Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee
January 2, 2024
Meeting Called to Order 6:30pm
Board Members Present: Michael Brown, Allen Bush, Steve Orsini, Kathy Malley, Jep Burdock, Gabe Murphy (over Zoom)
Members of the Public Present: None
January Meeting Agenda: Approved
December Meeting Minutes: Approved
Treasurer’s Report:
GIPAC Account Balance: $6216.16
No outstanding bills
Church was paid $100 for use of space
Public Comment: none
Updates/New Business:
Well Drilling Code Amendment Action:
There was a discussion about the BoCC decision. Unfortunately this has been a discussion since the early 90’s. Most recently it was on the 2016 agenda, then the 2018 on docket, and was killed by the planning commission. It was discussed and agreed that we should encourage Commissioners to take this back up soon. GIPAC could send the commissioners a letter. The GIPAC board thinks commissioners want to do the right thing, but not sure what needs to be done differently. It is clear that Ecology issues drilling permits, but not much more.
It was proposed and agreed that GIPAC would send a letter to the commissioners and that we would ask for a meeting with Jack Moore to discuss next steps. There was brief discussion about tying water availability to the USGS groundwater model to help the county and the community understand impacts.
SKAT Transit Study:
There was a discussion about if SKAT could include us in their county wide study for expanding transit service in the county. Michael would contact GICCA about hosting SKAT Probably on a Saturday maybe 2:00-4:00pm? Steve would contact SKAT. There was a brief discussion about how a bus in Anacortes would pick up/drop off at the Guemes ferry dock and still be ADA accessible if turnaround was removed.
Guemes Parking Lot Paving:
In 2026 there is $776K allotted to the project according to the county. Allen inquired about the survey stakes seen in the Guemes parking lot and was told nothing was happening.
Meeting Adjourned 8:31pm
Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee 