Minutes of the November 16, 1998 General Meeting of the Vashon-Maury Island Community Council 1. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM, Craig Beles presiding. 2. The Treasurer reported balances of $44.27 checking, $1,624.17 savings. 3. The President introduced the new and re-elected members of the Board. 4. The President presented a certificate of appreciation from the Community Council to Prle Mack for his many years of service to the community, including a decade of leadership on the Safety Committee. 5. The Public Safety Committee reported that it had heard presentations from the Church of Latter-Day Saints and from Puget Sound Energy on their emergency preparedness plans. a) Puget Sound Energy reported that it no longer has a full crew on the island outside normal business hours, but would be able to send a crew over in case of emergency. b) The Committee next meets Dec. 9 at the old fire station. 6. The Transportation Committee reported that: a) Traffic counts are in place by the Vashon Post Office and the Senior Center, and speed checks are in place at the North End and south of Burton, all to evaluate reported safety problems in these areas. b) Dow Constantine has urged the Ferry System to provide better communications with its customers before and after service changes, and has specifically called for restoration of the passenger ferry capacity to 250, and a retrofit to increase seating on passenger boats. 7. The Land Use Committee is working on its plan for 1999, and reports that the Park District is still seeking input on its five year plan. 8. The Forest Practices Committee reported that it is moving to Wednesday meeting dates. Island-specific logging regulations are still being worked on at the state. a) Next meeting is Dec. 9 at the Land Trust, 7:30 PM. 9. The Social Services Committee reported meeting with United Way and County officials on service issues regarding Vashon. 10. The Outreach Committee reported a good stock of new copies of the Community Council Bylaws. 11. The Lone Star Gravel Pit ad-hoc Committee presented a handout with details of the current status of their dealings with the company and permitting officials regarding the permit to expand the gravel mining operation. 12. The Community Diversity Committee reported: a) Their mission statement is complete. b) The Committee worked to oppose I-200, which did not win a majority of votes on the island. c) The School District has a panel on diversity with which they will be working. d) Plans are underway for a Martin Luther King Day observation. 13. The Signage ad-hoc Committee reported that its all-island mailing proposal has been deferred until 1999 to avoid getting it lost in the mass of holiday mail. 14. The Motion to provide funding for review of the Lone Star EIS was brought up for debate. a) The funds would be used only for technical review of the EIS, not for appeals, so this would not violate the VMICC agreement with the County on use of County funds. b) The unexpended funds for 1998 would not be available next year anyway, so any spending in 1998 would lessen the strain on the 1999 budget. c) The initial cost of reviewing the EIS is expected to be in the range of $5,000 - $10,000, but a total review and appeal may cost $25-$50,000. d) The Motion was put to a vote and passed: i) Aye 65, Nay 0, Abstain 0, Inappropriate 0. 15. The Motion to amend the VMICC Bylaws was brought up for debate. a) The main revision is to provide for adoption of an annual budget for allocation of County funds. The current bylaws predate the availability of County funds. b) The amendments would also clarify the requirements for an Emergency Motion, and move up the date for establishing a Nominating Committee in election years. c) The Motion was put to a vote and passed. i) Aye 55, Nay 1, Abstain 4. 16. The President introduced King County Executive Ron Sims, who led a Question & Answer session on County/Island issues, including budgeting, services, and relations between the County and the Community Council. 17. David Masters (david.masters@ketrokc.gov) presented information on the proposal to shift Vashon into the King County WRIA, rather than Kitsap County. a) WRIAs are used for coordinating water related issues including fisheries and endangered species listings. b) WRIAs have no rule-making power of their own; coordination is voluntary. King County will be more responsive to issues concerning Vashon if the island is part of the same WRIA as the rest of the County; Kitsap has no authority here. c) The upcoming listings of various salmon runs as endangered will have an effect on Vashon and Maury, since the islands have large areas of relatively undisturbed near-shore saltwater environment needed for maturing fish. This could mean significant restrictions on anything that disturbs this environment, e.g. docks, dredging, shipping, septic contamination, and some on-shore development. But details have not been worked out. d) Rules will actually be made by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Reasonable proposals from King County may forestall more draconian Federal proposals. e) A workshop is scheduled for Jan. 21 on near-shore salmon issues. Contact Jake Jacobovitch or David Masters. 18. Beth Bitter proposed a new Motion providing $800 from the 1998 budget for the Community Diversity Committee. 19. Gardner Perry proposed ratification of the Board's proposed 1999 Budget. 20. Gardner Perry proposed a new Motion requesting Puget Sound Energy to restore 24-hour emergency staffing on Vashon. 21. Jake Jacobovitch proposed a new Motion endorsing the movement of Vashon into the King County WRIA. 22. Jake Jacobovitch proposed a new Motion requesting King County to permit carrying forward unexpended funds from the 1998 budget grant to 1999. 23. Adjourned.