Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee

Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee

April 6, 2026

Meeting Called to Order: 6:36pm

Board Members Present:  Allen Bush, Gabe Murphy, Steve Orsini  Kathy Malley, Jep Burdock, Michael Brown

Members of the Public Present: Frea Gladish

April Meeting Agenda: Approved

March Meeting Minutes: Approved

Treasurer’s Report:

GIPAC Account Balance: $5101.96

Update on moving checking account: Waiting to move until next board term in 2027 when a new Treasurer is appointed/elected. Jep will pay the church our yearly dues for the use of the space for our meetings.

Public Comment: None

Updates/New Business:

• Anacortes Mayor Visit to Guemes: April 11th 9:30-11:00am at the General Store
  • Ryan Walters to come to Guemes to meet with islanders. Some GIPAC members will attend. Should mention ferry parking issues in downtown Anacortes and should highlight that Guemes is a key contributor to the economy of Anacortes.
• Parking Lot
  • Informing Islanders:
    • GIPAC article on parking lot no longer being published in AA. Will be posted on Guemes Views instead for now.
    • Gabe and Allen will give highlights on the parking lot topic at the GIFC annual meeting, and will use our article as the basis for our update to the public.
  • Next steps with County:
    • Kathy sent correspondence to SCPW and got a short reply with few details.
    • The board discussed different aspects of the parking lot design and permitting. GIPAC will continue correspondence with SCPW and we hope to continue to work with them on making the design the best it can be for Guemes.
• GIPAC Business:
  • Discuss Land Acknowledgment
    • The board had a quick conversation about this topic, but wanted to get Pat’s input before moving forward with a decision since she suggested the topic. Kathy brought in several examples of acknowledgements from other organizations to review. This added helpful context to the conversation.
  • Board recruitment
    • There was a quick discussion about who in the community might be interested in joining the board.
• Getting Started on 2026 Projects:
  • Wildfire Evacuation Routes – Kathy talked to Olivia, they plan to meet sometime in May to talk more about this.
  • Water Works – Kathy talked to Patty. Water Works will gather data as part of their effort and GIPAC can facilitate working with the county on getting them the data in a form useful for them.

Meeting adjourned: 8:40pm