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Council hears detailed McKay Harbor Road update; public works outlines road‑fund pressures
Summary
Public Works presented options and the fiscal context for addressing McKay Harbor Road erosion; staff highlighted a roughly $10 million road-fund balance and multiple competing capital needs, and recommended careful prioritization before committing large sums to any single project.
San Juan County Public Works gave a status briefing Tuesday on McKay Harbor Road and the county road fund, describing recent emergency armoring work, continuing erosion risk, and competing capital demands across the county.
Colin Hunter of Public Works reviewed recent stabilization and shoulder work at McKay Harbor Road where the county has placed revetment and shifted the travel lane inland in spots to keep the route open. Hunter said the revetment placed last year is holding but that long-term solutions will be costly; the county has been maintaining the road while considering a larger project to relocate or more permanently armor the alignment.
Hunter presented the road fund balance and pressures: the fund began 2025 with about $10 million in cash reserves and a working target or floor of roughly $4 million. He said the fund’s apparent strength partly reflects vacancies and deferred maintenance in recent years that reduced outlays; returning to full program levels will draw down those reserves. Key near-term pressures include a planned contribution to a Douglas-Baylor Road project, a necessary fleet-rate correction to cover true equipment costs, and restoring regular road maintenance programs (chip seal targets). Hunter emphasized the importance of not allowing reserves to decline so far that the county cannot respond to emergent failures elsewhere.
Council members pressed for clarity about trade-offs, the urgency of McKay Harbor work, and whether federal or state grants might offset county costs. Hunter said the county has pursued funding for many years and that available federal programs have become more constrained; he described the McKay Harbor work as one of several high-priority and expensive needs, including marine facilities, deep-fill culvert replacements and capital facility needs on other islands.
Council members discussed the difference between short-term stabilization (placing rock and maintenance) and long-term reconstruction or retreat options. Hunter said short-term armoring placed in the 1970s and in recent years has provided multi‑decade relief in some areas but that long-term, structural solutions are costly. He also noted the difficulty of relying on federal grant streams given shifting priorities in Washington, D.C.
No formal decision was requested at the meeting; staff presented data and asked for council direction on how to prioritize large transportation projects going forward.
