 This is the ballot drop box at the Ken’s Corner parking lot in Clinton. Ballots will be mailed out at the end of next week. Everyone is encouraged to vote early—and to use official ballot drop boxes instead of mailing your ballots back. If you do decide to use the USPS to return your ballot, PLEASE mail early; every year there are ballots mailed on Whidbey and Camano on voting day or even a couple of days before voting day that are rejected because they don’t get postmarked until they reach the Seattle post office, after which they are forwarded on to the Island County Elections Office. But election workers in Island County will pick up your ballots dropped in official County ballot drop boxes until 8 pm on Tuesday, November 3rd.
Thank you for reading my newsletter for the 41st week of 2026.
- The Regular Session of the Board of Island County Commissioners was held on Tuesday, October 6; video recording here: https://media.avcaptureall.cloud/meeting/e57d9e3d-32fe-4920-9572-9f9591413b55
- We received two public comments: one person angry about the proposed cuts to 4H in the 2027 Budget; and one person who felt disrespected by their treatment from a different organization in Island County.
- We pulled an item from the Consent Agenda to move to the Regular Agenda: an interlocal agreement between Island County, Skagit County, Snohomish County, Whatcom County, and the City of Marysville to provide mutual aid to one another during a disaster or emergency event. This item passed. Mark 00:14:27 in the agenda.
- The agenda for the Tuesday, October 13: https://media.avcaptureall.cloud/meeting/5182b5b1-fa90-40ca-a4c2-cf8673bff0b4. On that agenda: the two franchise public hearings shown below.
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Business Meeting, Tuesday October 6. Audio recording: https://www.islandcountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16139/10062026-Business-Meeting-Audio.
- We hold these meetings as needed with departments heads and elected officials to address mutual issues. This meeting included departments heads from Public Health, Public Works, Planning, and the Prosecuting Attorney’s office; a representative from the Sheriff’s office was also available.
- These individuals have drafted a new proposed code on a Unified Approach to Code Enforcement. The final draft of the code will be made available to the public when we post the notice for the public hearing, tentatively scheduled for our December 8th Board Meeting.
- People who have been urging the Board to put some teeth into our code enforcement might be interested in this conversation, because we discuss enforcing fines for code violations.
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Tentative Upcoming Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Public Hearings (held during board meetings, beginning at 10 am, unless otherwise noted):
- Tuesday, Oct 13: Padilla Estates (franchise)
- Tuesday, Oct 13: Honeymoon Bay Vista (franchise)
- Tuesday, Oct 27: Clinton Water (franchise)
- Tuesday, Oct 27: Hope View (franchise)
- Tuesday, Oct 27: Unit. Owners Assoc. of Utsalady (franchise)
- Tuesday, Nov 3: PBRS
- Tuesday, Nov 3: 2027 Work Plan and Planning Docket
- Monday, Dec 7: 2027 Budget & Levies
- Tuesday, Dec 8: New Code: Unified Approach to Code Enforcement
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Work Session, Wednesday October 7. Agenda: https://www.islandcountywa.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10072026-1262; audio recording: https://www.islandcountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16145/10072026-WS-Audio.
- Looking at the work session agenda items, I see only four we discussed that I think citizens would be interested in (ex: you don’t really care about the County’s 2027 Holiday Calendar, right?)
- We started by discussing our 2027 legislative priorities with our lobbyist to the State legislature. Between this meeting and later discussions during our work session we arrived at three County priorities: our jail initiative, improvements to the Cornet Bay dock, and a request that the legislature fund the State DNR’s leased trust land transfer program in 2027 to help us fund the Elger Bay land transfer (discussion on that below). We will discuss this again next week, because the Governor wants jurisdictions to send him our capital budget requests by the end of this month, and two of our three priorities are those types of requests. The documents and power point presentation from Columbia Policy Advisors begin on page 5 of the agenda.
- There was $87,000 in Capital funds not allocated by the Lodging and Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) because they didn’t receive sufficient capital requests for 2027. The Board will release that $87,000 to be used on unfunded operational requests instead. We are asking the LTAC to meet again to discuss this and the new parameters for those funds proposed by the Board. Documents begin on page 22 of the agenda; recording at mark 0:58:52.
- The discussion that was scheduled on an application for housing funds from the Whidbey Island Living Legacy and Habitat for Humanity was tabled to a future meeting.
- Public Works brought us an amendment to the contract we have with the Navy regarding ongoing well monitoring at the Patmore Dog Park. The Navy wants to add two more monitoring wells to monitor PFAS and any possible movement through the groundwater. A short discussion on this begins at mark 1:52:14; the document begins on page 84 of the agenda.
