Steady Stream of Islanders to County Open House

 — by Margie Doyle —

Frank Mulcahy, Fred Klein and Ken Katz discuss road improvements on Orcas Island

County officials and staff came in great number to Orcas Island today to explain and discuss road standards, stormwater, regulations (including the Critical Areas Ordinance approved yesterday, March 5 by the County Council), shoreline plans, guardrail placement, chipsealing and improvements, the Deer Harbor Bridge replacement and the Eastsound Planning Review Committee’s work.

An equally impressive number of Orcas Islanders came to this second of three County Open Houses on Lopez, Orcas and San Juan Islands held this week. People milled and mingled at the large tabletop graphics to learn and debate the systems and plans.

As the rain came down outside, inside the Eastsound Fire hall, Ed Hale gave demonstrations of the stormwater reporting video that will help in response to incident flooding. County road workers came in their bright orange work vests to get an overall and in-depth picture of the projects they will be working on this year. Public Works Director Fred Mulcahy discussed the safety of improved roads, such as the stretch of Orcas Road between Nordstrom Road and McNallie Lane and the possibilities of an “Impact Fee” levied on tourists who make peak use of county infrastructure.  County Engineers Rachel Dietzman explained the process for ameliorating the negative impact of installation of a permit-approved French drain from Orcas Road near Myers Road, and the schedule for chipsealing and improvements to Prune Alley over the next six years. Shannon Wilbur clarified the work the county’s GIS staff had done to illustrate property damage, personal injury and fatalities on Orcas Island’s road system.

Also in attendance were Victoria Compton, Executive Director of the non-profit Economic Development Association of the San Juans. Compton also spoke of the large number of “cottage industries” offering unique and profitable job opportunities on Orcas. The newly-drafted Economic Element of the County’s Comprehensive Plan, authored in great part by Compton, was on display and distributed. She encourage people to review it and give their comment to the County Council, as they will be reviewing the plan later this month.

Gulliver Rankin, builder, member of the County Stormwater Committee, and long-time member of the Eastsound Planning Review Committee, solicited solutions for stormwater problems on Orcas Island. He worked to identify the cause of the situation and the appropriate process and people to engage in arriving at a solution.

Several at the Open House admitted that they had learned significant new aspects of County projects.