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 aid public understanding of public policy and decisions. The notes do not necessarily reflect the views of the League or its members.

Friday Harbor Port Commission regular meeting of March 28

An island resident recognized and thanked the League of Women Voters for their diligence in bringing people to public meetings, calling it a civic duty.

The marina manager, Jan Gresseth, reported that the marina business is holding steady with a good amount of guest traffic and preparing for the summer season. Customers are comfortable using the new reservation system. Interest in the scholarship program for summer staff is high.

The Commission reviewed the boat washing policy. After comparing the policies of other marinas, they decided to advocate the use of biodegradable, phosphate-free soap, no suds and use as little soap as possible. They may add a “no suds in the water” clause to the policy for clarity. The policy will be amended and a shorter version distributed for the upcoming season.

There is a short-term, month-to-month lease proposal from Amazon to rent Parcel 777 to park seven to eight small delivery vans. This would allow for one Amazon box truck to come to the island once a day and allow islanders to take advantage of Prime memberships and two-day shipping options. Executive Director Todd Nicholson has the delegated authority to approve the lease request, but brought it to the Commission for input. Nicholson will proceed with the lease unless directed otherwise.

The commission reviewed the draft Port Public Art Policy. All comments from previous meetings were consolidated into one document. The commissioners discussed how to handle the requests for proposals and how to collaborate with the Town and the Town’s art process. If the Port identifies a location where they would like to put art, they will start the process. Current wording allows latitude for smaller art pieces (e.g., airport terminal) while requiring a Request for Proposal process for larger, more visible pieces. A process where the commission initiates an RFP with a selection committee that potentially includes members of the Town Art Commission.

MEM was the low bidder for the project to repair the south airport fueling apron. The $7 million Port Electrification Grant project was included in the supplemental budget in both the House and Senate. Nicholson is optimistic that it will come out of committee and does not anticipate any issues.

SJI Fire District regular meeting of April 8

The Commission held an executive session before the regular Board Meeting with their attorney to discuss potential litigation.

Stuart East and Stuart West are working on lease agreements with SJI Fire District #3. The Airpark Association on Stuart East is willing to lease space for storage and a training hub. The school district on Stuart West will draft a license for the fire district to build a facility on their property.

The commissioners discussed the mechanism and purpose of a joint meeting with the SJC Public Hospital District #1. The current bodies have never met with each other. Commissioner Colley will set up a meeting to talk about plans for the future of both organizations.

The Volunteer Standby Incentive, a rewards system planned to reduce the need for overtime pay, with rollout beginning with officers first. Chief Monin described an alternative plan for assigning shifts termed Work/Rest Pay Schedule, which would benefit part-time workers, among other positives. This would do away with the current Kelly Day system of balancing hours.

The Apparatus Committee looked at Aerial Apparatus Equipment in Skagit County. The Recruit Volunteer Academy Completion recruited eight new firefighters. The Fire District Awards Ceremony is scheduled for Friday, April 11. Fire District #3’s role in fighting wildfire is included in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan available through the San Juan Conservation District. The commissioners plan to attend the Washington Fire Commissioners Association Conference in October of this year.

County Council regular meeting of April 14

Kari Koski updated the Council on the Derelict Vessel program. Old boats are hard to dispose of, and the County offers ideal conditions for people to abandon or hide failing boats. San Juan County was the first in the state to have such a program and has become the model for other places. The program coordinates with state agencies to remove derelict vessels and to prevent aging boats from becoming derelict by providing support to owners and offering turn-in events where people can safely get rid of unwanted boats.

The county lobbyist said the state budget was moving forward with hearings scheduled this week. He coordinated with the Council on draft language to amend a bill that would suspend Ferry Advisory Committees.

The county consultant briefed the Council on Comp Plan proposals to expand the Eastsound urban growth area with three parcels and to increase density in some existing parcels to add 278 plots, erasing the deficit and providing a surplus of buildable plots. There were no proposals made to change the Lopez Village UGA. Long-range planner Sophia Cassam reviewed proposed changes to land-use elements that will impact map amendments. These include incorporating updates to the Growth Management Act, and policies to support farm worker housing, ease permitting for agricultural outbuildings and address infrastructure and resource constraints. They plan to add policies supporting renewable energy siting.

