Due to a technical error, the following questions and responses were not added to the Islands Sounder website as announced in last week’s paper.

At the Candidates’ Forum on Orcas Island July 30, the public asked the Orcas West Candidates – Richard Fralick, Mindy Kayl, Alan Lichter and Bruce Orchid – questions on a range of subjects.

Eastsound Capital Facilities

Gulliver Rankin asked how the candidates plan to address the Eastsound Plan and the need for capital facilities which are currently unfunded.

Lichter replied that he would support majority findings of the Critical Areas Ordinance review committee, whose work will be presented to the Planning Commission in a public hearing on Aug. 12.

He also noted the “creative” solution to incorporate Eastsound in a similar fashion to the incorporation of Friday Harbor, noting that while the county has only a one million dollar cash reserve, the town of Friday Harbor has six or seven million dollars in cash reserve.

“It’s worth considering,” Lichter said.

Kayl recommended empowering the advisory groups, saying, “The best solutions come from the community, not imposed from the top.

“There’s some tough decisions to be made on the budget, but Eastsound is a priority for county attention,” Kayl said.

Fralick said the funding for Eastsound to implement the Urban Growth Act is “not there.” He advised taking the recommendations from the Eastsound Plan Review Committee (EPRC) in making decisions, and added, “It’s vital to look at how to fund decisions.”

Orchid referred to his previous experience as a County Commissioner in the 90s, and said decisions made then on matters such as Eastsound parking and stormwater were “not funded or implemented.”

He noted that the EPRC is “not even privy to some county development plans,” and said, “Things have to change.”

Critical issues

Pierrette Guimond asked the candidates what they consider to be the most critical issues facing the county.

Kayl replied that trimming the County budget, promoting local food production, and addressing stormwater and ferry issues were all important. She also said that the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) was also a high priority. “The state mandates a lot of restrictions, and we need to educate the public.”

Fralick cited monitoring the budget so that a deficit next year can be avoided. He said that cutting back on the county’s employment growth from its current 10 percent to 4.8 percent would keep the county out of the red ink next year.

Fralick also said, “Compliance with GMA will consume whoever takes this office. The GMA battle has been fought. We can’t opt out, but we can comply with a set of regulations appropriate for our county.”

Orchid said the county “needs to pay attention to affordable housing, the ferries, smart growth and long-range planning, our kids and youth health issues.”

He noted that restrictions on Seattle’s CAO had been made by an appellate court judge, and said, “Budgets don’t scare me; it’s easy to balance a budget, even if some tough decisions have to be made.”

Lichter said that the budget was going to be tight, but with “smart, creative and preventive measures, it will be okay.”

Mental health tax

The candidates were asked their opinion of the county’s proposed one-tenth of one percent sales tax to provide for mental health funding.

Fralick said, “It makes sense in principle, but I’d want to be sure it’s fully fleshed out with the right mix before I approve.”

Orchid said the measure was “deserving of county tax dollars.”

Lichter said that the funding for mental health program for young people in the county is only $30,000 annually, and added, “I’d vote for it in a San Juan heartbeat.”

Kayl said the measure of a society is how it treats its most needy, and cautioned that a sales tax could hurt the people it’s trying to help. “I’d want to investigate it, but I most likely would approve.”

Plans and permits

Jay Kimball asked the candidates’ analyses of permitting and drainage plans and asked for their short-term and long-term solutions.

Orchid said that the County Development and Planning Department (CDPD) has had trouble attracting enough county employees, and that he felt enforcement was lacking. “Too many permits exceed standards.”

Lichter replied that CD&P is “fully staffed for the first time in 20 years, and they’re playing organizational catch-up.” He said that permit wait time had been reduced since last December from 16 weeks to seven weeks. “They’re making progress.”

Kayl stressed the need for a clear set of developmental regulations and said that drainage plan reviews were often arbitrary. She said efficient permitting would generate revenue and add to employment in the building trades, and advised one person in the county to handle only drainage issues.

Fralick agreed that CD&P staffing had improved, and said that the problems in permitting and drainage was “really and administrative task to handle effectively.” He advised that stormwater permitting should go through one desk, and added that similar administrative problems exist in other county services.

He went on to suggest that the county appoint an ombudsman that people could go to in order to find which county department should be contacted.

Ferries

Lance Evans asked the candidates how they would protect the local economy’s reliance on a strong ferry system and make sure that the county’s interest were heard in Olympia on the issue.

Lichter said that the county should “push hard” to form partnerships with other ferry-served communities. He commended the county’s Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC), describing it as “the most knowledgeable in the FAC system.” He advised a half-time staff member to provide more back-up to the FAC, particularly in legislative connections.

Kayl also said the county should have a “strong lobby in Olympia.” She further advised more and cheaper parking in Anacortes along with the development of public transportation on Orcas, and implementing a reservation system.

Fralick said, that although the Council has no direct say in the operations of the ferry system, “we should make sure the avenues we have are clear.” He advised that the FAC should represent the viewpoints of the County, and that they should be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses in traveling to Olympia.

Orchid said that priority loading for local traffic should be revisited, as should ferry routes. He also advised monitoring the unions’ ferry-loading and unloading procedures.

Emergency preparations

Christopher Evans asked about emergency preparedness and food security on the islands in the event of a disaster.

Kayl responded that such preparations need to happen on the local level, and that they need not be expensive.

Fralick stressed the importance of education, and said that the County has an Emergency Management Plan in place, “but we need to look at ferry service interruption and a lack of power.”

Lichter referred to the County Disaster Emergency Management (DEM) agency, and said, “Food is more complex. We need food sustainability here. He noted that the islands have 250 farming “units” or families, and that young farmers should be encouraged to start businesses on the islands.

Senior Citizens

Mary Lou Padbury asked what the candidates intended to do to repair the roads to the Senior Center and county offices, and to the public school.

Lichter said that those improvements were on the county’s six-year transportation plan.

Fralick said that the issue was not really a County Council question, but under the Charter form of government, should be taken up with the appropriate administrative department.

Kayl said that the island’s aging population and Senior Citizens “need help getting by, which leads to affordable housing for the people who serve the aging population.” She brought up the new Farm-to-Table dinner program that she started at the Senior Center.

Orchid said that people often call him with personal problems and he “respectfully disagreed” with Fralick’s proposal for a county ombudsman. “When I was a commissioner, I thought I was the ombudsman to help people with their problems.”

John Evans closed the forum with a last question about “bringing logic and common sense to the county stormwater plan.”

Fralick agreed with Evans that the 1,000 page manual implementing stormwater in urban areas “makes no sense for this community.” He advised using the Eastsound swale as the primary tool for managing Eastsound stormwater runoff, and in the long run, “revisiting the manual and research if other counties have more realistic plans.”

Orchid agreed with many of Fralick’s comments and stressed education and “devising systems that work.”

Lichter discussed elements of the stormwater problem such as construction, erosion, runoff, flooding, marine impacts and replenishment of drinking water, and also agreed with Evans that the urban plan doesn’t make sense for San Juan County.

“But we can’t balkanize the issue,” Lichter said.

San Juan County sent out mail-in ballots on Aug. 1. The final date for mailing or returning the ballots is Aug. 19.