- Public Works also brought us a request we made in partnership with the Whidbey Camano Land Trust to the Washington Department of Natural Resources regarding the State’s Leased Trust Land Transfer Project. Our requests were for funds to acquire these three leased lands: Elger Bay, Smugglers Cove and Strawberry Point, for continued protection and public use. DNR evaluated and ranked the projects from 1 to 30 with the top 5 being presented to the legislature. Elger Bay TLT ranked #1 and is first in line for any appropriated funds. Island County wants to ensure that the Legislature funds the Elger Bay Trust Land Transfer project in 2027. Discussion begins at mark 1:53:33; the documents on page 90 of the agenda.
- The agenda for the Work Session for next Wednesday, October 14, is here: https://www.islandcountywa.gov/AgendaCenter - docaccess-2016937289e0f69d6aff27435f0fae99. On that agenda: finalize the 2027 Island County Budget; Critical Areas Ordinance update; and AI Policy.
- The Board of Island Transit held our regular monthly meeting today. Agenda: https://irp.cdn-website.com/ac3d33af/files/uploaded/10.9.26+Board+Agenda.pdf. We discussed the 2027 Capital Expense Supplemental Addendum and 2027 staffing needs and approved a resolution adopting the Procurement and Contracting Policy.
- Island Transit wants you to tell us whether the priorities we’ve established for our Long Range plan reflect what matters most to you--and what may be missing. Review the priorities. Share your feedback. Help guide the plan. Please visit the website https://www.islandtransit.org/roadmap-to-2047 for more details. Take the survey, email, or attend a public meeting to leave your feedback.
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Island Transit Public Meeting Schedule
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Saturday, October 17, Oak Harbor Library Meeting Room, 1000 SE Regatta Dr., Oak Harbor, 2:30 pm-4:30 pm
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Tuesday, October 20, Langley Library Meeting Room, 104 Second Street, 2-4 pm
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Wednesday, October 21, Camano Center, 606 Arrowhead Rd, Camano, 11 am-1 pm
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Wednesday, October 21, Island County Multi-Purpose Center, 141 N E Camano Dr., Camano 2-5 pm
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Friday, October 23, Coupeville Library Meeting Room, 788 NW Alexander St., Coupeville 2-4:30 pm
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Island Senior Resources, https://senior-resources.org/.
- I was criticized by a member of the public for not seeming to care about our ferry issues when I was quoted in this article in the newspaper, https://www.southwhidbeyrecord.com/2026/10/06/engine-crew-shortage-snarls-ferry-service-on-whidbey-island/. I assure you—I do care; I complain a LOT to the State about our ferry issues; I’ve testified twice to the legislature; I serve on our local Ferry Advisory Committees and on the recently-formed Washington County Ferry Caucus. Truly, I do what I can. As I said in the paper, there are two ways you can share your thoughts about the ferry system: by joining the Ferry Riders’ Opinion Group, or FROG, and by serving on one of the county’s two ferry advisory groups.
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Public Health Update: This is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This National Domestic Violence Awareness Month we recognize that relationships should be healthy, safe, and supportive. Intimate partner violence affects people across every community, and support is available close to home. If you or someone you care about needs help, Citizens Against Domestic & Abuse (CADA) provides support in Island County. You can also explore local support groups and connection programs through the Thrive Island County directory.
Connect with CADA services: https://www.cadacanhelp.org/
Browse relationship and social support programs: https://thrive.islandcountywa.gov/resources/social-connection/explore-resources
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WhidbeyHealth Community Pharmacy is hosting a Flu & COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic, at South Whidbey High School (5676 Maxwelton Rd, Langley). Protect yourself and your community this respiratory virus season.
- Tuesday, October 20
- 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
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Available Vaccines:
- Flu shots (Ages 3+)
- High-dose Flu shots (Ages 65+)
- COVID-19 vaccines (Ages 5+)
- Most insurance plans are accepted. AppleHealth is accepted for adults ages 19 and older.
- The power went out at my house today so I’m writing this newsletter from the WiFire Community Space in Freeland, leg propped up on the scooter I borrowed from Commissioner Johnson. There are a lot of people taking advantage of this free space to work today, and I want to thank WhidbeyTel for their terrific community service in making this available to us.
- Speaking of the WiFire Community Space, my foot continues to heal and I will return to my normal meetings with citizens schedule on Monday, December 7 at 3 pm. Hope you can join us.
Melanie
I am a survivor of domestic violence.
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
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