— by Lin McNulty —
After spending most of the day at the County Council Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, May 20, I left in a state of exhaustion and awe. Our Council Members are expected (required) to have their busy fingers in hundreds of pies at any given time.
The meeting began at 10 a.m. with a brief statement from Orcas Council Member Rick Hughes asking the Council to consider, where possible, evening meetings to accommodate interested parties who work during the day. That being said, it was a near-full house at the Eastsound Fire Station where many issues were to be discussed and/or decided upon for which there is much public interest.
Eleven islanders took advantage of Citizen Access Time to share with the Council, in three minutes each, their concerns. Most comments supported maintenance of the rural character of Orcas Island. “The more we look like the city the less people will want to come here,” says Tim Blanchard. “Wider/flatter/straighter is not the way.”
Fred Klein requested the Council to urge Public Works to be more responsive to the EPRC plan for Prune Alley. All, 100 percent, of property owners and businesses on Prune Alley have signed off on the EPRC streetscape proposal.
John Evans called the Deer Harbor Bridge “butt ugly,” that it looks like it came direct from Burlington. Again, he stressed, “Public Works is not putting any effort into retaining rural character.”
Patty Miller, in referring to the proposed Streetscape, noted that this is “a place – not a street.” Adding that “Everything does not have to be done by a county employee to be done right.”
Leith Templin expressed a concern that people don’t pay attention to projects in other areas/villages on the island, where they don’t necessarily live or frequent, until it’s done and too late.
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AGENDA ITEMS: PUBLIC HEARING
AMEND OPALCO FRANCHISE AGREEMENT: Passed 3-0
Technology has changed so that the current agreement between OPALCO and San Juan County no longer address current needs. There is a need for SMART self-reporting energy grids. Amends prior resolution, and allows 911 and wireless facilities to be placed in right of way, while maintaining aesthetics. There is no cost to the county and this amendment will be consistent with state law.
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FARM AND CONSERVATION LAND (To Adopt an Ordinance Amending San Juan County Code Section 16.50.265 Farm and Conservation Land): Continued to June 3 with right to re-open testimony.
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ORCAS LIBRARY REPORT from Donna Riordan
After 20 years, Orcas Library is bursting at the seams with 6,000 card members, 250 events/year, 3500 visitors every week, and 45,000 books on the shelves. Increasingly, the Library is the place to go when commercial internet service goes down. Open 7 days a week, the computers are always busy and reading space is not quiet. Expansion of 3,000 additional square feet will address these concerns as well as increase small meeting space and provide more communal space. Cost for the expansion will be $1.3 million. Private donations so far total $300,000 with a pledge $100,000 from Friends of Library. The library, says Riordan, is “looking forward to doing it right rather than fast.” Council members support the expansion as a means to provide more public access for meetings.
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ORCAS RECYCLING SERVICES REPORT from Pete Moe
In the second quarter of 2014 things are well. ORS has expanded their board, and continues to improve processes, in support of their Mission Statement to Building Zero Waste.
Creation of a master plan for improving site/flow/efficiency was submitted to the county in early March. Forty tons of “stuff” was removed/recycled from the old Exchange site. Projects under way include:
- Cooking oil collection
- Fluorescent tube recycling
- Studying: composting, anaerobic digesting (noxious weeds?)
- Medical sharps disposal
Projects completed include:
- The great island cleanup
- Hazardous waste disposal
- School education recycling program
- Roof catchment system saves water.
- Tipping floor bldg improved. A new roll-off truck allows materials to be moved around the site.
- Expanded public hours.
Glass, says Moe, is now going into the landfill. A plan is being developed to recycle/recuse and keep it here. Aluminum is currently $1600/ton. Drink your beer in cans, not bottles, he says.
The next step in bringing back The Exchange is to start working on roads. Subcommittees have been looking at a designs for a structure, and a fundraising campaign is expected in the next 4-6 weeks.
The current rate structure, adds Moe, does match what was anticipated, so options are being explored.
