San Juan County’s year in review

Submitted by San Juan County.

San Juan County released a recap of 2022, highlighting accomplishments, favorite projects, and notable statistics. The public is encouraged to access the document on the County website by scrolling the PDF below, clicking visiting the San Juan County Newsroom at: sanjuanco.com/1930/San-Juan-County-Newsroom.

The 2022 year in review highlights accomplishments across County departments including the Prune Alley re-design, the first in-person fair since 2019, the adoption of the 2036 Comprehensive Plan Update, vaccination clinics, and more.

“In 2022, approximately 41% of the county’s population received one or more vaccinations through San Juan County’s Department of Health and Community Services,” states the report.

County Manager Mike Thomas’ message in the report reads:

It’s my pleasure to provide a 2022 Year-in-Review where you’ll discover the County has much to be proud of across all departments.

Responding to COVID-19 – San Juan County received state and nationwide recognition for its remarkable COVID-19 response. With the lowest hospitalization and death rate in the state, San Juan County continued its strong COVID response by providing booster vaccination clinics and spending nearly $500,000 of its federal Coronavirus State & Local Recovery funds in the local economy to support childcare providers, and rental assistance and workforce training programs. The County will continue a dedicated COVID response into 2023.

Improving infrastructure – The County’s focus on roads, culverts, docks, and trails brought exciting upgrades to the Islands in 2022 and will extend into 2023. Eastsound’s Prune Alley re-design was successfully completed, as well as several repairs to washed-out culverts and island roads. Increased rainfall and flooding put pressure on our aging infrastructure and the County continues to seek outside funding for design and repairs. In response to the growing chorus of voices advocating for walking and bike trails, the County sought and was recently awarded $5.28 million in federal funds to create a trail between the Town of Friday Harbor and Zylstra Lake Preserve.

Planning for the future – A successful organization must foresee and prepare for change. To that end, the County passed the long-anticipated 2036 Comprehensive Plan Update and continued work on a Climate Action Plan and a Sea Level Rise Risk Assessment. When completed, these documents will provide the basis for important policy decisions regarding how we will adapt to future life in the Islands.

Adapting to a post-COVID economy – The County benefited from increased revenue in 2022, driven in large part by construction and tourism. Simultaneously, the County experienced dramatic price increases for everything from chip-rock, to paint, to labor. In 2023, as it did in 2022, the County will continue to pursue state and federal dollars to enhance local efforts and maintain fiscal responsibility to local taxpayers.

I believe the County is well-positioned to take on any challenges or opportunities that arise in 2023.

I hope 2023 is a great year for all of you!

To read the full recap, visit sanjuanco.com/1930/San-Juan-County-Newsroom.