Roz Glasser

Dear County Commissioners,

I am writing to respond to the Commissioner's proposal to extend the Guemes Island ferry hours and your recent statements to justifying the need to consider this proposal.

Contrary to claims by the Commissioners, extending operation hours of the Guemes ferry would encourage unplanned growth on Guemes Island and undermine efforts to develop a sub-area plan. Further, approval of this proposal would raise serious conflicts with the Growth Management Act (GMA) and directly contradict adopted County code.

Two primary objectives of the GMA are to protect rural character and critical areas (in this case one of the most critical is the island's sole source aquifer) by ensuring that premature expansion of public services do not encourage growth there. These goals reflect the primary basis of the GMA that there is a direct connection between extending public services and growth. Extending ferry service hours is no exception.

The Commission has officially affirmed the connection between ferry service and land use by adopting the County Comprehensive Plan in Section 4A-7.15(e). This provision specifies the need for a sub-area plan on Guemes Island, which among other things, requires policy direction on “sole source aquifer issues, ferry service, and maintaining rural character”. In adopting this plan, the County established a direct connection between growth management planning and these issues, as GMA intended. Having validated these relationships, it is unclear why the Commissioners now insist there is no connection between them.

Further, when you approved Resolution No 20030037, authorizing GIPAC to prepare a sub-area plan to implement Section 4A-7.15(e) of the Comprehensive Plan, you reinforced the importance of Guemes Island developing policy direction on these issues now. To now consider expanding ferry service before this plan is in place, would make a mockery of the GMA and your own policy.

In addition to the Commissioners stating that there is a lack of a linkage between ferry service and land use, the Guemes Island ferry has been singled out for the subsidy it receives. Having approved numerous budgets, the Commission is surely aware that government services are provided based on need and not whether the tax income from a particular geographic area matches the expenditures there.

After decades of experience with county budgets, it is clear to me that, indeed, most county services are subsidized. This is especially true for road and transportation facilities which are subsidized at every government level throughout the country. In fact, it can be said that the very purpose of government budgeting is to fairly distribute subsidies within its jurisdiction.
I am not saying here that islanders should not pay their fair share of ferry costs. We should. But isn't is possible that the ferry is being used as a poster child for poor fiscal policy that could occur in any program anywhere else in the county?

In closing, I would ask that you review the GMA and your past land use decisions that are now part of the County code. They clearly establish a relationship between ferry hours and land use and require a sub-area plan for the island. To make unfounded public statements to justify contrary action is not helpful in addressing the problem or in supporting the communications needed to resolve it. It only serves to alienate our community who is trying mightily to maintain civil discourse on this matter. I ask further that you honor your decisions by encouraging the sub-area plan to be completed and adopted before considering extending ferry hours.

Thank you for your consideration of these comments.

[6.4.05]

J. Robert Henderson

Skagit County Board of Commissioners

Re: Ferry Hours Extension

Dear Commissioners:

As a member of the Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee, I am writing to urge that you postpone or cancel consideration of the above matter, until the subarea plan for Guemes Island has been completed. More adequate information would then be available to the public, on both sides of this issue, about potential adverse impacts of growth that may be induced by expanding ferry hours. In addition, please consider the following:

This action would encourage growth on Guemes Island, a rural area under the Growth Management Act (GMA), and therefore would be in contradiction to the GMA.

Expanding the hours of ferry service would be covered by the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and may well require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). As a minimum, the County is required to conduct a Threshold Determination (i. e., checklist), including public notification as required by law. If it did not do so, the County would clearly be in violation of SEPA.

Instead of preparing an EIS or a Threshold Determinination at this time, it would be much more practical to await completion of the subarea plan, in which various growth scenarios will be evaluated. Even a Threshold Determination will require assumptions about growth in order to evaluate potential impacts. The potential impacts of more households on the aquifer must be evaluated (saltwater intrusion, wastewater), along with added traffic on narrow, thinly paved county roads, and many other problematic issues. Before this matter is allowed to proceed, the public on both sides of this issue should have that information.

The will of the island residents should prevail, and their opinions have certainly been made known by recent elections to the ferry committee of candidates who do not favor extending service. Because of the intense public interest, a public hearing should be held on Guemes Island with adequate public notice, instead of the minimal notice experienced recently. The roundtable process previously found acceptable should be used, not bypassed. To our knowledge, the financial impacts of expanded ferry service have not been analyzed. Expanding service seems questionable for a ferry that is unable to fulfill current obligations due to frequent breakdowns. It would be appropriate to follow the recommendations of the Fares and Scheduling Task Force.

[5.24.05]