This was originally posted to: Guemes Island Ferry Committee

GIFC Minutes 2020-01-20

A meeting of Guemes Island Ferry Committee (GIFC) was held at Guemes Library on January 20, 2020 starting at 7:03 pm. Attendees included: Allen Bush, John Hopkins, Sandy McKean, David Prewitt, Bud Ullman. No guests were in attendance. (Note our monthly meeting was scheduled for January 21, 2020, but the meeting was held a day earlier to accommodate Allen’s schedule.)

Approval of minutes
Minutes of the December 17, 2020 meeting were read and approved with minor corrections.

Announcements
No notices or postings were made to inform islanders of the date change for this January monthly meeting. Allen had planned to do so, but it did not get done. John will be out of the country from 2/5/20 to 2/29/20. Bud will be off island for 2 weeks starting on 1/23/20.

Unfinished business
Meeting with Skagit Public Works to review the capital vs maintenance decision process Dave will contact PW via email to schedule a meeting in Mt Vernon. He will also mention that the GIFC would like the county to update islanders on the following subjects at the county’s next on island forum session:

• Causes of the all morning outage on 12/12/19 (ramp was under water) including any procedural or other changes to ferry operations to prevent future occurrences.

• An update on the replacement ferry project; in particular, Glosten progress on design, and status of grant or other funding sources.

Charter Amendments
Version 7 of the proposed amendments was thoroughly discussed. Everyone was satisfied with the wording of this version, and almost no edits were suggested. Much of the discussion continued to be about the expansion of the GIFC member electorate to include not only islanders who are registered to vote in the Guemes precinct, but also other property owners. Most GIFC members believe that all property owners should be eligible to vote; however, Allen continues to feel that the electorate should be limited to Guemes precinct registered voters since they have demonstrated a higher level of commitment to the island by registering to vote here. This issue could not be resolved, so a vote was taken. The motion passed with a 4/5ths majority. A 4/5ths majority of the GIFC is required by our  current Charter to present proposed amendments to the electorate; so these amendments will now be presented to the electorate at our March 22 annual meeting for final approval.

New Business

Election procedures
If the Charter amendments are not approved on March 22, 2020, nominations for the 2 expiring GIFC member terms (Dave and Bud) will be accepted at that meeting, and the election will then be held within 45 days (according to the existing Charter).

If the Charter amendments are approved on March 22, 2020, nominations for the 2 expiring GIFC member terms (Dave and Bud) will be accepted at the GIFC monthly meeting that precedes, by at least four weeks, the additional annual meeting that will be held in the second quarter (according to the revised Charter).For any GIFC election in the future for which voting by ballot occurs, the voting procedures should include:

• Use of a sealed ballot box

• Signing in of eligible voters at the door where such voters will declare their eligibility by confirming their voting registration in the Guemes Island precinct, property ownership, or other qualifications.

• Printed ballots will be handed out at the door to each eligible voter after they sign in. These ballots will be filled in and deposited in the ballot box when the GIFC Chair declares that the election will commence. Voters will be given approximately15 minutes to vote before the ballot box is closed and the ballots are counted.

2020 Annual Meeting
The 2020 Annual Meeting will occur on March 22, 2020 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the Hall.

Motions

Charter Amendments
A motion was made by Sandy and seconded by John to accept version 7 of the proposed amendments to the GIFC’s Charter. The motion passed 4 votes to 1.

Action Items
Email PW to schedule a meeting to review the county’s capital vs maintenance decision process among other items. (Dave)
Contact GICCA to secure the Hall for the March 22 annual meeting. (Sandy)

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 pm
[Notes taken by Sandy McKean]

 

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