News from Hughes: the “Municipalization” of Eastsound

Council Member Rick Hughes

— by Margie Doyle —

“Our job is to find out the solutions that work,” Rick Hughes says, in job-description shorthand for his position as Council Councilman. With the changes to the county charter in 2012, the three members of the County Council and County Manager Mike Thomas have more executive and administrative authority than past councils, Hughes explains.

While the Council has no authority over other elected officials — the County Treasurer, Assessor, Clerk, Auditor, Prosecutor or Sheriff — Council Members now often serve as ombudsmen, going to departmental staff to work things out.

That’s a cultural change, Hughes admits, and it takes time. And although he doubts that Orcas Islanders would want Eastsound to become a municipality, with its own government structure and taxes, he does describe progress as the “Municipalization” of Eastsound.  He sees the County working with Eastsound agencies to impact:

• Trash collection
• Prune Alley improvements
• Madrona Street stormwater projects
• Mooring buoys
• Fiber for broadband hard-wired to every business that wants it

While his first year as Council Member was occupied with addressing immediate situations, Hughes says that, since last November he’s been in more of a listening mode. He’d like to hear more about what the public wants in terms of government services. He’s planned another Town Hall on Orcas for the last week in March to discuss Prune Alley improvements, “A” Street traffic flow,  the Public Works lot across from the Village Green (also called  Fern Street connector or the Transportation Hub) and parking.

“There will be lots of opportunity, lots of focus in Eastsound in the next few years,” Hughes says.

Chipping away, making progress; sometimes the solution involves clearly defining the mission, task and/or territories of public and/or private agencies. For example the Orcas Island Chamber of Commerce has paid for the trash can pickups in Eastsound. They pay private contractors, hired by the County Parks Department.

That’s going to change by this summer. The County will pick up the tab for trash can collection in Eastsound, now that funds from paying off the solid waste debt are available. Hughes would like to add six to eight more garbage cans to accommodate the “uptick in tourists” the last two summers.

Prune Alley Improvements

Segments of the Prune Alley Improvement plan, first developed in 2011,  will be undertaken this year. Hughes said. “We’re fortunate to have had Fred Klein and Bill Trogdon and the EPRC – and the Eastsound property owners – to find user-friendly ways to make this a great streetscape.”

Next steps are to engineer the plan according to road standards and property owners’ agreements and to allocate funding. “Whether we do it with .09, stormwater, general or road funds, we have to plan and design a road that will be here for 20 years, taking into account flooding plans, filters, ADA compliance and other factors while still keeping Eastsound’s distinctive character.

“The Council’s goal is to work on Prune Alley with Fred Klein and the EPRC (Eastsound Planning Review Committee, of which Klein is a member), over the next six months,” Hughes said.

He’s optimistic that the $327,000 allocated for Eastsound Stormwater projects in the state capital projects budget will be approved. A portion of those funds will be dedicated to the Prune Alley Improvements, Hughes says.

Similarly, he will advance the cause of street lights in Eastsound, if the community conveys to him that’s what they want, and if the design elements  — such as low impact and safety  — are decided by the community. “Give me a design and I’ll find a way to fund it, if the community wants it,” he says.

Permitting

The perennial slowdown with county-issued permits continue to motivate Hughes to improve that system. The County has great employees, he says, “but we need to systematically review all codes and fees so the interpretation is faithful to the original intent.” His goals for permitting are that it become more efficient, easier to understand, more responsive, better enforced, and online. “It’s just a lot of work to do, but we’re slowly chipping away at it.”

Eastsound Sub-area Plan Update

Hughes discussed the work of the EPRC and the county on the Eastsound Sub-area Plan, formulated in the1980s — before the county’s adoption of state Growth Management Act (GMA) regulations, and Eastsound’s classification as a Urban Growth Area (UGA).

While the GMA only allows changes to land use designation through the County Comprehensive Plan once a year, the Sub-area Plan update would move land use tables and zoning out of the Comp Plan into the Uniform Development Code (UDC) “to allow change as we see fit.”

Sounds layered and complex? It is, and the EPRC,  with assistance from County Senior Planner Colin Maycock, has been working at it for eight years (the plan was last updated in 2002; the last ordinance change to the plan was in 2010). Once the update is drafted, it will go before the Planning Commission, the public, and the County Council.

Maycock has been asked to identify zones that are inconsistent, and has identified four areas for rezoning: between Seaview and Blanchard street” the Port of Orcas/OffleashDog Park “split zone;” the “Twin Towers” property to the east of Washington Federal on Main Street; and  property in the NE corner of the Eastsound Sub-area.

Some of the questions still being debated, Hughes says, are:

• is the plan is right for us today, still relevant?
• where do we put new businesses or industries such as brewery, hi-tech services– are “boutique” crafts manufacturing?
• and more recently, what is the proper procedure for notifying county residents of zoning changes?

Notification of the property owners of  every parcel in the county that could be affected by rezoning is an expensive proposition, Hughes says. “The county is trying to come up with a plan to notify nearby property owners – within 300-500 feet — or, if the property is located in the Eastound Sub-area, all subarea residents.”

Deer Harbor Bridge

The County is still negotiating with the Coast Guard to obtain permit to build a temporary rock bridge. Such a temporary construction would obstruct navigation at the Deer Harbor estuary, which the Coast Guard opposes. If the Coast Guard prevails, the construction costs would rise significantly. In the meantime, Hughes says, the County will be working to acquire adjacent parcels nearby. It is also to the county’s financial advantage to delay the bidding schedule for a year.

The County has assumed management of the Orcas Senior Center/County Services building under new Health Department Director Mark Tompkins. The County owns 49% of that building, and the Senior Center Advisory Committee owns 51% of the building. The Advisory Committee has been responsible in the past 12 years for the maintenance of the building, and now the County has approved a new contract with Greg Sawyer as facilities manager, and Mark Tompkins, new head of the County Health Department, which rents out the majority of the offices in the County’s portion of the building, overseeing the contract.

The agreement “moves in the right direction with the Senior Center Advisory Committee,” Hughes says, “and relieves the stress of the volunteers to maintain the building — items such as the roof and painting.”

Immediate plans are to improve and resurface the Center parking lot, and to seek funding to improve the Henry Road access to the building.

Hughes commended the recent collaboration among the Port of Orcas, Orcas Parks and Rec, the County Land Bank and the non-profit Off-Leash Dog Park, in relocating the Dog Park, which is currently east of the Port of Orcas, on port land.

Spurred by Port Manager Tony Simpson, the groups are working to use a parcel east of the Skate Park, part of the Crescent Beach Land Preserve, to allow the Off-Leash group to design a dog park. “It helps the Port be compliant with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), and helps Parks and Recreation, which may develop trails on the property,” says Hughes.