Approved Minutes
Island County Marine Resources Committee
August 14, 2002, 4:00 - 6:40 pm
Trinity Lutheran Church, Freeland
Audio Recorded

Present: Chair Tom Campbell, Mike Gallion, Phyllis Kind, Don Meehan, Tom Roehl, Sayed El-Sayed, Roger Sherman, Dick Toft, Benye Weber; Exec. Director Gary Wood; Admin. Ass't. Dan Pedersen. Absent: Martin Behr, Hi Bronson, Jeff Tate.

Visitors: Linda Moore, Integrated Solutions, Langley; Amy Leitman, Marine Surveys & Assessments, Port Townsend; David Price and Eric Richmond, Flat Rock Productions, Langley; Tony Frantz, Puget Sound Creosote Awareness; Sharon Hart, Island County Economic Development Council; Gwen Maxfield, Island County Public Works; Linda Richmond, South Whidbey Record; Jim Hawley, Port of South Whidbey; Bev and Larry Durocher, Steve O'Sullivan, Alice Urbano, Christina Drake, Stephanie Drake, David Gore, Frank Roberts.

Call to order 4:05 pm. Chair Campbell called the meeting to order, declared a quorum, and invited Linda Moore to speak for the first hour on revitalization of the commercial center for marine activity in Langley. Synopsis follows minutes.

Announcements/Public Input

> Roehl alternate. MRC member Tom Roehl, consultant to the Port of South Whidbey, introduced port commissioner Jim Hawley, who will attend MRC meetings for the indefinite future as his alternate. Roehl will remain otherwise active.

> Creosote. Tony Frantz, Puget Sound Creosote Awareness, invited the public to Double Bluff Beach Aug. 22-24. He plans to put balloons on about 300 creosoted objects to call attention to the creosote problem.

> Response request. Frank Roberts asked the MRC to respond to a letter he had sent Tom Cowan of Northwest Straits Commission (NWSC), which he understood had been forwarded to Gary Wood for response. Wood said he felt Cowan already had responded and had forwarded the letter to us as a formality. Roberts said he would reread Cowan's letter and consider whether he still wants a separate response. Weber and Gallion asked for the correspondence to be shared with the committee. Campbell assured Roberts the MRC will respond if Roberts still wants a letter.

Agenda. Approved with the addition of a request from Don Meehan to revisit and correct the approved minutes of June 5 and 19.

Minutes

> July 10, 2002. Action: Don Meehan moved, Phyllis Kind seconded, approval with one correction by Benye Weber. Motion carried.
Coupeville wharf repairs should be completed in January 2003.

> June 5, 2002. Action: Corrections approved, no objections. Several errors corrected, not affecting any decisions, at Don Meehan's request.

> June 19, 2002. Several errors noted by Meehan, but corrections had already been made. No action necessary.

Executive Director's Report.

> SRFB Round Four Project Proposal. Gary Wood explained that the draft proposal for Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) round four must be reviewed at tonight's meeting and submitted tomorrow noon. Our proposal complements an ambitious, land-based Oak Harbor Pride project, www.harborpride.org. Our part is a group of nearshore restoration projects on public lands, partnering with the city of Oak Harbor, the local marina and Navy. These Nearshore Marine Habitat Restoration undertakings include feasibility studies and, if appropriate, completion of:

o Beach replenishment to restore forage fish spawning habitats
o Eelgrass transplantation to restore herring spawning sites and salmon refuge
o Removal of failed bulkhead (Maylor's Marsh)
o Shade tree plantings to restore forage fish habitat
o Restoration of saltwater tidal access (Freund's Marsh) if shown feasible. (Note: Freund's Marsh item subsequently withdrawn from the proposal on 8-16-02.)
o 'Restoring Oak Harbor' school program and public outreach

> WDFW north Camano acquisition project. Don Meehan pointed out that the WDFW is submitting a proposal to the SRFB to acquire some property on north Camano. The SRFB likes acquisition projects, so Don and Gary explored the idea of including the WDFW project as part of our package. The proponent of the north Camano project is Steve Seymour of the WDFW, who is our MRC's mentor as a project proponent for the Water Resources Advisory Committee (WRAC). Meehan and Wood talked with Seymour about including the north Camano project in our proposal. Wood said he understood Seymour wanted the Camano project as a stand-alone, and would like our MRC to partner with WDFW in sponsoring it. Meehan feels that down the line, it may be possible to fold the two projects into one package.

