By MARGIE DOYLE

Editor

Tick tick tick….

March 31 looms as the deadline for the Eastsound Sewer and Water District (ESWD) to present its six-year capital improvement plan to the county.

At the March 13 ESWD meeting, commissioners confirmed that updating their 2003 capital facilities plan will be completed by that deadline.

Meeting this deadline will fulfill one of the requirements for Eastsound Urban Growth Area (UGA) compliance by the June 4, 2008 deadline set by the Growth Management Hearing Board.

The County is still under the gun to meet other elements of that deadline: updated sewer plans and studies regarding commercial and institutional lands and densities in the UGA; and adoption of a new funding mechanism for the Eastsound stormwater utility. A previous stormwater funding ordinance was repealed by a November 2007 county referendum.

Stormwater funding

A County Council subcommittee, headed by Council member Rich Peterson, has been tasked with proposing a new funding mechanism for the stormwater utility because of a November 2007 referendum

which repealed the County’s stormwater funding ordinance.

Peterson said that after the first draft was put out by the subcommittee over a month ago, “It became quickly apparent it wasn’t going to get past the Hearing Boards scrutiny, because it had a formula creating the process but didn’t produce [the funds].”

The subcommittee has been meeting every week trying to get a dependable funding source, said Peterson.

The first draft had relied on a citizens’ advisory committee to come back with a schedule, and we realized they couldn’t possibly come up with the numbers by the June deadline.

“We have to prove to the Hearing Board that we have a system for paying for the first six year’s of improvements in Eastsound.”

June 4 is the deadline for Eastsound UGA compliance. Aug. 6 is the deadline for the Lopez Village UGA compliance.