Other News
May 2, 2024: WA State Governor and Assistant Secretary of WSF Talk Ferry Service & Solar Power with SJC Officials
Apr 11, 2024: Community Meeting: Sea Level Rise Adaptation for Outer Bay and Agate Beach Areas on Lopez Island
Mar 11, 2024: Queers in Unexpected Places: Searching for (and Finding) Gender and Sexual Non-Conformity in the Rural and Early PNW
Mar 7, 2024: DRAFT Richardson Marsh Preserve Stewardship and Management Plan Now Open for Public Comment
Dec 5, 2023: County Council Member Jane Fuller and Senator Liz Lovelett to Host Public Meeting on Lopez
Nov 3, 2023: County and Town Send Open Letter to State Officials Regarding Impacts of Poor Ferry Service
Sep 29, 2023: Conservation Land Bank Announces Special Meeting to Discuss Watmough Bay Preserve Addition
Sep 14, 2023: The mobile dental van is coming to Lopez! // ¡La camioneta dental móvil ya llega a López!
Aug 22, 2023: San Juan County Adopts 32-Hour Work Week in the Name of Fiscal Health, Recruitment, and Islander Wellness
May 25, 2023: Recap of Lopez Neighborhood Meeting Regarding the Relocation of Public Works Facilities
May 23, 2023: District 3 Councilmember Jane Fuller Opens Office on Lopez and Hosts Community Conversation
Apr 17, 2023: Give Lopez Starts April 17th - A two week fundraiser benefiting 15 Lopez Island Non-Profits
Sep 22, 2022: Interim Watmough Preserve Addition Stewardship and Management Plan Now Open for Public Comment
LWVSJ Observer Corps Notes: County Council Meeting June 4, 2024
Jun 5, 2024
By League of Women Voters of the San Juans
County Council Meeting June 4, 2024
A member of the public expressed concern about a construction activity taking place in a rural residential area on Orcas Island.
The Council held a public hearing and adopted changes to the county code on purchasing procedures. The changes streamline the code to refer to state law so it will update automatically when state law changes and to make small purchases and contracts less cumbersome.
The county emergency manager and representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Washington Department of Ecology and the local Islands’ Oil Spill Association (ISOA) updated the council on oil spill response and prevention. The organizations work together regularly on drills and training exercises. The Coast Guard in February started a pilot program that tracks whale locations and communicates the information to shipping traffic. The Coast Guard and Canadian law enforcement post staff to each other’s boats allowing them to do cross border pursuit and enforcement. IOSA now has state and county funding that allows them to have two full-time staff and to train and equip 40 first-tier volunteer responders. The Coast Guard and the Department of Ecology emphasized how cost effective this has been in allowing faster spill response and more efficient resource allocation. They would like IOSA to become a model for other jurisdictions. The IOSA staff emphasized the importance of their committed volunteers who train each month.
The affordable housing coordinator presented the council with the draft 99-year lease for the Argyle property to the Home Trust to build and manage affordable housing. The lease requires that a minimum of 35 units be built and that 30% be two-bedrooms or larger to provide family housing. The council will act on the lease at the July 9 meeting.
Council Member Minney will be at a community meeting on the shared use trail project on June 5. Council Member Fuller met with Representative Larson during his visit to Lopez and he plans to be on Orcas for July 4. She attended a public meeting about a proposed county land acquisition on Shaw Island for public works. She raised concerns shared by the Ferry Advisory Committee and the citizen taskforce on the schedule update about communication issues with Washington State Ferries.
The Council scheduled a mid-year review of the work program for July 8. The June 11 County Council meeting will be held on Lopez Island.
*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.
The Council held a public hearing and adopted changes to the county code on purchasing procedures. The changes streamline the code to refer to state law so it will update automatically when state law changes and to make small purchases and contracts less cumbersome.
The county emergency manager and representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Washington Department of Ecology and the local Islands’ Oil Spill Association (ISOA) updated the council on oil spill response and prevention. The organizations work together regularly on drills and training exercises. The Coast Guard in February started a pilot program that tracks whale locations and communicates the information to shipping traffic. The Coast Guard and Canadian law enforcement post staff to each other’s boats allowing them to do cross border pursuit and enforcement. IOSA now has state and county funding that allows them to have two full-time staff and to train and equip 40 first-tier volunteer responders. The Coast Guard and the Department of Ecology emphasized how cost effective this has been in allowing faster spill response and more efficient resource allocation. They would like IOSA to become a model for other jurisdictions. The IOSA staff emphasized the importance of their committed volunteers who train each month.
The affordable housing coordinator presented the council with the draft 99-year lease for the Argyle property to the Home Trust to build and manage affordable housing. The lease requires that a minimum of 35 units be built and that 30% be two-bedrooms or larger to provide family housing. The council will act on the lease at the July 9 meeting.
Council Member Minney will be at a community meeting on the shared use trail project on June 5. Council Member Fuller met with Representative Larson during his visit to Lopez and he plans to be on Orcas for July 4. She attended a public meeting about a proposed county land acquisition on Shaw Island for public works. She raised concerns shared by the Ferry Advisory Committee and the citizen taskforce on the schedule update about communication issues with Washington State Ferries.
The Council scheduled a mid-year review of the work program for July 8. The June 11 County Council meeting will be held on Lopez Island.
*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.