Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee

GIPAC Minutes 2026-06-01

Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee

June 1, 2026

Meeting Called to Order: 6:35

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

Members of the Public Present: Frea Gladish, Bill Van Vlack, Stephanie Van Vlack, Jerry Ross

June Meeting Agenda: Approved

May Meeting Minutes: Approved

Treasurer’s Report: GIPAC Account Balance: $5095.96

Public Comment: None

Updates/New Business:

  • Parking Lot
    • There was a long discussion about having an island meeting regarding the parking lot. We discussed that the Skagit County newsletter acknowledged Island concerns and we felt that this was a good indication that we were heard.
    • Kathy followed up with Devin from Skagit County and reiterated that Islanders would like to give input to the consultant once they are chosen. Timing on that is uncertain but might be somewhere around January of 2027. We will need to monitor the situation.
    • We discussed that the Guemes side lot has been included in Transportation TIP for several years.
    • Ultimately the board decided not to have a full community meeting at this point. Gabe will let the GIFC know of this decision.
  • TAG update: 
    • Allen gave a quick update on progress in that forum. A design has been decided on and they are preparing their report to the county commissioners.

GIPAC Committee Business:

  • 2026 Projects:
  • USGS Study Update
    • Kathy gave a quick update on correspondence with the folks at USGS.
    • USGS articulated that the San Juan hydrogeological study should be published 3-5 months from now (possibly September) and that the Guemes study would follow shortly after.
    • Kathy invited the USGS team to our GIPAC annual meeting in November to present the results. We hope that they will make it with a completed study to present. We will talk about contingencies as we get closer to that date.
  • Wildfire Evacuation Routes
    • Kathy is still planning to meet with Olivia to discuss a plan of action; If details get sorted out, it could possibly be a presentation at our annual meeting.
  • Other Updates on Projects
    • Rainwater: Need to find out who is leading the Health department now to make contact and see where things are headed.
    • Water Data: Kathy will start outreach to the county regarding the water data they plan to collect for GI. This was called in the comp plan update.
    • Boundary review board: At this point it is gone and would need the state to bring it back. This project is tabled for now as there’s not much action we can take.
    • Young’s Park: Skagit County Parks and Recreation is looking at hiring a landscape architecture firm to work on the upper area of the park.
    • Transportation system advocacy: Kathy to follow up with SKAT about microtransit.
  • Land Acknowledgment: Discuss at next meeting
  • Board Recruitment: Still working

Meeting adjourned: 8:35

Gabriel Murphy