News from Hughes: High Points of the Past Year

Council Member Rick Hughes

— by Margie Doyle —

Skeptics and cynics may find “campaign promises” to be an oxymoron: pledges meant to get votes and then dropped once the election has been one. However, Orcas Council Member Rick Hughes is intent upon delivering on his campaign promises. Since his election to the 6-member County Council in November 2012, and his election to the newly-configured 3-member Council last April, Hughes has worked to deliver on his campaign pledges, to simplify, localize and streamline county government.

Given the opportunity for an off-the-cuff “annual review,” Hughes says that working with Council members Bob Jarman, Jamie Stephens and County Manager Mike Thomas “feels like we’re all moving in the same direction. We have a similar operational attitude on how the county should be run. ”

He says, “A lot of  small things add up to marked success:” such as the reduction of  fees for open space conversion of land;  for the fee to appeal of code violations to the Growth Management Hearing Boar; and for code enforcement fees.

The Council, along with  Sam Gibboney, new Director of Community Development and Planning, and representatives of Orcas’ larger capital projects,  has attended pre-planning meetings to discuss the Orcas Island School District plans for renovating the school buildings and the Orcas Island Public Library expansion plans.  Hughes says, “We want to bring the key players upfront and streamline permit approval times so that we do business quickly and efficiently here.

“We’re working to make it easy to do business in the county.”

In a desire to be more open and transparent, county government now regularly meets on Mondays for informal hearings and discussion on public matter, in addition to the regular Council meetings scheduled for most Tuesdays. Council agendas are posted in a timely manner and most regular meetings are streamed live. “If we don’t communicate up front and be 100 percent transparent, it becomes more difficult to achieve our goals in the long run,” says Hughes.

Almost all represented (union) staff has taken mandatory customer service training. “We have to stay focused on providing leadership to help make the county a customer-service organization: that has not always been the norm.”

Hughes confers regularly with County Manager Mike Thomas,  figuring how to do things easier. For non-essential building permits he hopes to implement over-the-counter permitting for easier, simpler projects such as installing a water heater or removing an interior wall.

He looks forward to completion of the County’s Comprehensive Plan next year: the Transportation Element has been completed and approved by the council on Nov. 12. Hughes emphasizes two uniquely critical parts of  the county’s transportation services: the ferry system and the internet.

He says, “Washington State Ferries (WSF) is  our state highway, not a marine highway. It’s our farm-to-market road. Statewide, we pay for the upkeep of, for example, Benton County roads; likewise the state should share in the maintenance of the ferry system so that we can use our highway.” Hughes emphasizes that long-term sustainable ferry funding  must be achieved.  Ferry boats need to be constructed beyond replacing the old fleet. Hughes points out that 40 percent of the cars using the Anacortes-San Juans ferry routes were “oversold” last summer.

His transportation goal for next year is to put funding into marine infrastructure  so that the smaller, non-ferry served islands have increased access. “We need to look a little closer. Public Works is not just a road  company; we need to have the best marine facilities possible.” Closer to home, Hughes  says that in 2014, as Eastsound’s Prune Alley is chip-sealed, public works can look at other options,  such as curbs and sidewalks.

The internet, Hughes says is a “non-motorized way to conduct business, it’s a way to move people, goods and services —  and it’s a backbone of how we do business here. It gives us a way to compete with mainland businesses and to promote job growth.”

The Housing and Economic Development Elements remain to be completed in the Comprehensive Plan.

Council members take on a number of committee membership and liaison activities: Hughes has tried to coordinate his assignments so that they can be most productive. He is Council liaison to the Economic Development Committee, the County Land Bank, the San Juans’ Visitors Bureau, and both the Deer Harbor and Eastsound Plan Review Committees. He serves as Chair of the Lodging Tax Committee, and on the County Fair and Parks and Recreation committees.  He is also a member of the Opportunity Council, a multi-county body that serves Whatcom and Island counties as well as San Juan County.

Hughes advocates a modus operandi of “little steps all the time.”

Hughes will host a Town Hall on Wednesday Dec. 4, with County Manager Mike Thomas. County Auditor Milene Henley and possibly State Representative Kris Lytton in attendance.