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ROCK ISLAND FRANCHISE (first touch): Moved to second touch on June 3
Rock Island has asked for a franchise agreement similar to OPALCO, to use the public right of way for facilities and to co-locate facilities w/OPALCO.
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EASTSOUND SUBAREA PLAN / EPRC from Clyde Duke
The current subarea plan is 25 years old. Review started seven years ago. Goal is for user-friendly guidelines. It’s time for final review/discussion.
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PUBLIC WORKS UPDATE:
DEER HARBOR BRIDGE: Deer Harbor Bridge at this point is in a conceptual stage, and is NOT the final design. Public Works is working with DHPRC. Construction is set to begin in May 2015 with opening in November 2015. Community still has opportunity for input on design/look of bridge. An evening Open House is being considered to improve input and involve more people before the end of the project.
PRUNE ALLEY STREETSCAPE: Much more work to be done on Prune Alley design. Public Works will work with EPRC and be mindful of what the community needs/wants.
CHIP SEAL: Chip sealing on Orcas should be done by Memorial Day weekend.
ORCAS ROAD IMPROVEMENTS from Shannon Wilbur
It is expected that NO TREES will be removed on Orcas Road for hazard mitigation. This project will remain in the fact-finding phase for next 6 months
- hired consultant
- evaluate alternative alignments and intersection options
- identify Critical Areas
- Determine existing right of way
- Identify utility conflicts
Public outreach
- Property owners
- Community meeting
Decision Matrix
- Pros/cons of each alternative
- Balance needs
Final Product 30% Design Report is expected at the end of 2014.
Rick Hughes would like to see proposed concepts. Nothing to see at this point.
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FLOW CONTROL Moved to June 17 for hearing at 9:15
The code controlling the flow of garbage in/out of county needs to be updated to reflect vendor language, not county.
If you care about or are interested in any of these projects, attend meetings, let your voice be heard while there is still time for input. It’s our island and our Council Members are responsive.
Thank you Lin for this excellent report of yesterday’s meeting. It’s all very informative and I’m sure I’m not alone in expressing appreciation for your attending the meeting and summarizing the many projects in play on our fair isle.
Regarding Scenic Roads and bridges, I agree with Fred, John, Patty, and Leith, above. We used to have a Scenic Roads Manual, which was a guide for keeping our Rural character. If we have to forego State and Federal Grant money in order to maintain our scenic little lanes and roads, then I say let’s go it alone.
Don’t get me started on the guard rails.
And 3 cheers for Tim Blanchard who said “Wider, flatter, and straighter is not the way”.
I think we still do have the Scenic Roads Manual, officially. Just seems like Public Works is ignoring it.
Peg is right, the Scenic Roads Manual is still technically the law governing road design/construction in San Juan County. The problem is that it is a worthless, flawed document stolen from the State of Vermont, where they actually have rural roads with the low traffic volume that would enable it to work! It definitely won’t work here, where we have quite high traffic volume. Also, the Scenic Roads Manual has ZERO provision for bicycle traffic!
Many of us disagree that the Scenic Roads Manual is either worthless or flawed. The fact is that Council adopted it in the first place. I don’t think our traffic volume is “high.” In fact, the Public Works staff has acknowledged that our roads are more than adequate for the projected traffic for the foreseeable future.
The Scenic Roads Manual has no mention of bicycle traffic or accommodating bikes. I think that’s a flaw! The roads on Orcas that are like the Vermont roads that this document was originally intended for are the Point Lawrence Road beyond Doe Bay, Obstruction Pass Road, Killabrew Lake Road, Deer Harbor Road, beyond Deer Harbor. The Council adopted (copied) it without doing their own homework; what a cop-out!
I meant the Deer Harbor Road beyond Deer Harbor. The Scenic Roads Manual does actually mention bicycles, but only that they should be accommodated by grass or gravel shoulders! What a laugh! The County Commissioners adopted it in 1995.