Action: Don Meehan moved, Roger Sherman seconded, a motion to sponsor, with the WDFW, the north Camano project. Motion carried. No objections.

Action: Roger Sherman moved, Phyllis Kind seconded, a motion to authorize Gary Wood to submit our Oak Harbor nearshore proposal to SRFB. Motion carried. No objections.

New/unfinished business.

> Keystone, Admiralty Head MPAs. Roger Sherman announced that the Marine Protected Areas at Keystone and Admiralty Head have been adopted by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, with some changes in boundaries and wording in response to our earlier objections, and these are now cast in stone.

> Keystone Ferry relocation. Don Meehan noted that this is an interesting subject we should get onto our agenda. A public meeting on this is scheduled Aug. 15. Phyllis Kind said she will attend. Roger Sherman indicated he might also.

Adjournment 6:40 pm. There being no further announcements or business, Tom Campbell declared the meeting adjourned.

NEXT MEETING: WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 4, FROM 4-6 PM, TAYLOR ROAD FIREHALL, OAK HARBOR.

Synopsis of Guest Speaker Presentation
Linda Moore

Linda Moore grew up in Eastern Washington, practiced law for 20 years in New York and Washington, D.C., and has lived on Whidbey for 10 years, having served on the planning commission. She became interested in the Langley marina after realizing it had been on the market for some time, the price was dropping, and that if it weren't acquired by someone who intended to preserve public access, it might instead fall into private use or be developed in a manner out of scale with the community's interests. So she and Ginger Miller purchased it as a joint venture.

Moore said her vision is phased development, of which "moorage, if any" is the third phase. Significant addition to the moorage in Langley harbor is not a near-term objective-and in fact, Moore says she does not envision large scale moorage. Her immediate objective is to restore the marina building to public use and access. Because of its disrepair and for environmental reasons, the existing building must be removed and replaced, and creosoted timbers removed. She intends to replace it with a building of identical footprint consistent with the community esthetic and feel. She'd like to continue to have a dock running through the building as a public access and boat launch-using a rail or sling system. The existing back-down boat ramp is usable only at low tide and is compromised by a losing battle with drifting sand.

Before purchasing the property, Moore tested soil samples to determine whether the oil facility formerly located on the site had caused environmental contamination, and found none. She hired Marine Surveys & Assessments of Port Townsend to survey the plant and animal biology of the waters around the marina to establish the biological constraints affecting the project. Moore said she told the firm's Amy Leitman she wanted to build this project, but "to do right by the earth and by the biology, and by the public, which has limited access to the shoreline." She emphasized that Leitman's findings would drive what can be built and how.

The surrounding area presently suffers from a variety of environmental problems, including storm water that drains down the street from the town, underneath the marina and into the saltwater. This needs correction as part of the overall wharf district improvement, and the parking needs to be moved inland from the shoreline.

Moore introduced architects David Price and Eric Richmond of Flat Rock Productions, who described the concept Moore had requested - something that would retain the existing building's quirky spirit and feel like a real working waterfront building, while staying within the old marina's footprint and within the city's height restrictions.

Moore said the first step will be to obtain the permit for a new bulkhead, to be situated above the high-tide line. Once that is in hand, the project can proceed to demolition of the old building, possibly barging it away for dismantling elsewhere.
Long term, she said it might be the possible to install a hill-climb for easier movement between the waterfront and the business district of Langley. Ultimately, some of the wharf district improvements will require public financing.