recruit a member who works in a tourism-related business for a vacant committee seat. The council approved restoring the practice of having the LTAC review the Visitors Bureau budget. After a public hearing, the council approved the Transportation Improvement Plan for 2025-2030.

The council approved Ordinance 1796 halting most bulk water sales to go into effect September 1, 2024. This action was prompted when a state review of the town’s water plan found that it did not cover bulk water sales and a legal review showed that the town’s water rights are only for water within the town limits or for customers linked to the town water system. The town’s ability to process enough water to meet demand has been under pressure, especially during summer months. The town has applied for a $3 million loan to add a fourth water filter to increase processing capacity. The project will take time to complete. The town will have consultants do a market review to set a fair market price for any bulk water sales.

The ordinance allows the council to provide for specific bulk water sales in the case of natural disasters, public health emergencies, or emergency situations as designated by the council. The council designated the Hannah Heights PFAF s contamination an emergency situation to allow sales to Hannah Heights after the ordinance goes into effect on September 1. The council adopted the 2024 Rate study and set new water and sewer rates.

The council reviewed a new updated draft ordinance on detached dwelling units which will be on the agenda next month.

County Council regular meeting of June 11

During public comment, a Lopez resident thanked the council for meeting on Lopez and said regarding the new skate park, that rather than spending money on visual elements like colored concrete and an embedded map, he would prefer additional skate features.

Transitions Lopez briefed the council on their transportation survey results of 1016 respondents focused on reducing carbon emissions. People on Lopez strongly supported dedicated bike lanes, and many were willing to use public transportation, biking or ride shares if availability, reliability and safety were improved. Given those amenities, many visitors to Lopez would leave their cars behind if parking in Anacortes were affordable and safe. Because the county is not part of a regional transport organization, accessing state and federal money for projects can be more difficult. Council member Fuller said that regional county partnership of Snohomish Whatcom Island Skagit San Juans (SWISS) was working to fill that gap. Council Member Wolf noted bike lanes cost about $3 million per mile and with the roads levy failure it was not clear if country residents were willing to pay for bike lanes.

The council authorized the Environmental Stewardship Department to apply for salmon recovery funds for four projects: Jackson Beach Restoration, False Bay Creek Restoration Lower Zylstra Lake Wetland Restoration, and DNA testing of small waterways to determine whether they harbor fish to support design and permits for culverts and culvert replacement. The council approved the facilities director to request a $1.5 million in the state grant application for a historic courthouse seismic upgrade. The Lopez skate park project is under contract. Construction will begin July 8 and be completed in early October. New elements can be added later. The council reviewed proposed county code updates on the parks and fair advisory boards.

The council began a discussion of future directions for managing destination marketing as required by state law for lodging tax funds. The SJI Visitor’s Bureau has continued in this role under one-year contract extensions while the county worked on a broader destination management plan (DMP). Options include a new amended contract with the visitor’s bureau, opening a new contract to public bids, delegating the roles to island chambers of commerce, or managing it in-house. The council wanted more information on the legal technicalities of options, the role of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, other counties’ programs, and to review the feedback collected on the draft DMP which was set for July 8.

The council wants to talk to WSU about filling the extension program director job and look at how local subcommittees and building advisory committees fit into the work program for the comprehensive plan update.