Island County Commissioners March 3 Meeting Includes Three-Minute Public Comments

Island County commissioners adopted the county’s six-year Capital Improvement Plan and the Clean Water Utility program and directed staff to continue pursuing pilot funding for Freeland wastewater solutions, Citizen Portal reported after the March 3 meeting. Commissioners approved the CIP following a public hearing and closing comments and noted parks and pilot wastewater projects in planning.

The regular Board of County Commissioners meeting convened at 10:00 a.m. in the Board of County Commissioners Hearing Room (Room 102B Basement) at the Island County Annex Building, 1 NE 6th Street, Coupeville. The agenda called for the Pledge of Allegiance and public input at 10:00 a.m.; agenda language states, "The Board values your ideas and allocates time for the public to speak about issues of concern, interests, or agenda items." The agenda makes clear public comments are limited to three minutes and that "Comments on topics scheduled for a Public Hearing will only be heard during that hearing."

Agenda item listings included a formal "Letter to Representatives Paul and Shavers Requesting Support for the Island County Rural Wastewater Innovation Pilot" (Commissioners item 5). Citizen Portal reported commissioners asked staff to continue pursuing pilot funding for Freeland wastewater solutions and to report back as proposals are developed, aligning with the agenda request for state-level support.

Facilities Management brought Contract Amendment No.1 (item 6), which adds Mark Sibon to the Enterprise Fleet Management Inc. contract with the Island County Sheriff’s Office for an amount of $292,065. Human Resources item 7 is listed as an "Interlocal Agreement between [...]" in the agenda excerpt; the partner agency language was truncated in the published packet and not provided in the excerpt.

The agenda included several resolutions and public works items by document identifier: C-07-26, "In the Matter of Revising the Island County Purchasing Policy and Authority"; Treasurer item C-05-26, "In the Matter of Cancellation of Non-collectible Personal Property Taxes as of February 2026"; and Public Health Administrative item C-08-26, "In the Matter of Convening the Water Utility Coordinating Committee (WUCC)." Public Works consent items include a B & O Tax Adjustment of 4.812% with term 10/1/25—12/31/30 and the option to extend two terms of three years each (references RM-PW-2026-37 and PW-2026-14). The Department of Emergency Management presented Supplemental Agreement No. 1 with Bridgeview Consulting, LLC for a Continuity of Operations Plan, Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, and annex updates; the agenda excerpt did not provide a contract dollar amount.

Citizen Portal detailed parks projects embedded in the CIP: funding for Camano pickleball courts noted as a public-private partnership with county site control and a preliminary design budgeted; Rhododendron Park campground host and playground funding, with the playground budget pushed back because of site constraints; and scheduling for Mutiny Bay planning in 2027. The board approved the CIP after the public hearing where residents and stakeholders spoke.

During public comment, Citizen Portal reports Dean Enel said the Freeland sewer study was professional but "lacked an action plan" and recommended the county "identify grant sources, contacts and pilot technologies (he mentioned membrane systems) and advise which county department should lead implementation." Assistant Director Sylvester and commissioners, Citizen Portal reported, said "the county is seeking state and federal funding for multiple pilot projects and would pursue options to address septage and innovative decentralized systems."

The agenda provided remote access details for the March 3 session: Webinar ID 919 6594 5479, passcode 913256, and phone 1-253-215-8782. A March 4, 2026 work session with individual departments and elected officials was listed as CANCELLED on the agenda. Commissioners instructed staff to pursue the identified pilot funding and return with proposals and updates as work on the CIP and Clean Water Utility program proceeds.