COVID-19 Community Conversations: Round Six

— from Brendan Cowan, Department of Emergency Management —

This week “COVID-19 Community Conversations” continues with another set of videos highlighting specific efforts from organizations and people in our community that provide key services and crucial leadership around the county.

You can find our entire collection of videos on our YouTube channel “San Juan County COVID-19 Response” at www.sjccovid.com/conversations. This week we have two new videos:

Evan Perrollaz, Village at the Harbour: Perrollaz is the administrator for a senior living community in the Town of Friday Harbor that opened in late 2008, The Village at the Harbour. Long-term care in the county has been a challenge since the closure of the Life Care Center several years ago, which
has placed a significant strain on the Village already – and then COVID-19 hit. “I’ve never been through something as frightening as the COVID-19 Crisis. Fortunately, we were a little bit better prepared than most, we anticipated the lock-down, and pretty much closed our community down to
visitors even before it was required by the state.” He adds, “The staff at the Village has been fantastic in the care they have provided, and they have done it with smiles on their faces… All the doctors on this island, Dr. House and PeaceHealth, have done an amazing job at making sure our residents get needed care.” Listen in to learn more about how the Village is adapting to the crisis.

Paul Kamin, Eastsound Water: General Manager of Eastsound Water Paul Kamin gives an update to the public about how the utility has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Kamin points out, “the COVID-19 virus is not dispersed through water systems,” but it has had other impacts. Staff training, in-person collaboration, office hours for the public, etc., have all been curtailed. Kamin outlines changes to water use, “commercial water use in Eastsound is down 60%,” but “residential water use is up 10%.”
Eastsound water is working to take care of impacted customers, among other things, by not shutting off water, and is partnering with the Orcas Community Resource Center to provide utility payment assistance. Email assistance@eastsoundwater.org for more information. Eastsound water reports that it is fiscally stable following a decision by the Board in years past to establish a rate structure that emphasizes revenue stability. This is an interesting video that gives an analysis of the COVID-19
crisis from a different angle.