Elaina Thompson, director of the Islands Oil Spill Association, briefed the Council on the association’s role in coordinating responses to oil spills, large and small. IOSA was founded in 1985 and remains unique as the sole all-volunteer local oil spill response organization in the nation. The organization responds to reports of oil spills, completes an assessment, identifies the hazard and begins the initial response, then calls in the state on larger spills, providing key local knowledge, trained volunteers and equipment and supplies. IOSA will be running an Oil Spill Response Exercise with local, state and federal partners in June.

The Council agreed to move forward to amend an ordinance that would designate a set amount of the Public Facilities Financial Assistance Program funds to the Economic Development Council annually for administrative support.

County Council regular meeting of April 15

The Council held public hearings and approved ordinances to add members to the County’s Law and Justice Council; to amend sections of the code regarding recreation and fair advisory boards; and create a pathway to allow existing vacation rentals in Eastsound to conform with permitting requirements.

The grants administrator updated the Council on grant activity. The County is working on the final report for the federal ARPA grants received during the COVID-19 epidemic, but expects delays closing out the grants due to administrative uncertainty in federal offices. They have adopted the standard administrative rate versus using the more complex formula. The coordinator has been reviewing grants policy and will recommend amendments.

The budget office began to review proposed first-quarter budget amendments, including updating the beginning cash numbers, supplemental allocations to reflect new revenue and programs, and adjustments to budgeted spending. The budget committee recommended against some requested staff reclassifications to allow a broader look at how to handle the disparities raised by the 32-hour workweek for some positions. The public hearing for budget amendments will be held on May 13.

The Council approved moving forward with a proposal to lease public works land on Decatur to OPALCO for a community solar installation that is under tight deadlines to use its grant funds. A public hearing was scheduled for May 20. The Council agreed to a proposal to formally designate five county roads on Lopez as primitive roads, which are not paved or maintained. Public works updated Council on the negotiations over leasing a gravel pit to Waldron residents.

The Council approved the lease of the Sutton Transfer Station from the Town of Friday Harbor. The Council agreed to the county manager’s recommendation that Greg Sawyer and two other facilities department staff who attended state coroner training take on the in-house coroner services. Mark Tompkins, director of Health and Community Services, said all three emergency water transport contracts were signed with two running and Anacortes passenger services starting April 18. Shaw is not covered due to a lack of a dock. The County will look at reimbursing Shaw residents for private services through transportation vouchers.

The Council approved noticing $2.5 million available from the Home Fund for affordable housing projects and approved low-income rental subsidies for 25 islanders. A survey on the Engage page seeks residents’ input on the ferry schedules: https://engage.sanjuancountywa.gov/san-juan-county-ferry-information.

Board of Health regular meeting of April 16

The CEO search process is underway at the Accountable Communities of Health. The Community Collaboration Committee awarded a $16K grant to the SJI Food Bank, $6K for 2025 and $10K for 2026; the CCC hopes to provide further support from its Community Benefit Fund. The North Sound Behavioral Health Organization continues its battle to stop the state clawback or at least redirect Medicaid reserve funds. The Board appointed Kari McVeigh as its representative to the CCC.

Kristin Rezabek of the County Health Department briefed the board on the County’s oral health and community dental programs. The County has low numbers of people with Apple Health able to access dental services. Using a combination of grants, private funding and local resources, community dental clinics and school-based clinics have served over 258 residents in 2024, but the waitlist is 879. Most of those have no dental insurance at all, though 44% have Apple Health. Schoolchildren are getting fluoride and tooth sealants as well as tooth cleaning and oral hygiene lessons. On San Juan, SJI Dental offers clinic facilities and staff four times per year. On Orcas, the Public Health District has built and equipped a dental clinic, and on Lopez, a mobile dental van will visit one to two times per month from Anacortes. Other rural communities in the state are looking at our model.

The County Health Emergency Preparedness and Communications team introduced themselves and their work to the board. They are working a Continuity of Operations plan focused on ensuring the County can provide essential services in an emergency, and prioritizing key functions. They are developing a toolkit to support the work/life balance and mental health of emergency responders. They described their work on a plan for a possible measles outbreak, noting that federal systems for tracking epidemics and supporting response have stopped functioning. Local childhood vaccination rates fell during COVID, and we are still working to get them raised. They are pretty good among children attending school.

Tompkins reviewed the County’s 2025 Health Rankings and Roadmap, noting that in several measures, the County was top in the state. The federal government funded and collected the data for the report, but will stop doing it going forward. The County will rely on the local Community Health Assessment to develop the Community Health Improvement plan.

Board members asked to hear about food security issues at a future meeting. Housing issues and possibly behavioral health will be discussed in May.